Zimbabwe hires hangman, at last

Zimbabwe has finally hired an executioner after seven years of searching, officials say. Source: AAP

ZIMBABWE has finally hired a hangman after seven years of searching, but he has not yet executed any of the 76 people on death row, a top prisons official has said.

"Indeed, we now have a hangman," Prison Service Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi was quoted as saying in Saturday's edition of The Herald, Zimbabwe's state-controlled daily.

The post was filled last year by a candidate the paper speculated was of Malawian origin. The previous executioner retired in 2005.

The government had repeatedly advertised the job in the press, but it took a long time to find takers.

Of the 16,902 criminals being held in Zimbabwe's jails, 76 of them are awaiting the hangman's noose, Zimondi said.

"These people are still to be executed. In fact no one has been executed in the past 12 years," he said.

Some death row inmates were convicted more than 14 years ago but were still appealing their cases when the previous hangman retired.

Two death row prisoners are women, who may be spared the noose if a new constitution is adopted in a referendum sometime this year.

Zimbabwe's new draft constitution exempts women and anyone under 21 or above 70 from the death penalty.

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23 killed in Taliban attack on outpost

The death toll from a Taliban attack on an army post in Pakistan has risen to 23, officials say. Source: AAP

THE death toll from a Taliban attack on an army post in Pakistan's northwest has risen to 23, officials say.

Twelve attackers were also killed.

Two security officials said on Saturday that nine soldiers and four members of the Frontier Constabulary that polices tribal areas died during the raid on the post in Serai Naurang town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

They say militants killed 10 civilians in a nearby house, including three women and three children.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

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Red Cross chief demands access in Syria

The head of the Red Cross has asked for international help in gaining broader access to Syria. Source: AAP

THE head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has called on all sides of the Syrian conflict to help his organisation access more of the war-ravaged country with desperately needed aid.

Peter Maurer told AFP in an interview that his organisation had distributed food and other urgent aid items to more than 1.5 million people last year, and had helped 17 million Syrians access safe water.

Yet, "this is insufficient compared to the negative impact of this conflict on the civilian population. We would like to do much more," he said, lamenting that there were a number of places in Syria out of reach to most aid workers.

According to United Nations figures, more than 60,000 people have been killed since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in March 2011, while some 730,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries.

"Nowhere else in the world is there an armed conflict that is as unpredictable within such large boundaries and affecting as many people," said Maurer, who visited Damascus in September last year, just months after he took over the helm of the ICRC.

"Our ambition is to continue to expand the surface we cover in Syria, and I really hope we can do more tomorrow and the day after," Maurer said, calling on all parties in the conflict to help the ICRC and other aid workers "reach the people we have to reach."

The most important thing for his organisation, he said, was "that all parties of the conflict respect the role of the ICRC (and) respect the special protection of medical facilities, of ambulances and doctors and nurses".

Since his three-day visit to Syria and meetings with Assad in September, Maurer said the Syrian president had kept some of his promises of increased access and the ICRC had noticed some improvements.

Yet other promises had not been kept, he said, without specifying which ones.

He stressed that he did "not want to go to Syria before we have some assurances that progress will be made" or before the regime gave him the green light to travel beyond Damascus.

"In light of the current situation, I cannot go to Syria if I am not able to travel to other regions of Syria," he said.

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Woman's body washes up on beach

Police have established a crime scene after the body of a woman washed up on a south Sydney beach. Source: AAP

A WOMAN'S body has washed up on a Sydney beach.

Police were called to Green Hills beach at Cronulla, in the city's south, about 5.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

The body is that of a woman believed to be in her 40s. Police have establish a crime scene.

The incident is being considered an unexplained death.

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Man charged over Sydney break-in

A man has been charged over an alleged break-in that has left an elderly man critically injured. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged over an alleged break-in at a home in Moorebank, in Sydney's southwest, that left an elderly man in critical condition in hospital.

A 78-year-old man and his wife returned to their Moorebank home at midday on Monday to find a man in the house.

The woman left the room and returned to find her husband on the floor.

He was taken to Liverpool Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

About 11.25am (AEDT) on Friday, police arrested a 53-year-old man at an office in Fairfield.

He has been charged with special aggravated break and enter, and committing a serious indictable offence.

The man was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

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NASA marks 10 years since loss of Columbia

NASA will honour the seven astronauts who perished when the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed 10 years ago.

The space agency will mark the anniversary on Friday at a public memorial service at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Speakers include Evelyn Husband Thompson, who was married to the shuttle's commander.

The accident on February 1, 2003, killed six Americans and Israel's first astronaut.

They were returning home from a 16-day science mission when the shuttle disintegrated over Texas, just minutes from landing in Florida.

An investigation board later determined the cause was damage to the wing that occurred during lift-off.

The shuttles were grounded for more than two years, and resumed flying with more safety features in place. The shuttles retired in 2011.

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Woman assaulted in Melbourne's inner east

A WOMAN has been sexually assaulted in Melbourne's inner suburbs, police say.

The 24-year-old woman was walking along Grandview Grove in Prahran about 5.50pm (AEDT) on Thursday when a man grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her, police said.

The woman managed to break free before the man ran off.

He is described as being of Southern European appearance, between 40 and 45 years of age, of medium build and with straight, collar-length hair.

