Pistorius to go on trial in March: lawyer

Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius will be indicted for premeditated murder next week. Source: AAP

STAR South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius will go on trial in March next year on murder charges for shooting his girlfriend, his lawyer says.

"The trial will be in March next year. It will be from the first week of March until end of March," attorney Kenny Oldwage said.

On Monday, the 26-year-old double-amputee sprinter is to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates Court, where he is expected to be served with an indictment for murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

He claims he shot Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door of his upscale home because he mistook her for an intruder.

The state is arguing that the murder was premeditated, a charge which carries a sentence of life imprisonment.

Oldwage refused to comment on local media reports that Pistorius may face two new charges related to firing a gun in public when he appears in court next week.

According to eNCA television news, one of the charges is linked to an event in January when Pistorius accidentally fired a gun in an upmarket Johannesburg restaurant.

In another case, Pistorius allegedly discharged his gun out of the sunroof of a friend's car on their way back from a holiday.

Paralympic champion Pistorius, who was born without calf bones and had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, runs on fibre-glass prosthetic legs.

At last year's London Olympics he was the first double-amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes.

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40 pythons found in Canadian hotel

Forty pythons have been found in plastic storage bins in a hotel room in Canada. Source: AAP

LITTLE more than a week after a giant python crushed two young Canadian boys to death, police have recovered 40 of the snakes from a hotel room.

The reptiles were found in several plastic storage bins on Thursday night in a room in Brantford, Ontario, where a couple who had been evicted from their home were staying, police said in a statement.

Officers have opened a probe into the incident but they did not say where the couple were at the time or whether the pair would be charged with breaking local laws that prohibit owning pythons.

The snakes, which ranged in length from 30 centimetres to 1.4 metres, were in poor health and have been taken in by the Canadian Society for the Protection of Animals, where a veterinarian is monitoring them.

The find comes 11 days after Connor and Noah Barthe, aged six and four respectively, died in the eastern town of Campbellton, New Brunswick when an African python escaped from its terrarium and killed them.

Animal experts expressed astonishment at the tragedy, many of them noting that, while an African rock python is a dangerous animal capable killing large prey, it would not normally attack humans.

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Hundreds besieged in Egypt's Fateh mosque

A BESIEGED mosque in central Cairo is the site of a tense standoff between Egyptian security forces surrounding it and hundreds of backers of toppled president Mohamed Morsi trapped inside.

Television footage showed riot police standing outside the al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square.

Those inside the mosque were afraid of being detained if they left, a man inside the mosque told Qatari broadcaster al-Jazeera.

"The hope is that the Egyptian people will take to the streets in order to force an end to this siege," he said.

"The besieged people include women and children, some of them need medical assistance."

The state Middle East News Agency reported that the people inside the mosque had opened fire extinguishers at the police, who did not respond.

Irish citizen Omaima Halawa, 21, who is the daughter of the imam of Ireland's biggest mosque in Dublin and was in Cairo with her two sisters and brother, described the scene as very frightening.

"We are surrounded in the mosque both inside and outside," she told Irish broadcaster RTE.

"The security forces broke in and threw tear gas at us."

She said they had been warned they could be shot if they tried to leave.

At one entrance to the mosque, security forces stood between the besieged protesters and angry residents, who tried several times to force their way into the mosque.

Ahmed Sami came to al-Fateh to look for friends inside.

"I'm afraid for their safety. I fear they will be brought out dead," he said.

Mahmoud, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who took part in a march against Morsi's ouster by the military, said protesters had come under fire and sought refuge inside the mosque.

In the large square outside al-Fateh, residents confronted bearded men, and women in Islamic headscarves.

In several parts of Cairo, residents detained people they deemed suspect and handed them over to security forces, in a sign that vigilante justice was beginning to take hold.

Television footage showed troops inside the mosque apparently trying to persuade the protesters to give themselves up.

One of the protesters said by telephone that they were demanding they not be arrested, or attacked by hostile civilians outside.

An estimated 700 Morsi supporters took refuge in the mosque following clashes with security forces in the area.

More than 50 people were killed on Friday in violence across Egypt, according to security sources.

The Muslim Brotherhood said at least 200 people were killed in the unrest, the latest since Morsi's ouster on July 3.

Police said they had arrested 1004 Muslim Brotherhood followers suspected of involvement in Friday's violence.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies vowed to hold a "week of departure" protests through next week against the military-backed government, raising fears of further bloodshed.

Some 630 people were killed in a security crackdown on two major pro-Morsi vigils in Cairo and the ensuing violence in the country on Wednesday.

Under emergency rules declared by the government earlier in the week, police are allowed to use firearms in self-defence and against demonstrators who attack state buildings.

The army's overthrow of Morsi, after protests by millions demanding he step down, has deeply divided Egypt, which is the Arab world's most-populous country.

The clampdown on pro-Morsi protesters has drawn international condemnation, mainly from Europe and the United States.

However, the Gulf countries have expressed support for Egypt's interim rulers.

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Space telescope repair hopes dashed

A BROKEN planet-finding telescope is to remain crippled in space after scientists gave up attempts to restore it to full working order.

The news was announced by the American space agency NASA, which is looking to see what can be salvaged from the Kepler space telescope.

Kepler, which cost STG395 million ($A680.62 million), was launched in March 2009 with the chief aim of searching for Earth-sized planets that might support life.

It has proved one of Nasa's most successful missions, delivering a mass of data on planets orbiting distant stars which is still being studied.

From the observations analysed so far scientists have confirmed the existence of 135 new exoplanets and identified more than 3500 candidates.

Several of these worlds are "super-Earths" with up to 10 times the Earth's mass situated in "habitable zone" orbits where conditions may be suitable for life.

In November last year, Kepler completed its primary mission and began a four-year extended mission.

The telescope detects planets by measuring the tiny dip in light output when an orbiting object passes in front of a star.

But now two of the four spinning gyroscope-like wheels used to position the telescope with the incredible level of precision required have failed.

Efforts to get at least one of the "reaction wheels" working again have failed. Kepler needs at least three functioning wheels to keep it completely still while it searches for small Earth-sized exoplanets.

The NASA team is now investigating whether Kepler can conduct a more limited science program using its remaining reaction wheels and thrusters.

Meanwhile scientists are continuing to sift through the wealth of information already collected, which they hope will yield hundreds or even thousands of discoveries.

"At the beginning of our mission, no-one knew if Earth-size planets were abundant in the galaxy. If they were rare, we might be alone," said Dr William Borucki.

"Now at the completion of Kepler observations, the data holds the answer to the question that inspired the mission. Are Earths in the habitable zones of stars like our Sun common or rare?"

The Kepler scientists have not yet spotted a truly Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. They hope evidence of such an Earth twin is waiting to be discovered in the huge amount of data from the space telescope.

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'Vodka pipeline' to Kyrgyzstan plugged

KYRGYZ customs officials have shut down a pipeline that had been used to apparently pump thousands of litres of vodka from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan under a river, Kyrgyz police say, according to the Akipress news agency.

The 20-centimetre-thick, half-kilometre-long pipe had been laid beneath the border river Chu, said the police official from the northern Kyrgyz city of Tokmok.

It was equipped with multiple valves and lay on a track along the river's bottom.

