Manila gunman 'helper' to be charged

Police are to charge a man for reloading the pistol of a shooter who killed nine in the Philippines. Source: AAP

A HOUSE caretaker who reloaded the pistol of a man who went on a shooting rampage near Manila that left nine people dead is facing multiple murder charges, officials in the Philippines say.

John Paul Lopez, who worked for the gunman, Ronald Bae, surrendered to authorities late Friday, hours after the rampage, which left eight victims and the gunman dead, said Cavite provincial deputy police chief Dionicio Borromeo on Saturday.

Eleven people were wounded in the incident in Cavite province's Kawit township.

The carnage occurred just days after the death of a 7-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a stray bullet during New Year's Eve revelry in Manila, which sparked public criticism over lax gun control in the Philippines. Friday's rampage fuelled pressure for more assertive action by authorities to deal with unlicensed firearms.

"This is really one of the worst shooting incidents in the Philippines, after the Maguindanao massacre," Borromeo said, referring to the November 2009 killing of 54 people, including 32 media workers, allegedly by followers of powerful political clan in the southern Philippines.

Borromeo said Lopez, 27, explained that Bae, 41, had threatened to kill him if he did not reload bullets into the magazines of a .45-calibre pistol used in the killing spree.

Borromeo, however, said Lopez never tried to stop Bae or talk him out of the rampage, whose victims included a pregnant woman and her young daughter and 7-year-old girl.

"We will file a case against him of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder," Borromeo said.

He also said the Kawit police chief and his deputy have been relieved of their posts by senior police officials while they are being investigated for allegedly not responding to reports that Bae had fired his weapon behind his house four days earlier. Borromeo said records and officers' testimonies indicated they received no such reports.

It was unclear what triggered the rampage, but Bae had a "marital problem" with his wife, whom he left in northern Pampanga province and returned to his old home in Kawit for the New Year, Cavite provincial Governor Jonvic Remulla said.

Bae, who was killed in a shootout with police, had been on a "drug and alcohol binge" with his friends since Monday, drinking and taking methamphetamine, Cavite provincial Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.

Bae also killed a 7-year old girl and wounded her 2-year-old sister and 4-year-old brother, who is his godson. The three children tried to shield themselves behind seat cushions, said their uncle Edwin Lacorte. The two children are in serious condition in a hospital.

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SIA asks pilots to take unpaid leave

Singapore Airlines has asked pilots to take unpaid leave as part of their cost-cutting measures. Source: AAP

SINGAPORE Airlines has asked its captains to volunteer for unpaid leave amid a global economic slowdown that has dented long-haul travel demand, the airline says.

The move came nearly a year after the company - considered a bellwether for the full-service airline industry - made a similar offer to its first officers.

The airline has also frozen its intake of cadet pilots as part of a slew of cost-cutting measures.

"Singapore Airlines (SIA) began offering voluntary no-pay leave to first officers in March last year and subsequently to captains who expressed interest," company spokesman Nicholas Ionides said in a statement emailed to AFP on Saturday.

SIA has "a temporary surplus of pilots and are managing it through this scheme, which is entirely voluntary", Ionides said.

He added that "the surplus of captains is limited and we regard it as temporary".

SIA has more than 2,400 pilots - mostly captains and first officers.

The global financial crisis had led to excess capacity and slower growth that anticipated, Ionides said.

"This voluntary scheme will enable us to address the short-term surplus, while at the same time provide staff with the opportunity to take leave for personal reasons should they wish to do so," he said.

SIA saw its net profit in the first-half of the current fiscal year ending March fall by 30 per cent year-on-year, weighed down by high fuel prices and weak demand in the travel and cargo markets.

This followed a 69 per cent plunge in net profit in the carrier's financial year ended March 2012.

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Six die in snowmobile night run crash

SIX Russians were killed and two others were injured after their snowmobile slammed into a fence and flipped over into a ditch during a night run down an Italian ski slope.

RAI state radio reported early Saturday that the crash occurred on an unlit slope late Friday on Mount Cermis in northeast Italy.

The Russian consul general in Milan, Alexei Parmonov, said on Russian state television that he was in contact with Italian investigators, who he said suspect the crash was caused by excessive speed. They also were checking the possibility of a mechanical malfunction.

Parmonov identified the four men and two women who died in the crash. Five of them and also one of the injured men were tourists from Krasnodar, a city in southern Russia near Sochi, which is preparing to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics.

One of the dead women and the other injured man worked in Italy in the tourist industry.

The Russian diplomat gave the names of the dead: Denis Kravchenko, Irina Kravchenko, Vyacheslav Sleptsov, Yulia Yudina, Lyudmila Yudina and Rafilya Pshenichnaya. The injured, he said, were Boris Yudin and Azat Agafarov. All except Pshenichnaya and Agafarov were tourists from Krasnodar.

Yudin's 17-year-old son, who stayed behind in the hotel, lost his mother and sister in the accident, while his father was hospitalised with multiple fractures, Parmonov said.

In 1998, a US Marine jet, flying low on a training run from a nearby air base, accidentally sliced a ski gondola's cable on Mount Cermis, sending the cable car crashing to the ground and claiming 20 lives.

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Motorcyclist dies on Sunshine Coast

A MOTORCYCLIST has died in a two-vehicle crash on the Sunshine Coast.

A car and a motorcycle collided at the intersection of Meta Street and The Esplanade at Mooloolaba on Saturday afternoon.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. There were no other injuries.

Police are investigating.

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Fire threatens homes in Qld

MULTIPLE fire crews are fighting a large bushfire threatening homes near Rockhampton.

The blaze broke out about 2.50pm on Saturday and is burning in the vicinity of Shamrock Street, Mount Morgan.

Crews are backburning to contain the fire and protect several properties.

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Death report as Tas bushfire razes homes

TASMANIAN police say they are not able to confirm reports of a death in a huge bushfire in the state's south that has already destroyed homes, a school and an RSL club.

They say up to 65 buildings could have been damaged or destroyed in the small community of Dunalley, 56km southeast of Hobart.

They include the local school, RSL club, service station and houses, ABC television reported.

Around 15 houses at nearby Boomer Bay could also have been lost as the impact of catastrophic fire conditions in southern Tasmania begins to emerge.

Tasmania Police commissioner Scott Tilyard said no death had been confirmed.

"It really has the status of a rumour at this stage," he told the ABC.

But as a police boat was being sent to rescue people taking refuge on the waterfront at the top of the Tasman Peninsula, damage to property was becoming clearer.

"Reports are of anything up to about 65 buildings may have been impacted by the fire and that is the area where there has been an unconfirmed report that possibly there might have been one life lost," Mr Tilyard said.

Around 50 people were awaiting the arrival of the police vessel to help them evacuate but were safe, he said.

Huge plumes of smoke were visible from Hobart on Friday as the island capital sweltered through its hottest day on record.

Accompanying winds whipped up the two largest blazes that had started on Thursday; at Forcett, near Dunalley, and Lake Repulse near Mt Field National Park northwest of Hobart.

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) Chief Officer Mike Brown said conditions on Friday had reached the catastrophic level in the rating system developed after the Black Saturday fires in Victoria.

"We reached catastrophic fire danger ratings at times during this afternoon," Chief Officer Brown told reporters.

"I don't think we're quite out of the woods yet.

On a day Hobart hit a top temperature of 41.8C - smashing the previous record of 40.8 set in 1976 - up to 40 fires were burning around the state.

The TFS used its emergency phone warning system to ask residents to leave the affected areas and police said around 80 per cent had chosen to go.

Near Dunalley, the TFS said it was too late to leave the communities of Connellys Marsh or Primrose Sands.

Those at Connellys Marsh were being advised the nearby beach was a safer option for them.

Carlton River Road was considered impassable and Primrose Sands residents were also being told to head to the nearby beach.