At the time of the attack, he was wearing green trousers and a dark long sleeve top.

Police are urging any witnesses to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Call for Iraqi Sunnis to take up arms

AN al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq has called on Sunnis to take up arms against the Shi'ite-led government, as sectarian tensions and large Sunni protests increase.

In an audio statement posted on Friday on the website of the Islamic State of Iraq, spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani says Sunnis can bow to the Shi'ites or to take up arms to restore "dignity and freedom."

Al-Adnani says recent Sunni protests against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki mark the end of Sunni humiliation in Iraq.

Thousands of Sunnis rallied on Friday in the city of Fallujah in the western province of Anbar.

Protesters complain of official discrimination, saying anti-terrorism laws and other policies largely target minority Sunnis.

The protests were sparked by the December arrests of bodyguards of a senior Sunni politician.

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Wall Street Journal hit by Chinese hackers

The Wall Street Journal has reported that its computers had been hit by Chinese hackers. Source: AAP

THE Wall Street Journal said its computers had been hit by Chinese hackers, becoming the latest US media organisation to report a bid to spy on its journalists covering China.

The announcement came a day after The New York Times said hackers, possibly connected to China's military, had infiltrated its computers in response to its expose of the vast wealth amassed by a top leader's family.

The Journal reported that the attacks were "for the apparent purpose of monitoring the newspaper's China coverage" and suggested that Chinese spying on US media has become a "widespread phenomenon."

"Evidence shows that infiltration efforts target the monitoring of the Journal's coverage of China, and are not an attempt to gain commercial advantage or to misappropriate customer information," said a statement from Journal parent Dow Jones, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US government had noted an increase in hacking attacks on both state institutions and private companies, and would raise the issue in international forums.

"We have to begin making it clear to not only the Chinese... that the United States is going to be having to take actions to protect not only our governments but our private sector from this kind of illegal intrusion," she said.

"We're going to try to get legislation passed which we were unsuccessful in doing in the last Congress," she told journalists at a briefing to mark the end of her term as America's top diplomat.

The Journal gave no timeline for the attacks but said a network overhaul to bolster security had been completed on Thursday.

"We fully intend to continue the aggressive and independent journalism for which we are known," Dow Jones spokeswoman Paula Keve said.

On Wednesday, the Times reported that hackers had infiltrated computer systems and stolen staff passwords over the past four months.

The effort was particularly focused on the emails of Shanghai bureau chief David Barboza, the newspaper said.

Barboza wrote a story that said close relatives of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had made billions of dollars in business dealings.

"Chinese hackers, using methods that some consultants have associated with the Chinese military in the past, breached The Times's network," the newspaper said, citing a wealth of digital evidence gathered by its security experts.

China did not immediately comment on the Journal's allegations, but on Thursday Beijing dismissed the Times's accusations as "groundless."

"To arbitrarily assert and to conclude without hard evidence that China participated in such hacking attacks is totally irresponsible," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing.

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Floods close Rocky airport, major highway

THE airport at Rockhampton will be closed, along with the major highway into the city, as the swollen Fitzroy River peaks at a higher than anticipated 8.7 metres.

The weather bureau had earlier expected the flooded river in central Queensland to peak at 8.5 metres in the early hours of Saturday morning.

But by late Friday afternoon, the Fitzroy was already at that level and the Bureau of Meteorology was reassessing its forecasts.

Rockhampton Regional Council issued an alert on Friday night, warning of floodwaters in the crocodile-infested river reaching a new peak of 8.7 metres by Saturday night.

The level is still below the 9.2 metres the river reached in 2011 but it means Rockhampton Airport will be closed after the final passenger flights leave on Friday night.

However, the airport remains open for emergency flights, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

A council spokeswoman said an assessment of levels recorded upstream led to the new flood assessment.

"The decision was not made lightly and was made having regard for the safety of our community and will be reassessed in the morning," she said in a statement.

The Yeppen roundabout on the Bruce Highway, south of Rockhampton, is closed to light vehicles and motorcycles but will remain open longer for four-wheel drives.

The Yeppen crossing had earlier remained open despite 10cm of water covering the roadway.

On Friday morning, Rockhampton deputy mayor Tony Williams predicted 1100 backyards would be flooded if the river reached 8.5 metres, but for that to happen the river would have to rise higher than currently forecast.

He told reporters that floodwaters would recede within 24 to 36 hours, compared with 2011 when it took three weeks.

A week after ex-tropical cyclone Oswald hit the Queensland coast, roads in Rockhampton's low-lying suburbs such as Depot Hill and Berserker are closed as floodwaters lap below some houses on stilts.

Meanwhile, beef farmers upstream of Rockhampton, which is known as the beef capital of Australia, are counting the costs as floodwaters there recede.

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US paper says it's victim of China hackers

The New York Times says it has fallen victim to hackers possibly connected to China's military. Source: AAP

THE New York Times says it has fallen victim to hackers possibly connected to China's military, linking the attacks to its expose of the vast wealth amassed by a top leader's family.

The hackers have during the past four months infiltrated computer systems and snatched staff passwords, and their probing has been particularly focused on the emails of Shanghai bureau chief David Barboza, the newspaper said on Wednesday.

According to a Barboza story published on October 25, close relatives of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had made billions of dollars in business dealings.