"We assume that thousands of litres of alcohol were smuggled with it, primarily vodka," said the police officer.

It is believed the alcohol was smuggled this way for months.

The pipe was discovered during a routine inspection.

No arrests have yet been made.

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Turkey, Egypt recall envoys over crackdown

TURKEY has recalled its ambassador to Cairo as tensions with Egypt worsen dramatically following a bloody crackdown on supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president.

Egypt retaliated by recalling its envoy to Turkey, whose Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned what he called the "massacre" of peaceful protesters.

Erdogan, a supporter of former president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement, has infuriated the interim government in Cairo by terming his ouster a military "coup".

Nearly 600 people were killed in the violence that erupted on Wednesday when security forces moved in to break up pro-Morsi protest camps, the worst unrest in the country since the 2011 uprising that unseated Hosni Mubarak - causing international criticism to poured in.

Erdogan, who heads Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), had forged a close alliance with Morsi since he was elected in the country's first free election in June 2012.

The Islamist leader was invited to the AKP's annual congress last September where Erdogan positioned Turkey as a regional standard-bearer.

"We have shown everyone that an advanced democracy can exist in a predominantly Muslim country," Erdogan told the congress.

"We have become a role model for Muslim countries."

Turkish leaders hinted they would not break ties with the new leadership emerging in Egypt after the military uprising, despite their criticism of the army's actions.

Analysts, however, said the bloody crackdown on demonstrators was a breaking point for Turkey, which would make it very hard for Erdogan's government to reconcile with the military regime in Egypt.

Turkey invested both politically and financially in Egypt after Morsi's election, aiming to bolster Ankara's influence and show that Turkey was not the only country where Islam and democracy could coexist.

Erdogan said his country served as a "very important reference" to Egypt on why military uprisings must not be tolerated.

This week's unrest in Egypt is expected to hit around 260 Turkish businesses operating in the Arab world's most populous country.

Turkish investment in Egypt amounts to nearly $US2 billion ($A2.2 billion), mostly in the textile and clothing industries.

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Panama may fine N. Korean arms ship $1m

THE Panama Canal authority says it will impose as much as a $1 million fine on the North Korean freighter caught with an undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons.

"It is a flagrant violation of safe passage through the Panama Canal and we have little tolerance for this kind of activity," canal administrator Jorge Quijano said on Thursday.

"It is going to be sanctioned," he said, adding that authorities were still mulling the size of the fine.

"It's obvious that there were containers that had not been declared, not to mention what was inside them."

The ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was boarded and searched July 10 on suspicion it was smuggling drugs.

Authorities instead uncovered 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet era MiG-21s, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles, buried under tons of sugar.

Havana said they were obsolete Cuban arms being shipped to North Korea for refurbishment under a legitimate contract.

A team of UN experts had travelled to Panama to inspect the weapons and determine whether the shipment violated a UN ban against arms transfers to North Korea.

According to the Panamanian government, the experts wrapped up their visit on Thursday.

However, officials did not provide any details on possible findings.

Quijano said fines imposed by the canal authority range from $10,000 to $100,000 for serious violations and up to $1 million for "very serious" violations.

"The case of the North Korean freighter is very serious," he told AFP.

Warships and ships carrying military or nuclear material routinely go through the canal, allowed passage even at times of war.

The only requirement is that canal authorities be given prior notice so that local authorities can take appropriate security precautions.

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Pistorius due back in the dock

Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius is set to return to court next week. Source: AAP

SOUTH African double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius will return to court next week, when he is expected to be indicted for murdering lover Reeva Steenkamp and receive a date for trial.

The 26-year-old sprinter will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday six months after shooting dead girlfriend Steenkamp in the toilet of his upscale home.

The platinum blonde cover girl and law graduate died on Valentine's Day after being shot in the head, elbow and hip.

She would have turned 30 on Monday, when prosecutors are expected to unveil a five-page indictment against Pistorius for premeditated murder, according to sources close to the investigation.

The hearing is expected to be brief, and according to Pistorius family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess the "chances are very high that a trial date will be set."

Pistorius, who is out on bail and faces a life sentence if found guilty, has denied murder, saying he shot Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door because he believed she was an intruder.

The trial is not expected to start until 2014, given the backlog in South Africa's regional high courts.

A single senior judge will hear the case. South Africa does not have a jury system.

The indictment could detail key aspects of the police investigation into Steenkamp's death that came under scrutiny during a lengthy bail hearing.

These may include ballistics information from the bathroom door suggesting Pistorius's height at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors assert he donned his two prosthetic legs before firing four shots through the bathroom door, a delay they say proves the murder was premeditated.

The athlete, who was born without calf bones and had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, claims he was on his stumps.

The indictment could also shed light on phone records from four cell phones found outside the room where Steenkamp had locked herself in.

Investigators had to contact mobile manufacturer Apple in the United States as well as Interpol to access one of the phones, Pistorius's iPhone 5.

The athlete apparently could not remember the four-digit pass code to unlock the phone, according to media reports.

Pistorius may also face two new charges related to firing a gun in public, local media reported.

According to eNCA television news on Friday, one of the charges is linked to an event in January where Pistorius - who is already accused of murdering his girlfriend - accidentally fired a gun in an upmarket Johannesburg restaurant.

In another case, Pistorius allegedly discharged his gun out of the sunroof of a friend's car on their way back from a holiday.

The National Prosecuting Authority declined to confirm the additional charges, saying "everything would be revealed in court" at the pre-trial hearing on Monday.

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Ecuador vows to resolve Assange situation

The Ecuadorian government has pledged to find a solution to the Julian Assange situation. Source: AAP

THE Ecuadorian government has stressed its commitment to finding a solution to the position of Julian Assange on the anniversary of the WikiLeaks founder being granted political asylum.

The Australian has been living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for more than a year as part of his campaign to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault against two women - claims he denies.

Assange fears that if he travels to Sweden he will be forcibly taken to the United States to face questioning over documents published by WikiLeaks.

A statement from the Ecuadorian government said: "One year ago today Ecuador took the decision to award asylum to Julian Assange, a journalist who feared political persecution after publishing information sensitive to the US government that exposed war crimes, killings, torture and other human rights abuses that would otherwise never have come to light.

"After thoroughly examining the evidence, the government of Ecuador concluded that it shared Julian Assange's concerns that there is a real and present danger to his freedoms."

The statement said the recent guilty verdict against US soldier Bradley Manning and attempts to prosecute Edward Snowden for leaking information about US surveillance underlined why Ecuador granted asylum.

It added: "The decision taken was based on Ecuadorian and international law. As Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares 'Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution'.

"However, Ecuador accepts that resolving Julian's status and specifically his right to leave the embassy without threat of arrest and onward extradition to the US involves the jurisdictions of three sovereign nations - the UK, Sweden and Ecuador.

"The government of Ecuador remains committed to finding an equitable solution to this situation that respects domestic and international law while at the same time protecting Julian Assange from inhumane treatment and the threats of political persecution."

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Deadly typhoon moves to China

Typhoon Utor has battered China, killing three people and forcing thousands from their homes. Source: AAP

THREE people are confirmed dead, five are missing and tens of thousands have been evacuated as Typhoon Utor batters south China.