The popular Port Arthur tourist area was cut off after police closed the Arthur Highway, isolating the Tasman Peninsula.

The second major fire, which authorities suspect was started by a campfire, is affecting communities including Broad River, Jones River and Ellendale.

Late on Friday afternoon, the TFS upgraded a warning for another fire near Bicheno in that area.

Campers were being evacuated and residents were being encouraged to act on their bushfire plans or leave.

A large grass fire at Epping Forest in the state's north was also causing concern.

A mild southerly change was due in Hobart around midnight after conditions considered worse than 2006/7 when houses were lost on the state's east coast.

The change is unlikely to bring rain but could ignite more fires with lightning strikes, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"Lighter winds tomorrow and milder temperatures and higher relative humidities will be of help," senior forecaster Malcolm Downing told AAP on Friday.

Hobart hit 41.8C at 4.05pm (AEDT), its highest temperature since record keeping started in 1883.

Authorities say smoke is likely to be visible for several hours and people sensitive to it should stay indoors.

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Nikkei up 2.82% on first trading day

TOKYO stocks have closed up 2.82 per cent on the first trading day of 2013, as the yen tumbles on relief over a US deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and huge spending cuts.

The Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which ended 2012 at its highest level since the March 2011 quake and tsunami disaster, added 292.93 points on Friday to 10,688.11.

The Topix index of all first-section issues gained 3.34 per cent or 28.71 points to 888.51.

"Japan's markets are opening relatively late after the US government acted, and thus they stand to benefit from the news as well as the enthusiastic response from other bourses," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities.

Global markets rallied after the US House of Representatives late on Tuesday passed a deal between the White House and Republicans to raise taxes on the rich and put off automatic $US109 billion ($A104.61 billion) budget cuts for two months.

The deal lifted the clouds of immediate crisis, sending the yen to its lowest level since July 2010 against the dollar.

The dollar rose to 87.73 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 87.19 yen in New York on Thursday afternoon. The euro was at 114.35 yen and $1.3034 from 113.80 yen and $1.3052.

The market is watching the next moves by Congress and President Barack Obama.

CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith said: "Thereafter (the) focus will be on who Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe wants to recommend as the new Bank of Japan governor."

Abe, who took office in December, has pressured the central bank to take aggressive easing steps to help drag Japan out of years of deflation and weak growth.

It has spawned speculation he will want someone willing to agree to his inflation target to replace current governor Masaaki Shirakawa, whose five-year tenure ends on April 8.

An equity trading director at a foreign brokerage said: "Players await US jobs figures tonight. There is currently no reason to sell the market, and a good jobs report will fuel more buying."

Friday was also the first trading day for Japan Exchange Group, which brought together The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange.

"We will aim for Asia's number one exchange that is selected by investors from around the world," the group's chief executive Atsushi Saito said at a ceremony at the Tokyo bourse.

Exporters were higher, with Toyota Motor up 6.36 per cent at 4,260 yen and Nikon up 5.14 per cent at 2,656 yen.

Among financials Nomura Holdings climbed 4.17 per cent to 524 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose 3.53 per cent to 3,225 yen.

Embattled electronics firm Sharp fell 2.64 per cent to 295 yen after a report during the New Year break it was considering making a public share offering worth more than Y100 billion ($A1.10 billion) this year.

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Power outage hits 25,000 Vic homes

POWER has been restored to more than half of the 25,000 Victoria homes and businesses that were cut off by a substation fault.

The outage happened about 6.30pm (AEDT) on Friday in the coastal town of Sorrento, south of Melbourne.

United Energy spokesman Stuart Allott said power has been restored to 15,000 premises, with most properties expected to regain power by 9pm.

"The fault has been fixed," Mr Allott told AAP.

He said there were minor power interruptions during the afternoon caused by an overhanging tree hitting electricity wires, and this may have weakened the network.

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Hands off Falklands, says Britain's Sun

BRITAIN'S biggest-selling tabloid, The Sun, has hit back at Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner's renewed claim over the disputed Falkland Islands in an open letter to her in a Buenos Aires newspaper on Friday.

A day after Kirchner published her own open letter in two British newspapers urging Britain to give up the South Atlantic islands, The Sun placed an advert in the Buenos Aires Herald warning Argentina to keep its "hands off" the Falklands.

"Until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinian, they remain resolutely British," The Sun said in its reply to Kirchner, printed in English and Spanish in the English-language Herald.

"British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands dates back to 1765 - before the Republic of Argentina even existed."

The letter concludes: "In the name of our millions of readers, and to put it another way: 'HANDS OFF!'"

Home to 3000 people, the windswept islands have been administered by Britain since 1833 after a British expedition took formal possession of West Falkland in 1765, according to Britain's Foreign Office.

But the archipelago, known in Spanish as Las Malvinas, is also claimed by Argentina. The two countries fought a brief but bloody war in 1982 that left 255 British troops and 649 Argentinians dead.

Tensions between Britain and Argentina rose last year on the 30th anniversary of the conflict. Kirchner has clashed publicly with British Prime Minister David Cameron over the issue.

Cameron said on Thursday that the islanders had a strong desire to remain British and would have a chance to express their views in a referendum on their political status in March.

The islanders are expected to vote strongly in favour of continued union with Britain.

Census data released in September showed that 95 per cent of residents considered themselves to be either Falkland islanders, British, or from Saint Helena, another British overseas territory in the South Atlantic.

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Drug-fuelled gunman kills 7 in Philippines

A GUNMAN with a semi-automatic pistol has killed seven people and wounded 11 others during a drug-fuelled rampage in a slum near the Philippine capital.

The ordeal, which ended when police shot the man dead, has again raised concerns about the country's lax gun controls after the week began with two children dying from bullets fired by revellers to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Two girls, aged three and seven, as well as a pregnant woman, were among the seven confirmed fatalities in Friday's rampage, according to police in Kawit town on the outskirts of Manila where the killings occurred.

"It was random. He would fire at anybody who crossed his path," investigating officer Arnulfo Lopez told AFP, adding the shooting spree lasted for about half an hour.

Residents of the rundown town hid in their homes and gardens as the man, a former low-level local politician named Ronaldo Bae, roamed through narrow streets and a market firing what police said was a .45 semi-automatic pistol.

"As we were hiding out in the muddy yard, I was thinking about my nephews and niece (in their house)," resident Edwin Lacorte told AFP.

"I wanted to go back. The children were crying for help but what can you do, the man has a gun."

Lacorte's niece was the murdered seven-year-old girl.

Bae lived in a nearby house and most of the victims were his neighbours.

One of the others killed was 56-year-old Alberto Fernandez, who was shot as he stood on his porch, according to the victim's brother-in-law, Lito Ronquillo.

Ronquillo spoke to AFP in the narrow street where the initial shootings took place. A bullet hole could be seen in a window above the porch where Fernandez died.

Bae then walked towards a nearby market, shooting more people before returning home where police demanded he surrender, according to Lopez, the local police officer.

"He opened fire on the police. So a gunbattle ensued which resulted in the death of the suspect," Lopez said.

Bae had once served on a local council but was also a known drug dealer and had been taking methamphetamines since New Year's Eve, said Juanito Victor Remulla, the governor of Cavite province which includes Kawit town.

Kawit police chief Superintendent Dionisio Borromeo also told reporters that "paraphenalia" used for methamphetamines, known locally as shabu, had been found at Bae's home.

Friday's shooting came after the New Year's Eve deaths of a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy by celebratory gunfire triggered outrage and condemnation of the Philippines' poorly enforced gun laws.

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Gunman kills three in Swiss shooting spree

A GUNMAN with known psychiatric and drug problems has opened fire in a village in southern Switzerland, killing three women and injuring two men, authorities say.

The shooting on Thursday raised questions about relatively liberal gun ownership laws in Switzerland, where citizens are allowed to keep their weapons at home outside periods of mandatory military service.