"Chinese hackers, using methods that some consultants have associated with the Chinese military in the past, breached The Times's network," the newspaper said, citing a wealth of digital evidence gathered by its security experts.

The newspaper said the IT consultants believed the attacks "started from the same university computers used by the Chinese military to attack United States military contractors in the past".

The hackers stole corporate passwords and targeted the computers of 53 employees including former Beijing bureau chief Jim Yardley, who is now the Times's South Asia bureau chief based in India.

"Experts found no evidence that the intruders used the passwords to seek information that was not related to the reporting on the Wen family," the newspaper said, adding that no customer data was stolen.

The Times said the hackers appeared to be looking for "the names of people who might have provided information to Mr Barboza", but said there was no evidence that sensitive emails or files from the reporting were compromised.

The paper said that with the help of outside computer experts, it had managed to kick out the intruders and prevent them from breaking into its systems again.

"They could have wreaked havoc on our systems," Times chief information officer Marc Frons said of the hackers. "But that was not what they were after."

The Times said Bloomberg News was also targeted by Chinese hackers, after publishing in June a report on the wealth accumulated by relatives of Xi Jinping. In November, Xi was elevated to leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Times asked AT&T, which monitors its computer network, to watch for unusual activity after learning of warnings from Chinese officials that its investigation into the Wen family's wealth would have "consequences".

It also briefed the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the hacking. But with the attacks persisting after the Wen investigation was published, the Times hired IT security firm Mandiant on November 7.

"If you look at each attack in isolation, you can't say, 'This is the Chinese military'," said Mandiant chief security officer Richard Bejtlich.

But he added: "When you see the same group steal data on Chinese dissidents and Tibetan activists, then attack an aerospace company, it starts to push you in the right direction."

China's Ministry of National Defence denied any government link to the intrusions, telling the Times that "to accuse the Chinese military of launching cyberattacks without solid proof is unprofessional and baseless".

AFP in Beijing sought further comment from China's internet regulator, but there was no immediate response. In October, the foreign ministry accused the New York Times of having "ulterior motives" and trying to "smear" China.

The newspaper's report at the time said investments by Wen's son, wife and others spanning the banking, jewellery and telecom sectors were worth at least $US2.7 billion ($A2.61 billion). The nytimes.com website has been blocked in China ever since.

China on Thursday dismissed accusations that it had hacked into the computer system of the New York Times.

"The competent Chinese authorities have already issued a clear response to the groundless accusations made by the New York Times," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing.

Asked about cyberspying and hacking accusations made against China in general, he said: "To arbitrarily assert and to conclude without hard evidence that China participated in such hacking attacks is totally irresponsible.

"China is also a victim of hacking attacks. Chinese laws clearly forbid hacking attacks, and we hope relevant parties takes a responsible attitude on this issue."

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Yemen suspends hostage talks

YEMENI forces have suspended an offensive aimed at freeing three Western hostages, that has cost more than 65 lives, to allow tribal mediators to intervene, local sources say.

Eighteen soldiers and 48 al-Qaeda-linked militants have died in the military operation that began early on Monday in the al-Qaeda stronghold of Manaseh, in Bayda province of central Yemen, according to tribal sources and military officials.

Tribal mediators aim to secure the release of two Finns and an Austrian snatched from central Sanaa in December and who are believed to be held in Manaseh, the sources say.

A ceasefire came into effect late on Wednesday following mediation by tribal chiefs, the sources said, with the army demanding that all foreign al-Qaeda fighters leave Manaseh.

Local sources said civilians have also been killed in army shelling of the area, without giving a number.

The army has been hunting two brothers of Tarek al-Dahab - an al-Qaeda leader killed in a February 2012 attack. They are suspected of holding the European hostages and have so far refused to surrender despite mediation efforts.

The Austrian man, and a Finnish man and woman were abducted in Sanaa on December 21 as they prepared to travel to the southern port of Aden via Yemen's second city Taez.

Earlier this month, Yemeni security officials had said the Europeans were being held by al-Qaeda-linked tribesmen in the eastern Marib province.

Most kidnappings of foreigners are carried out by members of the country's powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.

Hundreds of people have been abducted in Yemen over the past 15 years. Almost all have been freed unharmed.

Al-Qaeda militants, active in the south and east of Yemen, rarely carry out kidnappings.

However, a Saudi diplomat, Abdallah al-Khalidi, has remained in the hands of the jihadist network since his abduction in Aden on March 28.

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BSkyB profit rises 10% in first half

BRITISH pay-TV giant BSkyB says net profit rose 10 per cent in the first half of its financial year, as the group bucked tough trading conditions with keen demand for its products.

Profit after tax rose to STG487 million ($A744.19 million) in the six months to December, compared with STG441 million a year earlier, BSkyB said in a results statement on Thursday.

Group revenue meanwhile swelled by five per cent to STG3.53 billion in the reporting period.

The company says it now has 10.742 million paying customers after signing up 88,000 clients in the three months to December.

"We have delivered another good performance in the first half with strong progress across the board," said BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

"In what remains a tough consumer environment, our broadly-based growth strategy is working well."

London-listed BSkyB broadcasts the 24-hour Sky News channel, live sport including the English Premier League football and blockbuster movies, and also provides broadband internet and telephone services.