More than one million people in Guangdong province have been affected by heavy rain and floods, Xinhua news agency quoted the provincial flood control headquarters as saying on Thursday.

Some 161,500 people had to be relocated and nearly 1500 homes were destroyed, as several villages in the Zhanjiang and Wuchuan municipalities were flooded when embankments along the swollen Quehua River burst Wednesday.

The storm, which earlier left at least eight dead and a trail of damage in the Philippines, made landfall near Yangjiang in western Guangdong Wednesday afternoon with winds of over 150km/h, local weather authorities said.

It moved into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Wednesday night and was expected to remain there for four days.

Tens of thousands were displaced and whole towns badly damaged when Utor raked across the north of the main Philippine island of Luzon on Monday, but the death toll was lower than in past typhoons, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

Packing winds of up to 150km/h at its centre, the typhoon also brushed past Hong Kong, where it forced the closure of financial markets, schools and businesses and disrupted hundreds of flights.

It also caused a 190-metre-long cargo ship to sink off Hong Kong Wednesday but all 21 crew were rescued.

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Politkovskaya murder defendant shot

ONE of three Chechen brothers currently on trial for the 2006 murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been shot in the leg, his defence lawyer says.

Dzhabrail Makhmudov has been hospitalised in Moscow with a gunshot wound to his thigh, lawyer Murad Musayev wrote on Facebook on Thursday, adding that doctors said he was lucky to be alive after the bullet went clean through his leg, just missing an artery.

Musayev complained that no police arrived at the scene overnight, despite the firing of a shot.

His client is free to move around Moscow but subject to travel restrictions as a jury trial is in progress.

The lawyer linked the shooting to the trial in an interview with Moscow Echo radio station, saying: "I absolutely do not rule out that what happened yesterday could be linked to our active position in court.

"The people who followed Politkovskaya, who killed Politkovskaya, are at large."

In a hospital bed interview, Makhmudov told Life News website that the attackers hit him on the head as well as shooting him, saying he believed they "definitely wanted to do me in".

The shooting of Politkovskaya, a journalist for liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta who strongly criticised the Kremlin's tactics in Chechnya, shocked the world, but so far no one has been brought to justice.

Russia ordered a retrial after a first trial ended in acquittals in 2009.

Politkovskaya's son Ilya and daughter Vera had boycotted the new trial, which opened last month, over a failure to consult them on the jury members.

But Ilya Politkovsky attended a trial hearing on Thursday.

"We realised that the defence was actively making use of our absence," he told the Interfax news agency.

"A number of rights activists wrote to us asking us to return to the trial to guarantee its objectivity."

Dzhabrail Makhmudov is suspected along with another brother, Ibragim, of organising the shooting of Politkovskaya at the entrance to her apartment building. A third brother, Rustam, according to investigators, fired the shot. He was on the run during the earlier trial.

The men's uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev is also accused of organising the crime along with a former Moscow police officer, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov. They are charged with murder and arms trafficking. Three of the suspects are being held in detention, while two are free but subject to a travel ban.

Russia has failed to identify a mastermind behind the killing.

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World powers condemn Egypt bloodshed

EGYPT'S military rulers are facing international condemnation over the bloody crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters, with France warning of the threat of "civil war" and Turkey demanding UN action.

At least 525 people were killed in Wednesday's assaults on two Cairo protest camps of supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in the worst violence the country has seen in decades.

The United States led global condemnations overnight against the "deplorable" violence, while Paris, London and Berlin have summoned Egypt's ambassadors to voice their strong concern.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting over Egypt's "massacre" of Morsi supporters.

China was characteristically muted, calling for "maximum restraint" from all parties, while fellow Security Council permanent member Russia only urged tourists to avoid trips to Egypt.

Only two Gulf states that have cracked down on Islamist groups within their own borders initially voiced support for the Cairo military leaders.

French President Francois Hollande said "everything must be done to avoid a civil war" in Egypt, while his government conveyed France's "great concern over the tragic events" to Egypt's envoy.

"France is committed to finding a political solution and calls for elections to be held as soon as possible, in line with the commitments made by Egypt's transitional authorities," said a statement.

Germany also summoned the Egyptian ambassador, a day after its Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged all sides to renounce violence and return immediately to negotiations.

"On the orders of Foreign Minister Westerwelle, the ambassador was told the position of the German government in no uncertain terms," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman.

Turkey's Erdogan, a Morsi supporter, told reporters in Ankara that "the Security Council of the United Nations should convene quickly to discuss the situation in Egypt".

"This is a very serious massacre ... against the Egyptian people who were only protesting peacefully," he added, criticising "the silence" of the global community in the face of the bloodshed.

The United States did not initially criticise the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected and Islamist leader, and has avoided using the term "coup," which under US law would have halted some $US1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo.

But US Secretary of State John Kerry's comments, in which he called for elections, appeared to fully recant his previously expressed support for Egypt's military-backed government.

"Today's events are deplorable and they run counter to Egyptian aspirations for peace, inclusion and genuine democracy," he said.

Denmark suspended aid worth four million euros to Egypt "in response to the bloody events and the very regrettable turn the development of democracy has taken", development aid minister Christian Friis Bach told the Berlingske newspaper.

Further afield, Pakistan expressed its "dismay and deep concern" over the loss of innocent lives and called the events "a major setback for Egypt's return to democracy".

The Philippines urged its 6000 nationals in Egypt to leave the country and raised the alert level because of "the escalating civil unrest and insecurity".

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain separately voiced support for Egypt's military leaders, saying it was the state's duty to restore order.

The Emirati foreign ministry affirmed its "understanding of the sovereign measures taken by the Egyptian government after it had practised maximum self-restraint during the preceding period".

The Gulf state, where dozens of Islamists have been jailed for plotting to overthrow the regime, criticised what it said was the "insistence of political extremism groups to make speeches of violence and incitement ... that led to (Wednesday's) sad events".

Another Gulf state, Bahrain, which is facing an uprising led by the Shi'ite majority against the Sunni regime, said that the "measures taken by Egyptian authorities to restore peace and stability were to protect the rights of the Egyptian citizen, which the state is obliged to do".

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Vietnam offers free Marxist education

VIETNAM is offering free classes in Marxism, Leninism and the teachings of Ho Chi Minh in a bid to revive interest in the ideology behind the country's system of government.

Philosophy students will not have to pay university tuition fees under a new scheme aimed at encouraging more people to embrace the unpopular classes.

"We have not received enough applications for these subjects," a professor of philosophy at a state university told AFP on condition of anonymity on Thursday because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

"Students only apply for subjects which offer realistic prospects of helping them get a job," he added.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed a decree last month on the fee exemption, which will apply to students at state universities who agree to study the works of the approved pantheon of orthodox communist thinkers.

Fees for state universities in Vietnam average some five million dong ($240) per year but a small number of foreign-run universities charge far higher sums.

The quality of local universities can be lacking -- a recent education ministry survey said some 60 per cent of recent graduates need retraining to meet the requirements of future employers -- and many Vietnamese parents send their children to study abroad at great expense.

The fee waiver will apply for the next two years, according to a copy of the decree seen by AFP.

But it is unlikely to result in significantly more applications for the unpopular subjects, students said.

"How can I get a job and earn money if I study Marxism and Leninism?" Hanoi high school student Nguyen Lan Huong told AFP.