The 33-year-old man opened fire on Wednesday on the streets of the small village of Daillon near the southwestern city of Sion, said Robert Steiner, police commander in the local canton of Valais.

He used two weapons: a historic Swiss military rifle known as a mousqueton and a hunting rifle. Earlier reports had suggested he used an assault rifle.

The man fired around 20 shots, instantly killing three women aged 32, 54 and 79, officials said, and injuring two men, aged 33 and 63.

The gunman was wounded by police and taken to hospital.

Officials said the gunman had spent time in a psychiatric hospital in 2005 and was known to police as a drug user. Police had previously confiscated weapons when he was placed in a psychiatric ward.

His motives for the shooting were not known. Officials said he was a resident of the picturesque village of 200 residents and had known his victims.

Swiss media quoted locals as saying the gunman had been drinking heavily before the shooting.

The defence ministry says there are some two million weapons in private hands among Switzerland's about eight million inhabitants.

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Put curbs on mortgage lending: UK group

BANKS should be broken up to help stimulate competition in the financial sector and cut the costs of services to customers, a British think-tank says.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) accused the UK government of being "too timid" and said a split of retail and investment banks should be forced.

The Don't Bank on It report said that customers are paying substantial fees and charges because competition has been distorted and regulation has not been effective historically.

It argued that the UK's large financial sector, relative to other similar economies, is a "source of strength", but the challenge to policymakers is how to reduce its associated costs without damaging it.

It also suggested that policymakers might have to look at putting greater curbs on mortgage lending to lessen the chances of any return to potentially risky lending.

This could involve setting maximum loan-to-value and loan-to-income ratios on mortgages, the left-of-centre think-tank said.

The report said the Bank of England should be particularly concerned about any institution that records a sharp increase in its share of the mortgage market.

Meanwhile, risk-taking in investment banking should be reduced, with more done to make senior directors and managers liable for financial losses when something goes wrong, the report said.

It highlighted one idea which would mean that if a government was forced to bail out the investment division of a bank, senior management should suffer "the internal equivalent of bankruptcy", which would mean they lose their jobs and any deferred bonuses and pension rights.

Tony Dolphin, chief economist at IPPR, said: "The Government is making some progress on tackling the implicit subsidies the rest of the economy provides for the financial sector and on reducing future liabilities for UK taxpayers in the event of a financial crisis.

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National holiday toll period nears end

A TOTAL of 48 people have died on Australian roads this Christmas/New Year period, with the count to end at midnight.

The latest fatality was a motorcyclist who collided with a four-wheel-drive at Howes Valley in NSW's Hunter region about 5.15pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

His death took NSW's toll to 13, the highest in the country.

Victoria is next on nine, Western Australia on eight, Queensland and South Australia on seven each, Tasmania on three and the Northern Territory on one. Only the ACT has been fatality free.

A 22-year-old Adelaide man who was hit by a car on New Year's Eve died in hospital on Wednesday while a motorcyclist who crashed after evading an RBT stop near Newcastle on Boxing Day died on Thursday morning.

NSW police are running Operation Safe Arrival for a longer period, with an extra death recorded two days before the national count started.

Final figures for the holiday toll period are expected on Friday.

Last Christmas/New Year a total of 50 people died on Australian roads.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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UK house prices down 1% during 2012

BRITISH house prices fell by 0.1 per cent month-on-month in December and they are likely to remain flat or edge lower still during 2013, Nationwide says.

The monthly decline meant that at 162,262 on average, prices dropped by 1 per cent over 2012, reversing a 1 per cent increase recorded in 2011.

Nationwide predicted that activity in the housing market is set to remain subdued this year amid the difficult economy, with prices at similar levels or drifting "modestly lower" over 2013.

London recorded the strongest house price increase of all the UK regions, with prices up by 0.7 per cent at the end of 2012 compared with a year earlier.

The South West was the only other region to record a slight price increase over the year with a 0.2 per cent rise, and all other areas saw falls, Nationwide's report said.

House prices in England have tended to be more resilient, declining by 0.4 per cent over 2012 to reach 186,390.

However, contrary to some other recent studies, Nationwide said it had found evidence that a North/South divide in the market has widened.

It said the price of a home is typically around STG95,000 more in the South than in the North, representing a new high and a 2 per cent increase compared with the end of 2011.

Yorkshire and Humberside was the weakest-performing English region for house price growth, with prices edging down by 2.5 per cent over the year.

Meanwhile, Wales saw a 2.7 per cent fall in prices to reach STG131,630 on average and prices also dipped by 3.3 per cent in Scotland to STG131,795.

Prices plummeted by 8.2 per cent in Northern Ireland year-on-year to 104,282, leaving them more than 50 per cent below their 2007 highs.

Analysts have put the sharp price falls in Northern Ireland down to the market re-adjusting following a period of particularly strong increases before the financial crisis struck.

The government launched a multibillion-pound scheme at the start of August to boost lending, which has already caused mortgage availability to increase.

Figures from the Bank of England and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) have shown a recent pick-up in mortgage approvals to home buyers and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said it expects the housing market to "feel more stable and positive" in 2013.

But Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "With the economic recovery expected to remain fairly weak, the housing market is likely to be characterised by low levels of activity again in 2013, with prices remaining flat or modestly lower over the course of the year."

Other house price studies have given mixed predictions for 2013, with Hometrack saying it expects prices to edge down by 1 per cent during 2013.

Halifax has predicted house prices are likely to be flat in 2013, while Rightmove believes a shortage of homes on the market will help push up asking prices up by around 2 per cent this year.

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Bored Japanese trucker tours Syria

Toshifumi Fujimot takes pictures of rebel fighters in Aleppo's flashpoint Saif al-Dawlah district. AFP PHOTO/STR Source: AFP

JAPANESE trucker Toshifumi Fujimoto is bored with his humdrum job, a daily run from Osaka to Tokyo or Nagasaki hauling tanker loads of fuel, water or even chocolate.

Yet while the stocky, bearded 45-year-old could spend his free time getting a jolt of adrenaline by bungee-jumping or shark hunting, he puts his life on the line in a most unusual way.

He's become a war tourist.

Fujimoto's passion has taken him from the dull routine of the highway to Syria, where as part of his latest adventure in the Middle East's hot spots he shoots photos and video while dodging bullets.

He was in Yemen last year during demonstrations at the US embassy and in Cairo a year earlier, during the heady days that followed the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak.

Later this year, he plans to hook up with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Like many tourists, the Japanese trucker often visits ruins. AFP PHOTO/STR

But for the moment, he is wrapping up a week's tour of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, which for going on six months has been one of the hottest spots in a conflict that has cost more than 60,000 lives, according to UN figures.

He already spent two weeks in the war-torn country at the end of 2011, taking advantage of a tourist visa, but this time he has entered the country clandestinely from Turkey.

Dressed in a Japanese army fatigues and armed with two cameras and a video camera, Fujimoto heads for whatever front line he can every morning to document the ongoing destruction of Syria's second city and one-time commercial capital.

Fujimoto, who doesn't speak English, much less Arabic, has picked up a few words, such as "dangerous" and "front line".

"I always go by myself, because no tour guide wants to go to the front. It's very exciting, and the adrenaline rush is like no other'" he said.

The buses Toshifumi Fujimoto encounters on his tours have often been blown up. AFP PHOTO/STR

"It's more dangerous in Syria to be a journalist than a tourist," he said, describing how "each morning I walk 200 metres to reach the 'front', and I'm right there on the firing line with soldiers of the (rebel) Free Syria Army".

"It fascinates me, and I enjoy it," he says, as some FSA fighters stop him in one of the Old City's streets to have their picture taken with him.

He takes his time getting his shots right, as the rebels he hangs out with shout from both sides of the street: "Run! Run! There are snipers. Run!"