Back in 2011, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation scrapped a bid to win full control of BSkyB following a phone-hacking scandal which forced it to close British tabloid newspaper News of the World.

News Corp had bid STG7.8 billion for the 60.9 per cent of BSkyB it did not already own. However, BSkyB had rejected the 700-pence-per-share offer even before the bid collapsed.

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Australia condemns Japan whaling boat

A JAPANESE whaling boat has annoyed the federal government by entering Australian waters in the Southern Ocean.

Environment Minister Tony Burke says the government has confirmed that a whaling support boat from Japan, the Shonan Maru No.2, has entered Australia's exclusive economic zone near Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean.

"Australia has made it clear to Japan on a number of occasions that vessels associated with its Japanese whaling program are not welcome in Australia's exclusive economic zone or territorial sea," Mr Burke said in a statement on Thursday.

The minister said the boat was a non-whaling support ship, which was part of the fleet accompanying whaling vessels.

"Our embassy in Tokyo has conveyed these sentiments directly to the Japanese government," Mr Burke said.

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Israel must withdraw all settlers: report

ISRAEL must immediately withdraw all settlers from the Palestinian territories, a United Nations report says.

"Israel must ... cease all settlement activities without preconditions (and) must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers" from the occupied territories, a UN fact-finding mission concluded in a report released on Thursday.

Because of the settlements, Palestinians' human rights "are being violated consistently and on a daily basis", the three independent experts said in a report commissioned by the UN's Human Rights Council last March.

The experts, who will present their findings to the 47-member state council on March 18, also called on the Jewish state to "ensure adequate, effective and prompt remedy to all Palestinian victims ... of human rights violations that are a result of the settlements".

The council's decision to dispatch the fact-finding mission to determine what impact the settlements are having on the rights of Palestinians so enraged the Jewish state that it immediately cut all ties with the body.

The three experts, Christine Chanet of France, Asma Jahangir of Pakistan and Unity Dow of Botswana, published their findings just two days after Israel made its anger felt by becoming the first country to ever boycott a special council review of its rights situation.

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H&M net profit rises 6.6% to $2.59bn

SWEDISH clothing retailer H&M says its net profit rose by 6.6 per cent to 16.9 billion kronor ($A2.59 billion) in 2012 and it increased its market share despite a difficult operating environment.

Gross sales by the world's No.2 clothing retailer rose by 9.4 per cent to 141 billion kronor in the financial year that ended November 30, but net sales measured at constant exchange rates gained only one per cent, the company said.

"H&M continues to stand strong in a challenging clothing market which in many countries has been even more challenging in 2012 compared to 2011," chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement.

The company said its earnings were hit by the costs of its long-term investments as well as negative currency exchange effects.

It proposed holding the dividend steady at 9.5 kronor per share.

H&M said its expansion was faster than expected in 2012, with 304 new stores, primarily in China and the United States.

The company which makes and sells inexpensive clothes currently has 2,800 stores in 48 markets and more than 104,000 employees.

It plans to open 325 stores in this financial year, including in Chile and in Indonesia via a franchise.

H&M said its new fashion brand & Other Stories, targeted at women, will open its first stores in the coming months in seven European countries.

Persson said despite not yet generating revenue the company believed its long-term investments "to be both necessary and wise as they aim to secure future expansion and profits and thereby further strengthen H&M's position."

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17 bodies found in Mexico band massacre

Mexican authorities are puzzled why members of Kombo Kolombia were kidnapped and killed by gunmen. Source: AAP

MEXICAN authorities are investigating why a band that performed love songs was kidnapped and killed by gunmen, who dumped their bodies in a well in the drug cartel-infested north.

The killings underscored yet again the pervasiveness of Mexico's grisly drug violence, which has claimed more than 70,000 lives since the launch of a military crackdown on the powerful, feuding cartels in 2006.

Authorities said late on Tuesday they had pulled 17 corpses from a desert well in the northern state of Nuevo Leon since Sunday, with 14 confirmed so far as members of Kombo Kolombia.

The band's 14 musicians and four roadies were snatched in the middle of a party early on Friday in the town of Hidalgo. One member managed to escape his captors and led police to the gruesome site in the nearby town of Mina.

Musicians have fallen victim to Mexico's relentless drug war before, but those killed in the past usually performed songs that glorify the exploits of drug lords, a popular style known as "narcocorridos",

This latest slaying is unusual because Kombo Kolombia specialised in vallenato, fast-paced folk music from Colombia, and performed romantic songs with lyrics unrelated to the drug trade.

Jorge Domene, the spokesman for Nuevo Leon state security, said on Tuesday that investigators were "still gathering information that can guide us to the real cause" of the murders.

A source close to the investigation said the prosecutor's office was looking into any links the musicians may have had with the Zetas, an ultra-violent drug cartel founded by former special forces soldiers.

The Zetas control some of the sites where Kombo Kolombia played, according to the source, who said the killers might have been members of the rival Sinaloa cartel.

Relatives of band members denied that the group had any criminal links.

"My son was a good boy, a percussionist. He had nothing to do with anything illegal," Maria Saenz, the mother of one victim, told reporters.

Kombo Kolombia had performed in a building rented out for parties when they were kidnapped. There were some 50 people present when the gunmen barged in and hustled the band members into waiting vehicles.