"I will apply to study English and probably hotel management," the 17-year-old girl, who will take entrance exams to universities next summer, added.

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Coalition coy on costing times

THE coalition might not reveal the cost of all its policies until the last week of the election campaign, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it won't be as late as the last day.

Mr Abbott says every policy will be funded and costed so Australians are in no doubt of the coalition's economic plans when they go to the polling booths.

"And we intend to keep putting out policies right up into the last week of the election campaign," Mr Abbott told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday.

"So when all our policies are out we will be able to tell you exactly how much we are going to spend, exactly how much we are going to save and exactly what the overall budget bottom line will be and how much better it will be than under the Labor Party."

Mr Abbott said the coalition would not release them at the last minute, like Labor did before the elections in 2010 and 2007.

He again rejected as lies, Labor's claim that he would increase the GST.

Mr Abbott, who coughed throughout the interview, said the coalition had more to say on health over the next three-and-a-half weeks.

He also said the coalition did not like Labor's three new taxes - on tobacco, the bank levy and changes to the fringe benefits tax on cars - but they might have to keep the first two.

"We possibly might have to," he said.

But he would not go ahead with the fringe benefits tax on cars because it was a "disaster" for the industry.

Mr Abbott reiterated that there was a challenge ahead to manage the budget and find savings but said there would be no overall increase in the tax burden.

He said there was an enormous amount of waste in the system but the coalition had a record of surpluses.

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Egypt Islamists call new march, 525 dead

Egypt's health ministry has raised the death toll from Wednesday's nationwide violence to 278. Source: AAP

ISLAMISTS have vowed to rally in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi despite a violent crackdown that sparked Egypt's worst day of violence for decades, with more than 500 people killed.

As the death toll from the carnage soared, condemnation of Wednesday's crackdown on two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo poured in, with Britain, France and Germany summoning the country's ambassadors to express concern.

The Brotherhood, the Islamist movement from which Morsi hails, said a march was planned on Thursday from the Al-Iman mosque in the capital "to protest the death of their relatives".

The call came after a tense night, following the army-backed interim government's decision to impose a month-long, nationwide state of emergency and curfews in 14 provinces.

In Cairo, trucks cleared debris from the charred sites of the Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda square protest camps, occupied for weeks by Morsi loyalists, paralysing the area.

Posters of Morsi were strewn next to burnt tins of food, as light traffic returned to the streets.

The health ministry continued to update its toll, saying at least 525 people had been killed across the country on Wednesday, including 43 police.

Despite the violence, Egypt's press trumpeted the end of the pro-Morsi demonstrations, which had occupied two Cairo squares since the military ousted the Islamist president on July 3.

"The nightmare of the Brotherhood is gone," the daily Al-Akhbar's front page headline read.

"The Brotherhood's last battle," added Al-Shorouk.

The newspapers carried photos of protesters brandishing weapons and throwing stones, but none from makeshift morgues where dead protesters were lined up in rooms slick with blood.

Residents of Rabaa al-Adawiya said the tension and paralysis caused by the protests had put lives on hold.

"We were hearing gunshots all day ... (The dispersal) had to happen. People here were not living," said Omar Hamdy, 23.

At least four churches were attacked as police broke up the protests, with Christian activists accusing Morsi loyalists of waging "a war of retaliation against Copts in Egypt".

The day's violence was Egypt's worst in decades, exceeding even that seen during the 18-day uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

An AFP correspondent counted at least 124 bodies in makeshift morgues in the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest site and the Brotherhood spoke of 2200 dead overall and more than 10,000 wounded.

The Islamist movement remained defiant on Thursday, with spokesman Gehad al-Haddad saying demonstrations would continue.

"We will always be non-violent and peaceful. We remain strong, defiant and resolved," he tweeted. "We will push forward until we bring down this military coup."

Morsi loyalists have insisted their demonstrations are exclusively peaceful, but an AFP reporter saw several protesters carrying weapons at Rabaa on Wednesday.

The violence prompted vice-president and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei to resign, saying he was troubled over the loss of life, "particularly as I believe it could have been avoided".

The dramatic assault on the sit-ins began shortly after dawn on Wednesday, with security forces firing tear gas before storming the sites.

The operation surprised many, coming after officials described plans to gradually disperse the protests over several days in a bid to avoid violence.

Some Morsi supporters were eventually able to leave the Rabaa site through a safe passage, flashing victory signs as they left.

By evening, a security official said Rabaa al-Adawiya was "totally under control".

In the smaller of the protest camps, at Al-Nahda square in central Cairo, police said they had control of the area after just two hours.

Europe's leading powers, along with Iran, Qatar and Turkey, strongly denounced the use of force by the interim government.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting over the crackdown, while Denmark announced it has suspended development aid to Egypt.

The White House said Washington, which provides Egypt with $US1.3 billion in annual military aid, "strongly condemns" the violence against the protesters and opposed the imposition of a state of emergency.

But Egypt's interim prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi praised the police for their "self-restraint" and said the government remained committed to an army-drafted roadmap calling for elections in 2014.

The violence was not confined to Cairo, with clashes between security forces and Morsi loyalists breaking out in the northern provinces of Alexandria and Beheira, the canal provinces of Suez and Ismailiya, and the central provinces of Assiut and Menya.

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No widespread bullying at CSIRO: report

THERE are problems at Australia's national science agency but there's no toxic culture or widespread bullying, an independent inquiry has found.

Former Commonwealth ombudsman Dennis Pearce investigated 130 allegations of workplace bullying, discrimination and unreasonable behaviour from current and former CSIRO staff.

Professor Pearce's phase one report found there were no major problems of workplace bullying and it was not possible to describe the work culture as toxic.

It regretted that efforts were made by some people to dissuade others from making submissions.

The report found pockets of concern including shortcomings in CSIRO's policies and procedures for handling complaints.

"While we do not think it to be the case, it is possible that these procedural issues have served to mask a more significant incidence of workplace bullying than the evidence to us reveals," the report said.

Prof Pearce has made 34 recommendations which focus on changing the way in which complaints by staff are managed.

The CSIRO said it would implement the recommendations but some would take time.

Twenty-two of the allegations will be further investigated by Prof Pearce and his team.

The coalition said it was disappointed that potentially more than 100 cases were overlooked by the investigation.

Shadow minister for Innovation, Industry and Science Sophie Mirabella said the terms of reference excluded cases of people who had raised allegations of criminal conduct or instigated legal proceedings against CSIRO.

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Norway bars Apple from taking aerial shots

Norway's intelligence agency has refused Apple permission to take flyover 3D photos of Oslo. Source: AAP

NORWAY'S intelligence agency has blocked US company Apple from flying over Oslo to take 3D aerial photos for its map application, citing national security.

"I can confirm that Apple was not authorised to take aerial photographs because the level of detail in the shots is considered too high for some of the restricted zones," a spokeswoman for the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM), Mona Stroem Arnoey, said on Tuesday.

"We have however presented Apple with alternative solutions, including buying photos from Norwegian suppliers or from the Norwegian map authorities," she said.

Norway's neighbours Sweden and Denmark have meanwhile granted Apple permission to take aerial photos.