But he ignores them, finishes shooting and casually walks away with photos that he will later post on his Facebook page to share with his friends.

"I'm a combination of samurai and kamikaze."

Toshifumi Fujimoto takes pictures of a rebel fighter behind sandbags on the green line in Aleppo's old city. AFP PHOTO/STR

"I'm not a target for snipers because I'm a tourist, not like you journalists," he told a reporter. "Besides, I'm not afraid if they shoot at me or that they might kill me.

"I'm a combination of samurai and kamikaze."

Fujimoto won't even wear a helmet or a flack jacket.

"They are very heavy when it comes to running and it's more fun to go to the front without anything. Besides, when they shoot it's fun and exciting."

Fujimoto is divorced, and says "I have no family, no friends, no girl friend. I am alone in life."

But he does have three daughters, whom he hasn't seen for five years, "not even on Facebook or the Internet, nothing. And that saddens me deeply," he said as he wiped away a tear.

So he's bought a life insurance policy, and "I pray every day that, if something happens to me, my girls might collect the insurance money and be able to live comfortably".

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Toxic cannisters washed up on Qld beaches

POLICE are warning people not to handle mysterious silver canisters containing a toxic gas that are washing up on beaches in central Queensland.

The silver canisters, which have been found on beaches since February last year, contain toxic aluminium phosphide which can be fatal if inhaled or ingested.

Aluminium phosphide is a colourless, flammable and toxic gas.

Mild exposure by inhalation can cause a ringing in the ears, fatigue, nausea and pressure in the chest.

Police have received reports of the containers being found between Lady Elliot Island and Mabuiag Island, with the most recent being discovered at Zilzie near Rockhampton.

Authorities don't know where the canisters are coming from.

The canisters are 30cm high and 15cm in diameter. People who find them are urged not to handle them and immediately call Triple Zero.

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Researchers back blooming Monday campaign

BRITISH workers are being challenged to dress brightly on the third Monday of the month in a bid to combat "blue Monday" - the most depressing day of the year, according to researchers.

Mental Health Research UK (MHRUK) said that thanks to a combination of bad weather, debt, the need for Christmas detox and poor motivation, the country's collective wellbeing is expected to sink to an all-year low on January 21.

The charity aims to raise awareness of depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with its new campaign, Blooming Monday.

It is calling on people to dress in colourful clothing to highlight the plight of those who suffer from the conditions and to raise money for research into treatments.

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Yellow is the new red on China's roads

DRIVERS in China are seeing red over a crackdown on running through intersections when the lights are yellow.

While announcing new rules that double the penalty for traffic light violations, officials have stressed that running a yellow light will now be considered equivalent to running a red one.

Drivers accustomed to considering the yellow light a warning and the red light an imperative have been left confused, wondering how they can stop suddenly for a yellow light.

Even the official Xinhua News Agency has joined the criticism.

In a "micro-commentary" on its Twitter-like Sina Weibo account on Wednesday, Xinhua cited pioneering physicist Isaac Newton on the difficulty of stopping the momentum of something in motion, saying the new rules are "unreasonable and contrary to Newton's first law".

Police nationwide must enforce the new guidelines on stopping on both red and yellow to protect people's safety, said Li Qing, an official from the Ministry of Public Security's Traffic Administration, in an interview on China Central Television.

Under the new rules that went into effect on Tuesday, penalties for traffic light violations doubled to six points on the 12-point scale for losing a licence. If your vehicle is already partly over the line when the light changes from green to yellow, you may continue. Otherwise, you must stop, Li said.

In some cities, the traffic lights count down the seconds until the colour changes, but this isn't always the case, including at many intersections in Beijing.

The new rules have sparked outrage online from irate drivers, who have complained of the dangers of stopping short in front of other drivers or the inconvenience of always having to slow down when approaching intersections.

In a comment that has been forwarded more than 23,000 times, one driver wrote on Weibo that he had smashed into the back of a car that had suddenly stopped for a yellow light.

"I would like to say whoever made this yellow light rule must be stupid and evil," wrote Beijing-based Sun Yixuan.

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Eurozone manufacturing shrinks in December

EUROZONE manufacturing activity has contracted for a 17th month running in December, according to a key survey of business managers.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, a leading indicator compiled by the Markit research firm, came in at 46.1 points in November, down from an earlier estimate of 46.3 points and down from November's 46.2 points.

Any score below 50 points indicates contraction, not growth.

Ireland, as has frequently been the case in recent months, posted a score of 51.4 points, indicating growth.

But Germany (46.0 points), France (44.6) and Italy (46.7) were all signalling contraction.

While manufacturing activity "may have suffered its worst contraction around October," said London-based IHS Global Insight on Wednesday, "the December purchasing managers' surveys indicate that the sector is still stranded well into recessionary territory".

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Russia's oil output hits post-Soviet high

WORLD energy power Russia says its 2012 oil output hit a post-Soviet record high while natural gas production declined amid stalling European sales.

The energy ministry's reporting unit said on Wednesday oil and gas condensate production grew by 1.3 per cent last year to reach 518.0 million tonnes or 10.4 million barrels per day.

Russia had established its previous post-Soviet high in 2011 when output stood at 10.28 million barrels per day.

Its current rate outpaces that of Saudi Arabia and clinches for Russia the title of the world's biggest oil producer.

But Russia lacks the quick ability of Saudi Arabia to boost output in case of a global economic rebound or more serious turmoil in the Middle East.

The state-owned oil firm Rosneft accounted for 22.8 per cent of Russia's oil market - its share this year expected to reach more than 40 per cent following its October acquisition of the Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP.

But Russia's natural gas production fell by 2.3 per cent to 655.0 billion cubic metres as its European sales shrivelled up.

Production of the state natural gas giant Gazprom was reported at 478.8 billion cubic metres - well off its 2011 figure of 513.1 billion cubic metres.

The drop reflects the reality that almost all of Gazprom's foreign sales are focused on European and post-Soviet countries which are now experiencing some of the slowest growth rates in the world.

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Pakistan child measles deaths surge

MEASLES cases surged in Pakistan in 2012 with hundreds of children dying of the disease, an international health body has found.

Pakistani officials announced on Tuesday they had launched an immunisation campaign to reach children in the worst-hit areas. But the country is still struggling with a beleaguered healthcare system, unsanitary conditions in many regions and a lack of education about how to prevent disease.

All those factors make it difficult to combat infectious diseases such as measles and polio.

A spokeswoman for the World Health Organisation (WHO), Maryam Yunus, said 306 children had died in Pakistan of measles in 2012 compared with 64 in the previous year.

The jump was most pronounced in southern Sindh province, where measles killed 210 children in 2012, Yunus said. Only 28 children had died there in 2011, she said.

The WHO did not give a reason for the increase in deaths but a provincial health official in Sindh said the disease hit areas where poor families did not vaccinate their children.

Provincial health minister Saghir Ahmed said 100 children had died in Sindh province in December alone, mostly in areas where many people had not been vaccinated.

Health officials have launched a campaign to vaccinate 2.9 million children in the affected areas of the province and have urged parents to get their children vaccinated.

Many Pakistanis, especially in rural areas, view vaccinations campaigns with suspicion as a Western plot to sterilise Muslims.

In December, nine health officials working to immunise Pakistanis against polio were killed by militants opposed to the campaign. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is endemic.

Sindh province, the hardest-hit area by the measles outbreak, has also been battered by repeated floods in recent years that have damaged hospitals and clinics.

Measles is an extremely infectious disease spread by coughing and sneezing, or personal contact. It causes a fever, cough and a rash all over the body. Most people who contract the disease recover but it can be deadly for malnourished children who have not been vaccinated.

Complications from the disease can include blindness, an infection that causes brain swelling, dehydration and diarrhoea, and pneumonia. According to WHO, 139,300 people died of measles worldwide in 2010.