All of the Kombo Kolombia members were Mexican aside from the Colombian-born keyboardist, Heiner Cuellar, whose body police retrieved from the well.

The bullet-riddled bodies showed signs of torture. The captives' pants had been pulled down to the knees, presumably to keep them from escaping.

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No excuses for no oppn costings: Swan

Wayne Swan has challenged the opposition to reveal how much its election promises are going to cost. Source: AAP

TREASURER Wayne Swan has challenged the opposition to reveal how much its election promises are going to cost once the federal budget numbers are released in May.

Mr Swan says the government will account for its big spending on education and the national disability insurance scheme through savings in the budget on May 14.

With the federal election date set for September 14, the opposition has no excuse not to reveal its costed policies after the budget is brought down, the treasurer told ABC TV.

"Failure to do so will very clearly indicate what their agenda is, which is not to put out detailed policies based on forecasts based on either information from the budget or the Parliamentary Budget Office," he said.

The opposition's strategy was to release as little of their costings as possible, he said.

"They're out there saying that they will have lower deficits, lower taxes and of course more spending," Mr Swan said.

"That is just a magic pudding."

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has said the May budget numbers will be questionable and the coalition would rely only on figures from the pre-election fiscal outlook (PEFO).

The departments of Treasury and Finance will release the PEFO 10 days after the writs for the election have been issued on August 12.

Mr Hockey said on Wednesday the coalition had submitted more than 50 initiatives to the Parliamentary Budget Office for costing, but it was struggling to get through them.

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Julian Assange to run for Senate

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will run for a Senate seat, a tweet from the infamous website says. Source: AAP

JULIAN Assange will run for a Senate seat in the 2013 federal election and his mum reckons he'll be awesome.

Christine Assange confirmed her son's candidacy on Wednesday after WikiLeaks tweeted the news.

"He will be awesome," she told AAP.

"In the House of Representatives we get to choose between US lackey party number one and US lackey party number two - between the major parties.

"So it will be great to 'Assange" the Senate for some Aussie oversight."

Queensland-born Assange, who founded the secret-leaking website WikiLeaks, announced his Senate ambition last December from Ecuador's London embassy.

He sought refuge there last June in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Mr Assange fears if he goes to Sweden to be questioned over rape allegations, authorities will allow him to be extradited to the US to be questioned over WikiLeaks' release of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

He said last year he would run as a Senate candidate under a yet-to-be-formed WikiLeaks party banner and was recruiting others to stand with him.

The election will be held on September 14.

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Asian markets rise on Dow lead

ASIAN markets have climbed, with Japan's Nikkei leading the way, fuelled by continuing weakness in the yen and a powerful performance on Wall Street, where the Dow closed near its record high.

Traders are keeping a close eye on the United States, where the Federal Reserve is due to end a two-day policy meeting, with analysts expecting it to carry on with its loose monetary policy.

Tokyo on Wednesday jumped 2.28 per cent, or 247.23 points, to 11,113.95, its highest finish since April 2010, and Sydney rose up 0.16 per cent, or 7.7 points, to 4,896.7. Seoul closed up 0.43 per cent, or 8.47 points, at 1,964.43.

Hong Kong stocks ended 0.71 per cent higher, adding 166.89 points to 23,822.06 and Shanghai gained 1.00 per cent, or 23.50 points, to 2,382.48.

The euro and dollar extended their gains against the yen in response to the Bank of Japan's pledge of unlimited easing last week and its target of two per cent inflation.

Investors took on board a comment from Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso, who, defending the country's easing policies against criticism from abroad, said the yen's "excessive strength is in correction".

A senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo said: "The comment is nothing new so it can't push up the pair like a rocket anymore, but it still has some power left."

In afternoon Tokyo trade, the US dollar gained to Y91.12, from Y90.72 in New York on Tuesday, while the euro fetched Y123.05, from Y122.42.

The single currency also bought $US1.3505 against $US1.3493.

On Wall Street, the Dow rose 0.52 per cent to finish just 1.5 per cent below its all-time closing high seen in October 2007, despite a lack of buying incentives and a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.51 per cent and the Nasdaq was flat.

US dealers are awaiting the outcome of the Fed's policy meeting later in the day, looking for new clues to the state of the world's biggest economy. That will be followed on Friday by data on job creation.

Oil prices were mixed. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose 11 US cents to $US97.68 a barrel in the afternoon, while Brent North Sea crude for March delivery gained 10 US cents to $US114.46.

Gold was at $US1,667.16 at 1910 AEDT, compared with $US1,661.10 late on Tuesday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 0.40 per cent, or 30.98 points, to 7,832.98.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.50 per cent higher at $Tw101.5 while leading smartphone maker HTC added 1.93 per cent to $Tw290.0.

- Manila added 0.59 per cent, or 36.50 points, to 6,271.23.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co added 1.4 per cent to close at 2,844 pesos and Metro Pacific Investments rose 4.0 per cent to 5.22 pesos.

- Wellington rose 1.13 per cent, or 47.26 points, to close at a five-year high 4,247.55.

Telecom added 1.91 per cent to $NZ2.359 and Fletcher Building gained 1.40 per cent to end at $NZ9.39.

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Machete attacker gets three-year jail term

A 23-YEAR-OLD man who struck a Mercedes-owner in the head with a machete in a bid to steal the vehicle has been sentenced to three years in prison.