NSM, tasked with protecting Norway from espionage, sabotage or acts of terrorism, refused to comment on the number or nature of restricted zones in Oslo.

Photos of these zones provided by Norwegian suppliers are of a lower resolution or blurred.

According to the daily newspaper Aftenposten, the photo ban prompted Oslo's mayor - approached by the US embassy in Norway - to contact the government on Apple's behalf but to no avail.

Apple was heavily criticised for errors in the first map application it developed in-house, and has since come up with its Flyover function that enables users to fly over major cities interactively.

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Two Koreas agree to reopen industrial park

North and South Korea have agreed to reopen the Kaesong joint industrial zone. Source: AAP

NORTH and South Korea have reached an agreement to reopen the Kaesong joint industrial zone closed by Pyongyang in April at the height of soaring military tensions.

The five-point agreement that came out of a seventh round of talks on Wednesday committed both sides to making "active efforts" to resume normal operations as soon as possible after inspecting the shuttered plants in Kaesong.

A joint committee will be set up to discuss compensation for economic losses suffered as a result of the complex's closure, according to a copy of the accord released to reporters.

The agreement will help lower tensions ahead of the launch of joint South Korea-US military exercises on Monday which the North had warned could bring the divided peninsula "to the brink of war".

Established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, Kaesong was a key hard-currency earner for the North and the decision to shut it down took many observers by surprise.

The project had managed to ride out previous North-South crises without serious disruption, but it eventually fell victim to an extended period of heightened tension following the North's third nuclear test in February.

Pyongyang initially barred access to the park, which lies 10 kilometres inside the North Korean border and then withdrew its 53,000-strong workforce from the 123 South Korean firms based there.

The previous six rounds of talks had foundered on the South's insistence that North Korea provide a binding guarantee that it would not close the complex again.

Wednesday's agreement suggested a compromise had been reached where the North accepted the worker pullout had closed Kaesong, while both sides promised to ensure it remained open in the future.

"The South and the North will prevent the current suspension of the Kaesong industrial complex caused by the workers' withdrawal from being repeated again," the agreement said.

It also included a pledge to promote foreign investment in Kaesong - a key South Korean demand.

The North had proposed the seventh round of talks last week, just hours after Seoul announced it was going to start compensation payments totalling $US250 million ($A276.01 million) to businesses affected by Kaesong's closure.

The payout move was widely seen as the first step towards a permanent withdrawal from the zone.

Wednesday's accord was immediately welcomed by the South Korean company owners who had complained that both Seoul and Pyongyang were using their livelihoods as a political football.

"We will do our best to help the Kaesong industrial park boost its international competitiveness and become a globally viable place for investment," the association representing the owners said in a statement.

Monday's annual South Korea-US drill, dubbed "Ulchi Freedom Guardian", involves about 50,000 South Korean and 30,000 US troops practising a North Korean invasion scenario.

Although largely computer-simulated, it is viewed as highly provocative by North Korea, which has already issued dire warnings of its impact on stability on the peninsula.

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UK govt parties forced to give up cash

BRITAIN'S governing Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have been forced to give up hundreds of thousands of pounds of campaign funding after it emerged the elderly spinster who made the donation wanted it to go to the taxpayer.

Joan Edwards, a former nurse who died last September aged 90, apparently left STG520,000 ($A888,205) in her will to "whichever government is in office at the date of my death".

But rather than going into government coffers, the money was channelled to Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and their junior coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.

Both parties said they accepted the money after Edwards' solicitors told them they were beneficiaries of her will, without knowing the full details. The Tories received STG420,000 and the Lib Dems STG100,000.

But in an embarrassing move for the coalition, both parties were forced to announce that they would give the money to the Treasury after a chorus of protest led by the opposition Labour party, who branded the situation "dodgy as hell".

Twitter users took to the website to propose better uses for Edwards' bequest than political campaigning. Using the hashtag #joanshalfmillion, suggestions ranged from investment in a maternity ward to supplies for a food bank for the poor.

Labour MP Ian Austin had posted on Twitter: "This is shocking. The lady obviously didn't intend her money to go to political parties, Do the decent thing!"

The bequest was revealed in figures released by Britain's Electoral Commission on Tuesday.

Party officials had said the money was left to "whichever party was in government" at the time of Edwards' death, but a copy of her will, obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper, raised doubts that her wishes had been followed accurately.

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Monaco sets date for new royal wedding

MONACO'S palace says Andrea Casiraghi, the oldest son of Princess Caroline and second in line to the principality's throne, is to marry at the end of the month.

The Monaco palace said he would marry Colombian heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo on August 31, but gave no details on the wedding. The couple have been engaged for a year and she gave birth to a son in March.

The 29-year-old Casiraghi is the nephew of Monaco's ruling sovereign, Prince Albert II, who himself ended decades of bachelorhood in 2011 when he wed South African former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock.

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Doctor steals heroin from patient's belly

POLICE in Russia have arrested a surgeon for stealing heroin from the stomach of a patient upon whom he was operating.

The unidentified doctor was found in possession of 5 grams of heroin after performing surgery on a man who had allegedly been smuggling drugs in his stomach, the police in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk said on Tuesday.

It said that investigators found that some heroin was missing after the doctor had removed the drugs from the patient's stomach in the hospital of the city of Bogotol.

When they searched the surgeon, they found a pack of heroin hidden in his clothes. Police also said that the medic was high.

Investigators published a video showing the suspect being locked up in a police cell. They said that he might face up to 15 years in prison.

The statement said nothing on the situation of the purported drug courier or why anybody would swallow drugs for smuggling in a remote region some 4000 kilometres east of Moscow.

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Abbott cites exuberance in latest gaffe

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has pledged $100 million to address mobile phone coverage black spots. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott admits he was "a bit exuberant" when referring to the sex appeal of a female Liberal candidate.

Social network contributors and Labor pounced on Mr Abbott's gaffe on Tuesday during a visit to the key marginal seat of Lindsay in western Sydney.

Standing between his daughter Frances and local Liberal candidate Fiona Scott, he was asked how the latter compared with her coalition predecessor Jackie Kelly.

"They're young, they're feisty and I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal," he told reporters.

Leaving his daughter wincing, Mr Abbott was later forced to explain himself.

He said Ms Scott was a smart, hardworking woman with whom he was proud to be associated.

"I was a bit exuberant today ... but we're all working incredibly hard to get her elected," Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

But by the time Mr Abbott tried to explain himself, a backlash was underway against the man who has a record of gaffs about the role of women.

"He's pathetic, he really is pathetic," Labor minister Kim Carr told the ABC of Mr Abbott's words.

"Sometimes we should think Tony Abbott really hasn't crawled out of the 1950s."

The coalition camp worked to brush off the remark.

"It was just a light-hearted comment, which I'm sure was not meant with any offence," Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Mathias Corman told Sky News.

Coalition finance spokesman Andrew Robb said the comment was made in "jest" and talked up Mr Abbott's deep respect for women, including his professional wife Margie, three daughters, and sister.

However Twitter exploded with opinion on the subject, much of it criticising Mr Abbott.

"So @TonyAbbottMHR thinks a woman candidate is vote-worthy if she has #sexappeal ? #mysogynist" posted one person.

The Twitter account for NSW Labor also weighed in: "On September 7 we should vote for candidates based on #policyappeal not #sexappeal".