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Fiji's new constitution ready by March

FIJI'S new constitution will be ready within three months, paving the way for a return to an elected government next year, the country's military coup leader Frank Bainimarama has announced.

In his New Year's Day address to the Pacific island nation, Bainimarama also said the country would get a new flag to "reinforce a new Fijian identity", replacing the current flag which features the red, white and blue Union Jack of Britain in the top left-hand corner with the shield from the Fiji coat of arms on the right side.

The former British colony has already removed the image of the Queen from its currency.

Bainimarama tore up the previous constitution in 2009, three years after seizing power, and said a new charter protecting a corruption-free state was essential before democracy could be restored.

"The new, modern and enduring constitution will be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2013," he said, adding this would "set the scene" for the 2014 elections.

"(It will be) a constitution that must ensure common and equal citizenry and a constitution that must ensure that any representatives of the people in the new parliament must be elected under the principle of one person, one vote and one value."

Bainimarama drew widespread international criticism and Fiji was suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum when he scrapped the previous constitution and replaced all judges with hand-picked officials.

He rejected all pressure for an early return to democracy, saying the new constitution needed to be in place first.

A draft of what will be Fiji's fourth charter is currently with President Epeli Nailatikau before being reviewed by a special assembly.

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Clinton has blood clot close to her brain

Hillary Clinton is to make a full recovery after being found to have a blood clot, doctors say. Source: AAP

TOP Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is suffering from a rare blood clot in a vein in her head but should make a full recovery, doctors said as she spent New Year's Eve in hospital.

A routine follow-up scan on Sunday revealed "that a right transverse sinus venous thrombosis had formed", doctors Lisa Bardack, of Mount Kisco Medical Group, and Gigi El-Bayoumi, of George Washington University, said on Monday.

They described it as "a clot in the vein that is situated in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear".

But they were also quick to offer reassurances, saying in their statement that "it did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage".

Clinton was admitted to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday following the discovery and is being treated with blood thinners to dissolve the clot. She will be released "once the medication dose has been established".

"In all other aspects of her recovery, the secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff," Bardack and El-Bayoumi's statement said.

The globe-trotting diplomat has not been seen in public after succumbing to a stomach virus on returning from a trip to Europe on December 7, which forced her to cancel a planned visit to North Africa.

It's a rare absence for the most popular member of President Barack Obama's cabinet, who has been a highly visible and loyal supporter of his foreign policy agenda, travelling almost a million miles in her four years in office.

A Gallup poll released on Monday showed Clinton again topping an annual list of women most admired by Americans, winning support from 21 per cent of those surveyed. It is the 17th time she has topped the list, a landmark for Gallup.

But Clinton, 65, has made it clear she intends to step down in the coming weeks, once Senator John Kerry, tapped by Obama to replace her, is confirmed by the Senate.

Though once seen as a deeply divisive figure, she now has approval ratings above 60 per cent.

And many believe she will run again for the White House in 2016, despite being narrowly defeated by Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008.

It is possible however that her health could become an issue in any White House bid, as she would mark her 70th birthday in her first year in office.

Clinton's lengthy absence from public life had sparked claims from some of her fiercest critics that she was faking illness to avoid testifying before lawmakers investigating a deadly attack on a US mission in Libya.

The September 11 assault on the US mission in eastern Benghazi, in which the US ambassador and three other American officials were killed, sparked a political firestorm in the United States.

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Indian rapper caught in gang-rape backlash

A CHART-TOPPING Indian rapper known for his sexually explicit lyrics has been caught in a backlash against sexism and misogyny after a deadly gang-rape that shocked the nation.

Yo Yo Honey Singh saw his New Year's Eve concert in New Delhi cancelled following an online campaign highlighting lyrics that incite violence against women.

His 2007 track "Prostitute" refers to him having violent sex with a woman after he forces her to "dance naked" and includes the line "You will scream and run but where can you go ... I will take your life".

Amid low-key New Year's celebrations following the gang-rape on December 16, the upmarket Bristol Hotel in a suburb of New Delhi cancelled the show, an employee said.

The popular star, who sang in Bollywood films last year and has had several top 10 hits, told the Hindustan Times he himself had called off the performance to "express my grief for the unfortunate girl".

The furore over the rap star comes as the country comes to terms with the Delhi gang-rape in which a 23-year-old medical student was repeatedly assaulted and violated with an iron bar while being driven around in a bus for 40 minutes.

She died from internal injuries in a Singapore hospital at the weekend.

Extreme sexual violence and gang-rapes are commonplace in India, but the case brought simmering anger - particularly among young urban women - to the boil and led to violent protests in the capital.

Police are to file charges and present their evidence against the suspects - five men and a minor - on Thursday.

Delhi police have said their investigation is almost complete, pending the arrival of an autopsy report from doctors in Singapore and the conclusions of forensic experts.

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Prisoner release spurs Afghan peace hopes

AFGHAN peace negotiators have welcomed the release of eight Taliban prisoners who had been held in Pakistan, hailing the move as a significant boost to efforts to end 11 years of war.

The High Peace Council, set up to conduct negotiations with the Taliban, said on Tuesday the releases underlined that neighbouring Pakistan was supporting talks as US-led NATO combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

Support from Pakistan, which backed the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, is seen as crucial to peace in Afghanistan after NATO's departure.

Former Taliban justice minister Nooruddin Turabi was among the eight freed on Monday, adding to 18 others released in November after appeals from Kabul.

Afghan officials believe Taliban leaders released from Pakistani jails could help to bring militants to the negotiating table.

"It is a practical step in the right direction," said Ismail Qasimyar, head of international relations for the peace council.

"It shows the Pakistani authorities have opened a new chapter for positive cooperation with Afghanistan.

"Pakistan can play an important role in bringing peace to Afghanistan. We welcome this move and hope those freed will become peace messengers."

But analysts say the freed men have little influence over current Taliban leaders and doubt whether they will even encourage them to open peace talks.

The Taliban refuse to talk directly with the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai which it regards as a "puppet administration" of the US.

The most senior Taliban figure detained in Pakistan, former deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, has also not yet been released.

The Taliban were ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001 and there are concerns that a civil war could erupt if Afghanistan's army and police are unable to impose stability after NATO's withdrawal.

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Tourists flock to Sydney for NY eve

SYDNEY'S famous fireworks have attracted not only locals, but brought in overseas visitors keen to experience New Year's Eve down under.

American Melissa Sjostedt says she's wanted to see the fireworks on the bridge since reading about it in a four-page spread in the National Geographic 10 years ago.

"Ever since that I've always wanted to see this for real, live, in person," the 30-year-old from Florida told AAP from Dawes Point Reserve.

Mathieu Herman, 30, from New York City, said he'd made the trip to Australia specifically for New Year's Eve.

"I saw it last year on TV and it looked fabulous. I said to myself 'it's something I've just got to do'.

"I love Australia and if the fireworks are as good as they're supposed to be, I might move here."

Sisters Liann, 25, and Joanne, 19, from Flintshire in North Wales, got to Lady Macquarie's Chair at 10.30am to snag the best view of the fireworks.

"It's been a cracker day so far except for the achey bum, I should have brought more pillows," said Liann as she reclined, drink in hand, on a beach towel.

"It's our first time in Australia so we don't know what to expect.

"But it's got to be better than back home, it's minus five (degrees) there at the moment."

Essig Roland and his girlfriend Marika Rauecker, both from Austria, were anxiously waiting at 7pm (AEDT) just to get into the packed venue.

"What can you do but just stand here and wait" said Mr Roland, who'd been queueing for an hour.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, chosen as the event's creative ambassador, was a big drawcard for the couple making the trip down under for New Year's this year.

"We're big Kylie fans we've already been to her concert in Austria," he said.