The District Court of Western Australia was told Lawrence John Cashin attempted to carjack the 24-year-old victim while he sat with his girlfriend parked on a street in the northern Perth suburb of Girrawheen on May 13 last year.

During the attack, Cashin threatened to kill the male victim and struck him with a machete on the top of his head and near his ear.

Throughout the ordeal, the victim's girlfriend was cowering on the floor of the car.

"The victim was screaming, the girlfriend wouldn't get out of the car, and ultimately you ran off," Judge Gillian Braddock said during the sentencing.

"Not only did the victim suffer the deep lacerations to the top of the head and the ear, to need to go to hospital and be treated there, it must have been a totally terrifying experience for them."

Judge Braddock said Cashin was at high risk of violent reoffending, given he had a traumatic early life and addictions.

He was beginning to realise the need to address his problems and was attempting to parent his girlfriend's daughter, so there was hope for reform but it wouldn't be easy, Judge Braddock said.

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Philips returns to profit, sells division

Philips has reported 2012 net profits of $A300 million and will sell its entertainment business. Source: AAP

PHILIPS has reported 2012 net profits of 231 million euros ($A300 million), after losses of 1.29 billion euros in 2011.

The company also announced the sale of its entertainment business to focus on health products.

Company profits were hit by a loss of 355 million euros in the fourth quarter because of a one-off 509-million euro European Commission fine for cathode ray price fixing, Philips said in a statement on Tuesday.

Under the entertainment deal, Philips long-term partner Funai will pay 150 million euros plus an unspecified licence fee to use the Philips brand in audio, multimedia and accessories for an initial period of five and a half years, with an option to renew for five years.

That deal will be closed by the end of 2013, while the video business will be transferred in 2017 because of Philips' existing licence arrangements.

"With this transaction we are taking another step in reshaping the consumer lifestyle portfolio and transforming Philips into the leading technology company in health and well-being," Philips chief executive officer Frans van Houten said in a statement.

"I am confident that today's agreement with Funai, our partner for over 25 years, will create a promising future for Philips audio, video and entertainment, and continuity for our customers.

Funai CEO Tomonori Hayashi said: "This is truly an exciting time for us at Funai."

"We will benefit from Philips' legendary know-how and innovation, as well as the excellent talent they have in place around the world."

In April last year Philips sold its troubled television division to TPV Technology.

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Motorists tipped to pay 3c/l more

Fuel prices across Australia could rise by up to three cents a litre over the next fortnight. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN motorists can expect to pay up to three cents a litre more for petrol in the next 10 days as a better outlook for the global economy spurs demand for oil.

CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian said the key Singapore unleaded price rose by $A5.60 over the past fortnight to a four-month high.

"The main driver behind the gains in regional oil prices has been the better global economic data and improvement in investor risk appetite - fuelling the demand for commodities like oil," he said in an investor note on Tuesday.

CommSec forecasts the national pump price will rise by three cents a litre in the next seven to 10 days.

The Australian Institute of Petroleum released data on Tuesday showing the average national unleaded petrol price was unchanged at 141.9 cents a litre last week.

The metropolitan price rose by 0.2 cents to 140.2 cents a litre, while the regional average price fell by 0.4 cents a litre to 145.4 cents a litre.

Sydney had the cheapest average unleaded fuel, down 0.9 cents at 137.4 cents a litre, while Darwin was the dearest, unchanged at 159.1 cents a litre.

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Passengers say Victorian cabs improving

VICTORIANS are happier with the state's cab service than they have been in six years, according to a survey by the taxi directorate.

The questionnaire also showed a marked improvement in customer satisfaction over the past 12 months.

So far, for the financial year 2012/13, customers gave Victorian cabs a 69.5 per cent satisfaction rating, up from 66.6 per cent for the previous financial year and 63.6 for 2009/10.

The Victorian Taxi Directorate Customer Satisfaction Monitor is a quarterly survey of 425 cab users.

Victorian Taxi Association (VTA) Deputy CEO David Samuel attributed the results to an improved booking app, driver codes of conduct and the wider use of GPS.

"Over the past 12 months the taxi industry has been taking the initiative and implementing new ideas that are producing results," Mr Samuel said in a statement.

"It's clear that this is paying off and that customers are receiving a better service."

Customers indicated they were pleased with the level of personal security in cabs, the taxi booking service and the fares and payment system.

They were least pleased with the process of finding a taxi on the street.

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Another Rudd supporter bites the dust

Former government minister Robert McClelland will retire from politics at the next federal election. Source: AAP

TWO supporters of Kevin Rudd are set to end their careers with federal Labor as the government prepares for an election later this year.

Former federal attorney-general Robert McClelland, who has decided not to seek preselection for his Sydney seat of Barton, has joined Senator Trish Crossin in bowing out of federal politics.

"After almost 17 years in federal parliament my decision has not been taken lightly," Mr McClelland said in a statement on Tuesday.

The MP for the southern Sydney seat of Barton was dumped from the frontbench by Prime Minister Julia Gillard after he supported Mr Rudd in a 2012 leadership challenge.

News of his retirement came just hours after the ALP national executive had endorsed Aboriginal Olympian Nova Peris as its top pick on the NT Senate ticket.