In an odd show of support, NSW Liberal minister Pru Goward, a former sex discrimination commissioner, said she sees nothing wrong with highlighting a candidate's sex appeal.

"I think a lot of politicians are described as sexy," she told Macquarie Radio.

The clanger comes a day after Mr Abbott's incorrect use of the word "suppository" during a press conference attracted widespread publicity.

Tuesday's comment risks overshadowing the coalition's efforts in Lindsay, a seat currently held by Labor's David Bradbury by a 1.1 per cent margin.

Mr Abbott also used the visit to announce that a coalition government will provide $12 million for a sport and community centre at Penrith.

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Costings row heats up after PEFO release

Employment Minister Brendan O'Connor says time is up for Tony Abbott to come clean on his costings. Source: AAP

LABOR is piling the pressure on the coalition to release its policy costings sooner rather than later, after the unveiling of the final budget numbers before the election.

The federal government appears confident the opposition won't be able to afford all its election promises without resorting to European-style austerity measures that could hurt jobs and growth.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said he would take time to consider the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) prepared by Treasury and Finance.

"These need to be carefully considered by the coalition," he said in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"We are going to go through things methodically, carefully, prudently."

The PEFO is prepared early in a federal election campaign as part of the Charter of Budget Honesty and lays the base for party policy costings.

The numbers largely mirror those in Labor's economic update released on August 2, pointing to slower economic growth, higher unemployment, bigger budget deficits and more government debt.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had no more excuses to delay his numbers, Treasurer Chris Bowen said.

"Release your costings and how you intend to pay for your promises," he said in Sydney.

Mr Hockey focused on commentary in the document outlining the international risks, saying it pointed to "substantial" downside and more budget volatility.

The risks surround the unresolved crisis in the eurozone, anxiety in financial markets about the unwinding of US monetary policy, lingering concerns about the recovery in Japan and economic developments in China.

The coalition has submitted more than 200 policies to the Parliamentary Budget Office for costing and a large number are still to come back.

Mr Hockey shrugged off the pressure being applied by Labor, noting that in 2007 and 2010 the ALP didn't release its costings until the evening before the election.

"We will do better than the day before the election," he said.

CPA Australia chief executive Alex Malley said the political "game playing" around costings was a distraction for voters.

"All Australians are looking for, from both major parties, clear and concise policies coupled with a vision for Australia's future," he said in a statement.

The PEFO confirmed the economy will grow at a below-trend pace of 2.5 per cent in 2013/14, with unemployment surging to 6.25 from 5.7 per cent now.

It warned the transition from a mining-led economy to broader activity might be bumpy.

"Against the backdrop of a still challenging global outlook ... this transition may not occur as smoothly as forecast," the PEFO said.

"While this transition has commenced, it is now expected to take longer."

However, sustained low interest rates, on the back of ongoing subdued inflation and a lower Australian dollar exchange rate, were expected to underpin a return to around trend growth in 2014/15.

This financial year's budget deficit is still forecast at $30.1 billion

There was a small $200 million increase in the surplus predicted for 2016/17, to $4.2 billion.

"Australia can't afford to have fiscal fools like Abbott and Hockey in the drivers' seats," Mr Bowen's predecessor Wayne Swan said.

"They represent an unprecedented risk to our economy and the services Australians rely on."

Mr Abbott later threw the spotlight back on the government, saying the PEFO shows a budget blowout, rising unemployment and spiralling debt.

"And what does Mr Rudd say to all that?" he asked, during an address to campaign volunteers in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

"The only thing that counts is the coalition's costings," he said, citing the prime minister's constant requests for the opposition to reveal its funding calculations.

"Well wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong."

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EU stocks, euro rise on eurozone data

EUROPEAN stock markets have risen and the euro has gained against the US dollar in reaction to upbeat eurozone data, while share prices were boosted by a strong showing in Tokyo.

London's FTSE 100 index on Tuesday climbed 0.63 per cent to stand at 6,616.02 points nearing midday in the British capital.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 0.79 per cent to 8,425.25 points and the CAC 40 in Paris won 0.30 per cent to 4,083.86 compared with Monday's closing values.

"It's been a bright start to the day so far in Europe, with more data suggesting the recovery in the eurozone is finally under way," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari traders.

"Of course, any recovery is going to be extremely fragile, but compared to the last couple of years, it's very encouraging."

Industrial output in the 17-nation eurozone bounced back sharply in June, another pointer that the single currency bloc is finally edging out of recession, official data showed on Tuesday.

With overall growth figures for the second quarter due on Wednesday expected to show a switch out of recession, eurozone industrial production in June output jumped 0.7 per cent from May when it fell 0.2 per cent.

Separate data showed that investment sentiment in Germany rose more than expected in August.

The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute rose by 5.7 points to 42.0 points in August, beating analysts' forecasts for an increase to about 40 points this month.

The euro gained in reaction to $US1.3305 from $US1.3299 in New York late on Monday.

The US dollar advanced to Y97.91 from Y96.87 on Monday.

Sterling steadied against both the European single currency and the US dollar following official data that showed a slight drop in British inflation.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to $US1,336.10 an ounce from $US1,341 on Monday.

In Paris, shares in Societe Generale bank fell by 1.81 per cent after co-operative insurance company Groupama announced that it would soon sell its remaining stake in the bank, worth about 530 million euros ($A776.78 million).

Asian stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, with Tokyo lifted by a weaker yen that in turn makes Japanese exports more competitive.

Tokyo jumped 2.57 per cent by the close after slipping on Monday following disappointing Japanese growth figures - and ahead of fresh numbers that will give an indication of the strength of the US economy.

Figures for US retail sales, housing and industrial production due this week will give clues as to whether the Federal Reserve could begin to taper its huge $US85 billion a month quantitative easing program which has buoyed international markets in recent months.

Wall Street closed flat on Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 0.04 per cent.

European stock markets had closed mixed on Monday as investors kept their positions amid heightening concerns of yet another Greek bailout, dealers said.

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Man critically burned in stable fire

A MAN has critical burns to his upper body after fire engulfed a stable at the Gold Coast on Tuesday night.

Around 7.42pm Queensland Fire and Rescue Services were called to the blazing stable in Racecourse Dr at Bundall.

A man was taken to Gold Coast Hospital with severe partial thickness burns to his shoulders, neck, face and back.

It is believed all of the horses were taken to safety.

Crews had the fire under control by 8.47pm.

Fire Investigation has been called to the scene.

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Longer sentence for UK pedophile

A PEDOPHILE who walked free from a British court after his 13-year-old victim was branded "predatory" by a prosecutor has had his sentence increased because of a technicality.

Neil Wilson was handed an eight-month suspended sentence after admitting engaging in sexual activity with the girl, as well as separate counts of making indecent images, at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London last week.

News that prosecutor Robert Colover had labelled the young victim "predatory" and "sexually experienced" caused outrage and led to his suspension from prosecuting sexual offence cases pending a review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Judge Nigel Peters QC is also being investigated by the Office for Judicial Complaints for remarking that his sentence took into account how the girl looked and behaved.

Judge Peters altered Wilson's sentence on Monday, at a brief hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, after admitting it needed correction.