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Shark sightings clear SA beaches

SOUTH Australian swimmers have had a New Year's scare with shark sightings forcing the closure of two popular beaches.

Police said Moana Beach, south of Adelaide, had been evacuated and closed on Monday evening (ACDT) after a 2.5-metre shark was spotted 100 metres from the shore.

A short time later, nearby Christies Beach was closed following another sighting of a 2.5-metre shark.

Police said it was not known if it was the same animal in both sightings.

AAP pbc/a

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Thousands gather on Sydney harbour for NYE

Sydney's lord mayor says the city is spending $6.6 million on its New Year's Eve event. Source: AAP

THOUSANDS of revellers have gathered at Sydney's sparkling harbour to take part in the party that kicks off New Year's celebrations the world over.

Temporary cyclone fences surround the city's best vantage points as people armed with fold-up chairs, picnic blankets, nibbles and booze stake a claim.

Lucky types are bobbing on boats in the harbour while others are happy to simply line the sides of roads, with jubilant partygoers spilling from pubs onto the streets.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says about 1.5 million spectators are expected to line Sydney Harbour to watch the fireworks.

Another two million Australians will catch the $6.6 million event on their teles, as will at least one billion people worldwide.

"This is really putting Australia on the map in terms of welcoming people to the New Year," Ms Moore said.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, chosen as the event's creative ambassador, developed the theme 'Embrace' and chose its colour scheme and soundtrack.

She will be honoured with a musical-note firework which will be one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations this year, including koala, octopus and hand images in lights.

Minogue said being home to host New Year's Eve was a dream come true.

"It's been a huge year for me and the finish line is tonight," she said, adding that her boyfriend was the first in line for a hug come midnight.

Minogue said her 25 years in the music industry hadn't been easy and had its ups and downs, but it had been "an amazing ride" overall.

Other celebs who have headed Down Under to ring in the New Year include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Jonah Hill.

They will be joined at The Star casino's Marquee Nightclub by Gossip Girl heart throb Chace Crawford, Glee's Matthew Morrison and Arrow actor Colton Haynes.

Out on the streets, more than 3000 police officers will be on crowd control.

"If you act up, you are going to be arrested and charged. There's no view of the fireworks from a police cell," warned Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke.

At Mrs Macquaries Point, 6283 people had already claimed a spot by midday while the super keen began queuing for the panoramic views of Sydney Harbour and the city skyline 24 hours before the gates of the Botanic Gardens opened at 10am.

Many have queued for hours under the sun.

"It's a much younger crowd than usual, a lot of backpackers rather than families like previous years," said Karla Davies from the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.

American Melissa Sjostedt said she had wanted to see the fireworks on the bridge since reading about it in a four-page spread in the National Geographic 10 years ago.

"Ever since that I've always wanted to see this for real, live, in person," the 30-year-old from Florida told AAP from Dawes Point Reserve.

People going to the CBD to watch the fireworks have been urged to leave their cars behind and take public transport, with road closures in place and extra trains and buses laid on for the night.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed in both directions from 11pm on Monday to 1am on Tuesday.

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UK bishop urges against gay marriage

THE head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has urged followers to write to their representatives in Parliament to oppose the government's plans to allow gay marriage.

In a letter read to congregations over the weekend, the Archbishop of Westminister, Vincent Nichols, called for Catholics to express their views "clearly, calmly and forcefully."

Nichols who is president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales says he is concerned about how a change in the law would affect what children are taught about marriage.

He says he wants members of Parliament to "defend, not change, the bond of man and woman in marriage as the essential element of the vision of the family."

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led government plans to introduce legislation in January to allow gay marriages. Recent opinion polls suggest a large majority of the public supports the change.

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Thousands pack Darling Harbour

THOUSANDS of people have packed Sydney's Darling Harbour with a record number of families, tourists and partygoers turning out for the fireworks.

Event organisers estimate a record 130,000 people will pack in by the 9pm display.

"There is definitely more people here than last year," organiser Sal Sharah told AAP.

"We've had great weather and a great lead up to this evening.

"Darling Harbour presents something quite unique for New Years.

"It's very family friendly and all managed access and easily accessible."

Security was tight with hundreds of police officers and rangers roaming the area, hundreds more security personnel manning entry gates and ambulance officers stationed near emergency areas.

Marianne from Mount Druitt said she'd been staking her spot by the harbour steps with children Jasmine and Kyle since 1pm.

She said she'd be leaving immediately after the family fireworks.

"I did it once before and they didn't make it to the midnight fireworks, so it's just easy," she told AAP.

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Woman accused of NYC subway murder

A woman has been charged with murdering an immigrant by pushing him in front of a NY subway train. Source: AAP

A 31-YEAR-OLD New York woman is scheduled to appear before a judge after being charged with murder as a hate crime for shoving a Hindu man to his death in front of an oncoming subway train.

Erika Menendez of the Bronx borough was motivated by hatred of Muslims and Hindus, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims. Ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers, I've been beating them up," she told police.

Menendez, who is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday, faces from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The victim, 46-year-old Sunando Sen, was born in India and raised Hindu, a roommate told The New York Times.

The incident took place late Thursday at a station on the number 7 line in Queens.

Menendez - who was talking to herself as she paced along the platform, according to witnesses - pushed the man as the train was pulling into the station. He apparently had his back to Menendez and did not see her.

Police released surveillance camera video footage via Twitter showing a woman running from the scene.

"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare - being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

"The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant's actions can never be tolerated by a civilised society."

Sen's death was eerily similar to that of a 58-year-old man killed on December 3 when he was pushed on to the tracks during a fight with a deranged man at a Manhattan subway station. The assailant, later identified as 30-year-old Naeem Davis, has been charged with murder. Davis is homeless.

A New York Post front page picture of the man on the tracks a split second before he was killed by the oncoming train provoked public fury as to why no one helped him - and why the tabloid newspaper published the photo.

Several million people use the New York City subway system every day, but incidents of this kind are rare.

Before the December 3 death, the last time someone was pushed on to the rails and hit by a train was in 2010. The woman survived.

Thursday night's incident appeared to have scared many New York subway riders as they kept closer to the walls as trains rolled into station.

"It's horrible," said 46-year-old city resident Elena Rodriguez. "We're feeling so insecure now to be in the subway."

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IMF, EU seek less drastic cuts

THE International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have encouraged France and its eurozone partners not to fixate on deficit reduction targets if it would exacerbate the bloc's debt crisis.

The head of an IMF mission in France, Edward Gardner, urged officials in Paris last week to consider their 2013 budget targets "in a broader European context".

The IMF and the EU Commission expect the French public deficit to amount to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year.

They do not believe France can reach its three per cent goal, the eurozone limit, without additional measures that could aggravate an already tenuous economic situation.

"The credibility of the medium-term orientation policy" was more important than a specific deficit target, Gardner told reporters.

Loosening the criteria would "be more effective, more credible in a coordinated fashion" across the 17-nation eurozone, he said.

In Portugal the public deficit fell at the end of the third quarter to 5.6 per cent of GDP from 6.7 per cent at the same point a year earlier, while neighbouring Spain has promised to slash its deficit to three per cent by 2014 from a blowout shortfall equal to 9.4 per cent of output last year.

Germany expects its budget to be in balance this year, two years ahead of schedule, but IMF head Christine Lagarde has suggested that Berlin ease up a bit in its drive for healthy finances.

"Germany ... and others ... can allow themselves to go a little more slowly than others in the push to straighten out their public finances," Lagarde told the German weekly Die Zeit in comments published last week.

Her call echoed other European voices that are now arguing for greater emphasis on growth rather than austerity measures.

"The IMF is beginning to understand that the French situation has become dangerous," economist Marc Touati at the ACDefi consulting group said. Unemployment is climbing and the economy is still struggling, he said.

The IMF was "trying to prepare public opinion" for missed government targets, Touati said.