That decision ousts Senator Crossin from the winnable spot and follows a "captain's pick" by Ms Gillard last week to install Ms Peris as Labor's first indigenous woman in parliament.

Senator Crossin is disappointed but ruled out standing as an independent after 30 years' membership of the ALP and trade unions.

She said on Tuesday she may have announced her retirement if she had been told earlier she was to be cast aside.

Mr McClelland was attorney-general in Mr Rudd's government but was moved into emergency management when Ms Gillard took over before being dumped.

As a backbencher in June last year, he called for a crackdown on corruption in the union movement, while making references to Ms Gillard's work as a union lawyer in the 1990s.

Speaking on the government's bill in response to the Health Services Union affair, he said under parliamentary privilege: "I never want to see a dollar that a worker gives a union used for any purpose other than the proper purposes of representing that union member's best interests.

"Indeed, I know the prime minister is quite familiar with this area of the law; as lawyers in the mid-1990s, we were involved in a matter representing opposing clients."

His comments allowed the opposition to put more question marks around Ms Gillard's role in the establishment of a slush fund set up by her former boyfriend, union boss Bruce Wilson.

His retirement has sparked renewed speculation he could be replaced by former NSW Labor premier Morris Iemma.

Last year, amid talk Mr Iemma was being promoted as a Labor pre-selection candidate for Barton, Foreign Minister Bob Carr said that if Mr McClelland were to retire he could not think of a better candidate than Mr Iemma.

Despite an 8.1 per cent swing against Labor in 2010, Barton is considered fairly safe.

Mr Iemma isn't the only former NSW premier who's been mentioned as a possible federal candidate. Kristina Keneally's name has also surfaced along with her husband, Botany Bay mayor Ben Keneally.

Mr McClelland did not offer any reasons for his departure.

"I wish my successor all the very best in the important and tremendously satisfying role that lies ahead for him or her and I look forward to continuing to make a contribution to the Australian community in the next stage of my professional career," he said in his statement.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the Liberal Party was eager to contest Barton, vowing to campaign with Kogarah mayor Nick Varvaris for the seat.

Ms Gillard said Mr McClelland had served Labor well and been a loyal and faithful MP to his constituents.

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Peris choice extremely positive: Albanese

INDIGENOUS ALP members in the Northern Territory plan to flood Labor's national executive with Senate nominations in protest at the expected preselection of Nova Peris, but government frontbencher Anthony Albanese says the Olympic gold medallist is a sound choice.

NT Labor Senate preselection candidate Marion Scrymgour says the nominations should be seen as an objection to Prime Minister Julia Gillard's intervention in the preselection process last week.

Ms Gillard chose Ms Peris as her "captain's pick" on the NT Senate ticket - a move that will almost certainly unseat the ALP's current NT senator, Trish Crossin.

The national executive, including Mr Albanese, will decide representation on the NT ticket in a vote on Tuesday, effectively shutting out rank-and-file members from the decision-making process.

Mr Albanese said the election of Nova Peris "will be extremely positive".

"And it is something that I am sure will be endorsed tomorrow by the majority of the national executive," he told ABC TV on Monday.

"It is the case that we haven't had an indigenous representative in the federal parliament representing Labor, and there has never been an indigenous woman elected ... it is time this occurred."

He sidestepped questions as to why the ALP sought Ms Peris from outside the party, when the NT branch had indigenous women members.

"These issues are always difficult," he said.

Earlier, Ms Scrymgour said Aboriginal members in the NT intended to protest with a "flood" of applications.

"Applications are going to be sent to the national executive before the deadline today by Aboriginal members of the ALP," Ms Scrymgour said.

"The move is a protest and a signal to the national executive and prime minister that we don't accept what she has done."

Ms Scrymgour said she knew her own application was futile but will send it anyway.

"It has made me cranky and insulted that she (Ms Gillard) could think that all Aboriginal people need is a sport star," she said.

If Ms Gillard wanted a "black face" in parliament there were plenty of choices in the party, she said.

Aboriginal ALP member from Alice Springs, Des Rogers, told ABC radio he would join the protest by nominating for the preselection ballot.

"Just to let people know in Canberra that for one, there is one indigenous person in the Territory that's been a long-term Labor member, has campaign experience, and I've nominated," he said.

Another prominent indigenous ALP politician in the NT, Karl Hampton, has also signalled he will lodge an application.

Senator Crossin, who says she was not consulted about the decision that would dump her, is expected to make a statement after the national executive meeting.

A spokesman for Ms Peris said she was hopeful she will get the preselection and was looking forward to the challenge.

Ms Peris will also make a statement in Darwin after the preselection announcement.

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French paratroopers enter Timbuktu

French-led troops are closing in on Timbuktu without meeting any resistance from Islamist militants. Source: AAP

FRENCH and Malian forces have taken control of Timbuktu airport and other access points to the historic Malian desert town.

The French military and Mali's presidency confirmed on Monday that forces were inside the key northern town and were conducting sweeps of the area.

French Colonel Thierry Burkhard told DPA French special forces were parachuted into strategic points overnight to prepare the way for Malian forces to recapture Timbuktu from Islamist rebels.

France aimed to avoid combat in the UNESCO World Heritage Site town "to avoid the senseless destruction of heritage", he said.

Timbuktu was for centuries a key centre of Islamic learning and has become a synonym for exotic remoteness.