Making no reference to the storm surrounding the case during the 10-minute hearing, the judge altered Wilson's total sentence to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, but kept the sentence for sexual activity with a child the same, at eight months suspended for two years.

Explaining the decision to Wilson, who appeared via videolink from York Magistrates' Court, the judge told him: "I have had the matter listed before me today as part of the sentence, not that part relating to sexual activity with a child, requires correcting.

"It was not appreciated by the parties that I could not pass a community order with a supervision requirement for three years to run alongside a suspended sentence on the same indictment or indeed another indictment sentenced on the same occasion.

"In amending the sentence I have sought to ensure that all parts of the order will be complied with by the defendant and that any breach will be brought before a court and consideration given to further penalty, including immediate imprisonment."

He said he was revoking a community order and imposing additional suspended jail terms for two counts involving indecent photographs, and another indictment involving five counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

The addition of the suspended sentences was commensurate with the reduction of the supervision element from three to two years, he said.

A sexual offences prevention order remains in place.

Wilson already faces having his sentence reviewed after Attorney General Dominic Grieve agreed to examine the case.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said the CPS was "absolutely right" to label Mr Colover's comments "inappropriate".

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Thieves steal French amputee's wheelchair

FRENCH adventurer Philippe Croizon, a quadruple amputee known for his feats of swimming and diving, has had his custom-designed wheelchair stolen while on holiday in northern France.

Croizon, famed as the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel, appealed to the thieves to return the wheelchair.

"They haven't just stolen my wheelchair, they've stolen my autonomy," Croizon told AFP after the theft of the wheelchair and its trailer, which he discovered missing on Friday morning while staying with friends near Dieppe.

"I feel sad and angry," he said. "Let them keep the trailer if they want, but at least give back the wheelchair."

Croizon, 45, said the high-tech, all-terrain wheelchair was brand-new and had been designed specially for him.

Croizon, a former metal-worker, had all four limbs amputated in 1994 from the elbows and knees after being struck by an electric shock of more than 20,000 volts as he tried to remove a TV antenna from a roof.

He has since carried out a series of exploits, including swimming the Channel in 2010, swimming four straits separating five continents, and in January becoming the first quadruple amputee to complete a 33-metre dive.

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Hong Kong shares up 2.13% by close

HONG Kong shares have closed up 2.13 per cent, buoyed by better-than-expected industrial data from China late last week that eased fears the world's second-largest economy is heading towards a slowdown.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Monday gained 463.72 points to 22,271,28, its highest close since early June, on turnover of $HK64.74 billion ($A9.14 billion).

On Friday, 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.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in China expanded 7.8 per cent in 2012, its slowest annual pace in 13 years.

Growth slipped to 7.7 per cent in the January-March period this year and slowed further to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter, raising alarm bells over possible deeper weakness.

Steven Leung, head of institutional sales at brokers UOB Kay Hian, said long-term buyers returned to the market on Monday.

Yanzhou Coal jumped 9.9 per cent to $HK6.55 while Zijin Mining surged 10.7 per cent to $HK1.86.

But sportswear stocks in Hong Kong tumbled, with Chinese sporting goods company Li Ning falling 6.1 per cent to $HK4.91 after a disappointing first-half report, and rival Anta Sports closing down 3.3 per cent at $HK9.83.

Chinese shares closed up more than two per cent due to renewed optimism over the domestic economy, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.39 per cent, or 49.04 points, to 2,101.28 on turnover of 116.5 billion yuan ($A20.79 billion).

"Market expectations changed after economic data showed improvement," Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing told AFP.

"The market will definitely continue the upward trend if monthly economic figures continue to improve."

Resource and financial shares led the gains.

Shanxi Coal International Energy surged by its 10 per cent daily limit to 6.44 yuan while Yanzhou Coal Mining also jumped 10 per cent to 11.30 yuan.

Baotou Steel Rare-Earth advanced 5.01 per cent to 29.57 yuan and Jiangxi Copper gained 4.49 per cent to 17.93 yuan.

Southwest Securities rose 7.56 per cent to 9.53 yuan, Industrial Bank jumped 6.24 per cent to 9.88 yuan and New China Life Insurance gained 4.08 per cent to 23.19 yuan.

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Greek recession eases to 4.6%

THE Greek economy has shown improvement in the second quarter of the year, shrinking by 4.6 per cent from 5.6 per cent in the first quarter, official data shows.

This first estimate from the statistics authority comes in the sixth year of recession since the country was overwhelmed by a debt crisis.

"According to available data, gross domestic product shrank by 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the second quarter of 2012," the authority said on Monday.

The latest figure shows the recession in Greece is still dragging on but that it is less severe on a 12-month comparison.

Last year the economy shrank by 6.4 per cent from output in 2011.

The country has been bailed out by the International Monetary Fund and European Union in return for deep structural reforms to its economy, and its banking system is being underpinned by refinancing from the European Central Bank.

The government has estimated the economy will contract by 4.3 per cent this year, but the forecasts for the state budget are based on an assumption that at the end of 2014 the economy will show growth of 0.2 per cent.

The budget of the central government, which does not include the cost of interest on the debt, local authority spending and pension budgets, showed a surplus of 2.6 billion euros ($A3.80 billion) in the seven months from January to July, Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday.

He expressed satisfaction in a statement with what he called "the good results of the central government budget which demonstrates the improving trend of public finances".

"This performance proves that the target of achieving a primary surplus on the general government budget by the end of the year is achievable," he said.

A primary surplus is a surplus excluding the cost of interest on the debt.

Greece hopes to achieve a primary surplus this year in order to begin reducing the public debt of accumulated past deficits, the statement recalled.

However, on Sunday the German weekly publication Der Spiegel, citing an internal document from the German central Bundesbank, reported that Greece might need another rescue program because it was unable to pull itself out of the crisis, despite bailout funding from the IMF and EU.

The IMF, EU and ECB recently praised progress made on reform of the Greek economy and approved payment of the next slice of bailout funding.

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UK warships head to Gibraltar amid row

BRITISH warships are due to set sail for the Mediterranean for a naval exercise that will see one vessel dock in Gibraltar, as tensions rise with Spain over the British-held territory.

The type 23 frigate HMS Westminster will leave Britain on Tuesday and is set to arrive in Gibraltar, at Spain's southern tip, within a week as part of what the defence ministry stressed was a "routine" and "long-planned" deployment.

Three other warships - the flagship HMS Bulwark, helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigate HMS Montrose - and six supporting vessels were heading on Monday towards the Mediterranean as part of an exercise codenamed Cougar '13.

Madrid has agreed to allow HMS Illustrious to stop at a naval base in Rota in southern Spain as part of the operation, but Spanish media have described the plan for HMS Westminster to stop at Gibraltar as an intimidating move by Britain.

Britain and Spain are embroiled in an escalating diplomatic row over stringent car searches by Spanish guards at the Gibraltar border, causing tailbacks of several hours.

The government of the tiny peninsula has accused Madrid of acting in retaliation after Gibraltar built an artificial concrete reef which it says is aimed at stopping alleged incursions by Spanish fishing boats.

Writing in The Sun newspaper on Monday, Britain's Europe minister David Lidington said: "Britain and Spain matter to each other. We are NATO allies, key trading partners and millions of Brits travel to Spain every year.