On Tuesday, the EU's "fiscal compact", a hard-won step towards tighter economic coordination agreed as part of efforts to tame the debilitating debt crisis, takes effect.

Finalised in March, 25 of the 27 EU member states accepted a "balanced budget rule" in the compact to ensure that governments would no longer run the massive budget deficits which drove the debt crisis and nearly sank the euro.

But as the European debt crisis drags on and economies flounder, the idea of allowing governments more time to straighten out their finances has gained ground.

European Economic Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn said last week that France needed more reforms rather than more austerity.

"Once you have a credible medium-term budget strategy, backed up by reforms, you can have a slower adjustment," Rehn told French daily Le Monde.

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Friends recall Indian gang-rape victim

SHE was due to marry her boyfriend in a matter of weeks, was the apple of her father's eye and her friends were convinced she would achieve great things after completing her medical studies.

While India has seen an outpouring of grief for the 23-year-old who suffered fatal injuries when she was gang-raped on December 16, those who actually knew her paint a portrait of a young woman who was both in love and much loved.

Although not formally engaged, it was well-known by her friends that she was planning to marry the boyfriend who also suffered serious injuries in the same attack that would ultimately lead to her death.

Meena Rai said that she had been shopping with the unnamed victim for wedding outfits and the contents of a wedding box.

"She was supposed to get married in February to the same guy who was attacked on the bus with her," said Rai, who lived next door in Mahavir Enclave, a neighbourhood in southwestern New Delhi.

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi," she told AFP.

Another friend who attended the cremation ceremony on Sunday confirmed that the wedding was due to take place in a matter of weeks.

"We know that she was going to get married in February," Usha Rai (no relation) told AFP. "The whole neighbourhood was excited about it."

The young couple had spent the evening together at a mall watching The Life of Pi before they boarded a bus they thought would take them home.

According to reports, the frenzied attack on the pair began when the boyfriend objected to taunts about why an unmarried woman was out so late.

The gang clubbed him with an iron rod before they then turned on her.

The everyday image of a young couple enjoying a night out at the movies has been cited by many Indians to explain why they have been able to relate so much to the plight of someone whose name they will never know.

But others have identified with the backstory of a hardworking student whose family hail from rural India, but who was looking to make a name for herself as a young urban professional with the eager backing of her proud parents.

Her parents sold their small piece of land in rural Uttar Pradesh in order to fund their daughter's education, often limiting their own meals to little more than rotis with namak (bread with salt), according to friends.

In a frontpage tribute, The Hindustan Times said that she was "invariably among the top students in her class and was determined to earn well and repay her father who had sold his ancestral land to fund her studies".

Employed as a loader at Delhi's international airport, the father used to say he was "investing in my daughter's future as she will be the one who takes care of me when I get old", according to Meena Rai.

Her childhood was mainly spent in a one-bedroom flat near the airport that she shared with her two brothers as well as her parents.

A younger cousin still living back in the parental village in Uttar Pradesh told the Times of India how the young medical student had been an "inspiration".

"Seeing her do well, I was determined to study as well," she said.

Other residents of the village recalled a young woman whose passion to succeed in medicine shone through when she paid a visit back home.

"Hers was a story of charming ordinariness, of aspiration and hard work, of pleasure in life's little joys," said the Hindustan Times.

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Israel indicts ex-minister Lieberman

ISRAEL'S former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has been formally indicted on charges of breach of trust and fraud, allegations that could hurt his political future if he is convicted.

Lieberman resigned earlier this month after he was informed of the pending charges. The Justice Ministry later revised the wording, though not the charges, and said it filed the indictment in a Jerusalem court on Sunday.

Lieberman is accused of advancing a former ambassador after he relayed information to the foreign minister about a criminal investigation into his business dealings. Lieberman denies wrongdoing.

His Yisrael Beiteinu party is running with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud in the January 22 election, and he is expected to serve as an MP in the next parliament.

In other political news, Israel's Supreme Court unanimously rejected an election committee's attempt to disqualify an Arab MP from running for parliament again next month because she took part in a flotilla that tried to breach Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

The MP, Hanin Zoabi, enraged many Israelis by joining the Turkish-led flotilla, which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos who clashed with pro-Palestinian activists, killing nine. The Israeli military says the soldiers acted in self-defence after being attacked on the deck.

Zoabi was nearly assaulted in parliament by another MP and subsequently was stripped of some of her parliamentary privileges.

Earlier this month, an Israeli elections committee voted to disqualify her from running in next month's election. She appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned it, as it has rejected the committee's attempts in previous years to bar certain Arab candidates from running.

The court said in its ruling that it would release its reason for overturning the decision at a later date. Under Israel's election law, the court had to issue its ruling by Sunday.

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Missing Georgian soldier shot dead

A GEORGIAN soldier who went missing in Afghanistan this month has been found dead in an abandoned mud house with multiple bullets to his body.

Police searching for Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze found his body in a village compound in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, district governor Nemat Khan told AFP on Sunday.

"He was shot by bullets and was found in an empty house," Khan said. "We showed the body to the Georgian officials from ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). They identified it."

Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Alasania and ISAF officials confirmed the discovery on Saturday but gave no further details.

Kikadze went missing on December 19 in Helmand, a southern province at the heart of the Taliban insurgency.

He is believed to be the first soldier from the NATO-led international force to have gone missing since Bowe Bergdahl, from the US, was taken on June 30, 2009, in the southeastern province of Paktika.

Talks between the US and Taliban insurgents over a possible prisoner exchange involving Bergdahl failed this year.

Kikadze's death took to 19 the number of Georgian troops killed in Afghanistan over the past three years.

Georgia has 1570 troops serving in the country, making the small Caucasus country of 4.5 million the largest non-NATO contributor to ISAF.

President Mikheil Saakashvili is due to visit Georgian troops serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province for New Year celebrations on Monday.

There are now about 100,000 US-led NATO troops fighting a decade-long Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.

Despite the stubborn insurgency, war-weary international forces are seeking to hand control of security to Afghan forces by withdrawing their combat troops by the end of 2014.

Georgia is willing to continue deploying troops to assist local security forces after the NATO-led combat mission formally ends.

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Woman accused of NYC subway murder

A woman has been charged with murdering an immigrant by pushing him in front of a NY subway train. Source: AAP

A 31-YEAR-OLD New York woman is scheduled to appear before a judge after being charged with murder as a hate crime for shoving a Hindu man to his death in front of an oncoming subway train.

Erika Menendez of the Bronx borough was motivated by hatred of Muslims and Hindus, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims. Ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers, I've been beating them up," she told police.

Menendez, who is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday, faces from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The victim, 46-year-old Sunando Sen, was born in India and raised Hindu, a roommate told The New York Times.

The incident took place late Thursday at a station on the number 7 line in Queens.

Menendez - who was talking to herself as she paced along the platform, according to witnesses - pushed the man as the train was pulling into the station. He apparently had his back to Menendez and did not see her.

Police released surveillance camera video footage via Twitter showing a woman running from the scene.

"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare - being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

"The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant's actions can never be tolerated by a civilised society."

Sen's death was eerily similar to that of a 58-year-old man killed on December 3 when he was pushed on to the tracks during a fight with a deranged man at a Manhattan subway station. The assailant, later identified as 30-year-old Naeem Davis, has been charged with murder. Davis is homeless.

A New York Post front page picture of the man on the tracks a split second before he was killed by the oncoming train provoked public fury as to why no one helped him - and why the tabloid newspaper published the photo.

Several million people use the New York City subway system every day, but incidents of this kind are rare.

Before the December 3 death, the last time someone was pushed on to the rails and hit by a train was in 2010. The woman survived.

Thursday night's incident appeared to have scared many New York subway riders as they kept closer to the walls as trains rolled into station.

"It's horrible," said 46-year-old city resident Elena Rodriguez. "We're feeling so insecure now to be in the subway."

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IMF, EU seek less drastic cuts

THE International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have encouraged France and its eurozone partners not to fixate on deficit reduction targets if it would exacerbate the bloc's debt crisis.

The head of an IMF mission in France, Edward Gardner, urged officials in Paris last week to consider their 2013 budget targets "in a broader European context".

The IMF and the EU Commission expect the French public deficit to amount to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year.

They do not believe France can reach its three per cent goal, the eurozone limit, without additional measures that could aggravate an already tenuous economic situation.

"The credibility of the medium-term orientation policy" was more important than a specific deficit target, Gardner told reporters.

Loosening the criteria would "be more effective, more credible in a coordinated fashion" across the 17-nation eurozone, he said.

In Portugal the public deficit fell at the end of the third quarter to 5.6 per cent of GDP from 6.7 per cent at the same point a year earlier, while neighbouring Spain has promised to slash its deficit to three per cent by 2014 from a blowout shortfall equal to 9.4 per cent of output last year.

Germany expects its budget to be in balance this year, two years ahead of schedule, but IMF head Christine Lagarde has suggested that Berlin ease up a bit in its drive for healthy finances.

"Germany ... and others ... can allow themselves to go a little more slowly than others in the push to straighten out their public finances," Lagarde told the German weekly Die Zeit in comments published last week.

Her call echoed other European voices that are now arguing for greater emphasis on growth rather than austerity measures.

"The IMF is beginning to understand that the French situation has become dangerous," economist Marc Touati at the ACDefi consulting group said. Unemployment is climbing and the economy is still struggling, he said.

The IMF was "trying to prepare public opinion" for missed government targets, Touati said.

On Tuesday, the EU's "fiscal compact", a hard-won step towards tighter economic coordination agreed as part of efforts to tame the debilitating debt crisis, takes effect.

Finalised in March, 25 of the 27 EU member states accepted a "balanced budget rule" in the compact to ensure that governments would no longer run the massive budget deficits which drove the debt crisis and nearly sank the euro.

But as the European debt crisis drags on and economies flounder, the idea of allowing governments more time to straighten out their finances has gained ground.

European Economic Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn said last week that France needed more reforms rather than more austerity.

"Once you have a credible medium-term budget strategy, backed up by reforms, you can have a slower adjustment," Rehn told French daily Le Monde.

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Friends recall Indian gang-rape victim

SHE was due to marry her boyfriend in a matter of weeks, was the apple of her father's eye and her friends were convinced she would achieve great things after completing her medical studies.

While India has seen an outpouring of grief for the 23-year-old who suffered fatal injuries when she was gang-raped on December 16, those who actually knew her paint a portrait of a young woman who was both in love and much loved.

Although not formally engaged, it was well-known by her friends that she was planning to marry the boyfriend who also suffered serious injuries in the same attack that would ultimately lead to her death.

Meena Rai said that she had been shopping with the unnamed victim for wedding outfits and the contents of a wedding box.

"She was supposed to get married in February to the same guy who was attacked on the bus with her," said Rai, who lived next door in Mahavir Enclave, a neighbourhood in southwestern New Delhi.

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi," she told AFP.

Another friend who attended the cremation ceremony on Sunday confirmed that the wedding was due to take place in a matter of weeks.

"We know that she was going to get married in February," Usha Rai (no relation) told AFP. "The whole neighbourhood was excited about it."

The young couple had spent the evening together at a mall watching The Life of Pi before they boarded a bus they thought would take them home.

According to reports, the frenzied attack on the pair began when the boyfriend objected to taunts about why an unmarried woman was out so late.

The gang clubbed him with an iron rod before they then turned on her.

The everyday image of a young couple enjoying a night out at the movies has been cited by many Indians to explain why they have been able to relate so much to the plight of someone whose name they will never know.

But others have identified with the backstory of a hardworking student whose family hail from rural India, but who was looking to make a name for herself as a young urban professional with the eager backing of her proud parents.

Her parents sold their small piece of land in rural Uttar Pradesh in order to fund their daughter's education, often limiting their own meals to little more than rotis with namak (bread with salt), according to friends.

In a frontpage tribute, The Hindustan Times said that she was "invariably among the top students in her class and was determined to earn well and repay her father who had sold his ancestral land to fund her studies".

Employed as a loader at Delhi's international airport, the father used to say he was "investing in my daughter's future as she will be the one who takes care of me when I get old", according to Meena Rai.

Her childhood was mainly spent in a one-bedroom flat near the airport that she shared with her two brothers as well as her parents.

A younger cousin still living back in the parental village in Uttar Pradesh told the Times of India how the young medical student had been an "inspiration".

"Seeing her do well, I was determined to study as well," she said.

Other residents of the village recalled a young woman whose passion to succeed in medicine shone through when she paid a visit back home.

"Hers was a story of charming ordinariness, of aspiration and hard work, of pleasure in life's little joys," said the Hindustan Times.

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Israel indicts ex-minister Lieberman

ISRAEL'S former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has been formally indicted on charges of breach of trust and fraud, allegations that could hurt his political future if he is convicted.

Lieberman resigned earlier this month after he was informed of the pending charges. The Justice Ministry later revised the wording, though not the charges, and said it filed the indictment in a Jerusalem court on Sunday.

Lieberman is accused of advancing a former ambassador after he relayed information to the foreign minister about a criminal investigation into his business dealings. Lieberman denies wrongdoing.

His Yisrael Beiteinu party is running with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud in the January 22 election, and he is expected to serve as an MP in the next parliament.

In other political news, Israel's Supreme Court unanimously rejected an election committee's attempt to disqualify an Arab MP from running for parliament again next month because she took part in a flotilla that tried to breach Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

The MP, Hanin Zoabi, enraged many Israelis by joining the Turkish-led flotilla, which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos who clashed with pro-Palestinian activists, killing nine. The Israeli military says the soldiers acted in self-defence after being attacked on the deck.

Zoabi was nearly assaulted in parliament by another MP and subsequently was stripped of some of her parliamentary privileges.

Earlier this month, an Israeli elections committee voted to disqualify her from running in next month's election. She appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned it, as it has rejected the committee's attempts in previous years to bar certain Arab candidates from running.

The court said in its ruling that it would release its reason for overturning the decision at a later date. Under Israel's election law, the court had to issue its ruling by Sunday.

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Missing Georgian soldier shot dead

A GEORGIAN soldier who went missing in Afghanistan this month has been found dead in an abandoned mud house with multiple bullets to his body.

Police searching for Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze found his body in a village compound in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, district governor Nemat Khan told AFP on Sunday.

"He was shot by bullets and was found in an empty house," Khan said. "We showed the body to the Georgian officials from ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). They identified it."

Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Alasania and ISAF officials confirmed the discovery on Saturday but gave no further details.

Kikadze went missing on December 19 in Helmand, a southern province at the heart of the Taliban insurgency.

He is believed to be the first soldier from the NATO-led international force to have gone missing since Bowe Bergdahl, from the US, was taken on June 30, 2009, in the southeastern province of Paktika.

Talks between the US and Taliban insurgents over a possible prisoner exchange involving Bergdahl failed this year.

Kikadze's death took to 19 the number of Georgian troops killed in Afghanistan over the past three years.

Georgia has 1570 troops serving in the country, making the small Caucasus country of 4.5 million the largest non-NATO contributor to ISAF.

President Mikheil Saakashvili is due to visit Georgian troops serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province for New Year celebrations on Monday.

There are now about 100,000 US-led NATO troops fighting a decade-long Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.

Despite the stubborn insurgency, war-weary international forces are seeking to hand control of security to Afghan forces by withdrawing their combat troops by the end of 2014.

Georgia is willing to continue deploying troops to assist local security forces after the NATO-led combat mission formally ends.

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