"But our good friendship with Spain does not mean we will turn a blind eye when the people of Gibraltar are threatened or put under pressure."

The HMS Westminster and HMS Illustrious will set sail from the town of Portsmouth on the southern English coast, a defence ministry spokesman said. The flagship Bulwark and HMS Montrose will depart from the port of Plymouth.

The Cougar '13 deployment will allow the British navy to "hone its world-class maritime skills thousands of miles from home through exercises with a number of key allies", the defence ministry said.

The ships will visit a number of Mediterranean ports, carrying out an exercise with the Albanian armed forces before heading through the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf for exercises with other British allies.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity in 1713 but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. London says it will not do so against the wishes of the 30,000 Gibraltarians, who are staunchly pro-British.

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Malians vote in presidential run-off

Polls are set to open across Mali for a presidential run-off election. Source: AAP

MALIANS are voting in a watershed presidential election run-off expected to usher in a new dawn of peace and stability in the conflict-scarred nation.

Almost seven million voters have a choice between former premier Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse to lead Mali's recovery following a military coup that ignited an Islamist insurgency and a French-led military intervention.

Both candidates declared themselves confident of victory in the run-off, called after none of the 27 candidates in the first round on July 28 achieved an outright majority.

The election, the first since 2007, is crucial for unlocking more than $US4 billion ($A4.42 billion) in aid promised after international donors halted contributions in the wake of last year's coup.

The run-up to the vote was largely uneventful, with cities and towns deserted as Malians - over 90 per cent of whom are Muslim - stayed at home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The rivals have faced off before, losing the 2002 presidential election to Amadou Toumani Toure, who was overthrown by a military junta in March last year as he was preparing to end his final term in office.

The return to democratic rule will allow France to withdraw most of the 4,500 troops it sent to Mali in January to oust al-Qaeda-linked extremists who had occupied the north in the chaos that followed the coup, imposing a brutal regime of sharia law characterised by executions and amputations.

Keita, who is considered the favourite, was more than 20 percentage points ahead of his rival in the first round but Cisse has remained optimistic.

Cisse had complained about widespread fraud in the first round while more than 400,000 ballots from a turnout of around 3.5 million were declared spoiled.

Mali's Constitutional Court rejected the allegations, however, confirming that Keita, 68, had won 39.8 per cent, while Cisse attracted a 19.7 per cent share.

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Al-Qaeda attack kills five Yemen soldiers

An attack by "al-Qaeda elements" at a gas terminal in Yemen has killed five soldiers. Source: AAP

AN attack by "al-Qaeda elements" at a gas terminal in Yemen has killed five soldiers, a military source says, as Washington kept its embassy in Sanaa closed.

"The attackers arrived in a car at the army checkpoint near the Balhaf terminal. They opened fire with automatic weapons, killing five soldiers before fleeing," the source told AFP on Sunday condition of anonymity.

The soldiers belonged to an army unit responsible for security at the Balhaf terminal in Yemen's Shabwa province, part of which is run by French company Total.

The terminal, through which the bulk of Yemen's gas exports pass, was not among the reported targets of a large-scale al-Qaeda plot that Yemeni authorities say they foiled in recent days.

But a government spokesman said that pipelines leading to the terminal were among the targets.

Al-Qaeda also plotted to assault the Canadian-run Mina al-Dhaba oil terminal in Hadramawt province further east and take staff hostage, including Western expatriates, spokesman Rajeh Badi told AFP.

A nearby export facility for oil derivatives was also targeted, Badi said.

Sunday's attack follows a wave of US drone strikes against suspected al-Qaeda militants in Yemen that has killed 38 people since July 28.

The latest strike hit late on Saturday north of the port city of Aden, killing two people and wounding one.

The intensification of the US drone war in Yemen came as a security alert prompted Washington to close 19 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa.

Communications intercepts reportedly included an attack order from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

AQAP is considered by Washington to be the deadliest branch of the global extremist network.

Both Washington and London pulled out diplomatic personnel from Sanaa on Tuesday, citing intelligence reports of an imminent AQAP attack.

The United States said on Friday that all of the embassies it shut would reopen this week, except the mission in Yemen.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington would also keep its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore closed, after pulling out staff on Thursday.

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Morsi loyalists call fresh Egypt protests

Mohamed Morsi's turbulent year in power polarised Egyptians and his removal only deepened divisions. Source: AAP

SUPPORTERS of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi have called more rallies to demand his reinstatement, amid last ditch efforts for reconciliation ahead of a threatened crackdown on protests.

The Anti-Coup Alliance said 10 marches would take off on Sunday from various parts of the capital "to defend the electoral legitimacy" of Egypt's first freely elected president Morsi, ousted by the military on July 3.

His supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, have kept up two huge protest camps in Cairo and said nothing short of his reinstatement will persuade them to disperse.

The call for fresh rallies comes as Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, called for reconciliation talks in the latest of a string of attempts to find a peaceful solution to the political deadlock.

Al-Azhar's Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, is to begin contacts with political factions on Monday aimed at convincing them to sit down to talks later this week, state media reported.

"Al-Azhar has been studying all the proposals for reconciliation put forward by political and intellectual figures... to come up with a compromise formula for all Egyptians," Tayyeb's advisor, Mahmud Azab, told the state-owned al-Ahram.

Morsi's turbulent single year in power polarised Egyptians and his removal by the military only deepened divisions.

The army-backed leadership is under immense pressure at home to crack down on the protests, and immense pressure from the international community to avoid bloodshed.

Senior US, EU and Arab envoys flew into Cairo in recent weeks to try to persuade the two sides to find a peaceful way out of the crisis.

But the government vowed on Wednesday to clear the Islamist protest camps, saying foreign mediation had failed.

More than 250 people have been killed in clashes since Morsi's ouster by the military, following days of mass rallies demanding his resignation.

The government had already ordered police to end the pro-Morsi protests, which it described as a "national security threat."

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Man stabbed in chest in Sydney

A SYDNEY man has been stabbed in the chest multiple times in a fight.

Police say they were alerted around 7pm (AEST) on Sunday after the 27-year-old sought help from a pizza shop in Rosebery following an alleged fight.

The man is in a stable condition in hospital.

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Israel invites bids for 1,000 settler home

ISRAEL is inviting bids to build more than 1,000 settler homes in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, the housing ministry says, ahead of peace talks with the Palestinians.

"Tenders will be published" later in the day for 793 units in annexed east Jerusalem and 394 elsewhere in the West Bank, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday, three days before the next round of talks.

Housing Minister Uri Ariel, of the far-right Jewish Home party, dismissed international criticism of settlement building on occupied Palestinian land as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

"No country in the world accepts diktats from other countries on where it is allowed to build or not," he said in the statement.

"We shall continue to market apartments and build throughout the country."

The statement said that plots were to be offered in Har Homa and Gilo, both on east Jerusalem's southern outskirts and in Pisgat Zeev, on the city's northern edge.

Tenders would also be invited for homes in Ariel, in the northern West Bank, in Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and in Efrata and Beitar Ilit, around Bethlehem, it said.

The US State Department said last week that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators would resume talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday on ending their long-standing conflict.

They resumed direct negotiations in Washington last month ending a three-year hiatus after painstaking US mediation.

The last talks in 2010 broke down on the issue of settlement building.

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