The once cosmopolitan town was captured by extremist rebels who forced women to wear veils, whipped and stoned those who violated their version of strict Islamic law, and destroyed ancient Muslim shrines they considered "idolatrous".

In other action, the allied Franco-Malian forces seized the key town of Gao on Saturday and now appear in control of the area connecting that town, the most populous in the north, to Timbuktu.

The last urban rebel stronghold of Kidal, near the border with Algeria, was targeted in airstrikes at the weekend.

France responded over two weeks ago to a call from the Malian government for help in fighting the rebels, who had begun moving south towards the capital, Bamako.

Mali's crisis was started by a Tuareg rebellion for independence in January last year which overwhelmed the weak army and prompted a coup in March.

Amid a political vacuum, the Tuareg desert nomads and Islamists seized the north in days. But the extremists had no interest in the Tuareg desire for independence and quickly sidelined their allies to install sharia law.

Defence chiefs from the West African regional grouping ECOWAS agreed on Saturday to boost their troop pledges for Mali to 5700. Chad, which is not a member of the 15-nation bloc, has promised a further 2000 soldiers.

France said on Sunday it had now deployed 2900 troops and 2700 African soldiers were on the ground in Mali and Niger, but French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault appealed for more aid.

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UK grandmother appeals Bali death sentence

A BRITISH grandmother has filed an appeal against her death sentence by firing squad for smuggling cocaine to Bali.

Lindsay Sandiford, 56, officially submitted a statement to the prison saying she would file an appeal, Denpasar district court registrar Gede Ketut Rantam told AFP on Monday.

"She filed the statement on her own and so far she has not appointed a lawyer," he added.

In a copy of the statement seen by AFP, Sandiford said she was filing an appeal against the decision of the Denpasar district court on January 22, without giving other details.

A detainee at the Kerobokan prison in Denpasar said Sandiford "was stressed and always crying. We understand her feelings so we leave her alone. She sleeps on the mattress and spends her time knitting," said the female Indonesian prisoner, who shares a cell with her.

The appeals process in Indonesia typically takes several years to complete. The last resort is presidential clemency.

Authorities had claimed Sandiford was at the centre of a drugs ring, which had been described as "a huge international syndicate".

She was found guilty of carrying the cocaine into the country in a suitcase, on a flight from Bangkok, but argued that she was coerced and that her children had been threatened.

After Sandiford's arrest three other Britons were detained in connection with the same ring but two of them were cleared of trafficking charges and received light sentences.

A third, Julian Ponder, will be sentenced on Tuesday. He was also cleared of smuggling charges and now faces a lesser charge of drug possession, which is punishable by life imprisonment.

Prosecutors have recommended a seven-year sentence.

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Boeing probe moves on from battery maker

THE joint US and Japanese investigation into the Boeing 787's battery problems has shifted from the battery maker to the manufacturer of a monitoring system.

Japan transport ministry official Shigeru Takano said on Monday the probe into battery maker GS Yuasa was over for now as no evidence was found it was the source of the problems.

Ministry officials said they would inspect Kanto Aircraft Instrument Co on Monday as part of the ongoing investigation. It makes a system that monitors voltage, charging and temperature of the lithium-ion batteries.

All 50 of the Boeing 787s in use around the world are grounded after one of the jets operated by All Nippon Airways made an emergency landing in Japan earlier this month when its main battery overheated. Earlier in January, a battery in a Japan Airlines 787 caught fire while parked at Boston's Logan International Airport.

GS Yuasa shares jumped on the news it was no longer being investigated.

Last week, US federal investigators said the JAL battery that caught fire showed evidence of short-circuiting and a chemical reaction known as "thermal runaway," in which an increase in temperature causes progressively hotter temperatures. It's not clear to investigators which came first, the short-circuiting or the thermal runaway.

Deliveries of the jet dubbed the Dreamliner were three years behind schedule because of manufacturing delays. Much of the aircraft is made by outside manufacturers, many of them major Japanese companies.

It is the first jet to make wide use of lithium-ion batteries, the kind usually found in laptops and other gadgets. They are prone to overheating and require additional systems to avoid fires.

The 787 is the first airliner made mostly from lightweight composite materials that boost fuel efficiency. It also relies on electronic systems rather than hydraulic or mechanical systems to a greater degree than any other airliner.

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Seven die in Turkey soccer landslide

AT least seven people have been killed by a landslide that hit an amateur football game in southeastern Turkey.

Players and spectators were engulfed by mud on Sunday after a retaining wall failed following heavy rain.

Three people were injured and a fourth was missing.

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Stolen NSW cop car found

POLICE have found a highway patrol car that was driven off by a man after he allegedly struggled with officers who pulled him over in Sydney's northwest.

Police are seeking a man called Arthur Partsch who they allege stole the car and they have warned the public not to approach him as he is considered dangerous.

The $120,000 patrol car was found parked in Parramatta at about 7.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday following a call from a local resident who realised it was the stolen vehicle after viewing media reports.

Police said Mr Partsch was driving along the M7 near Dean Park just before noon on Sunday when he was stopped by Traffic Strike Force officers.

Acting Superintendent Mark Cook said an officer from Mount Druitt also pulled up shortly afterwards because he knew the man.

When a struggle ensued, Mr Partsch allegedly broke free before hopping into a highway patrol car and driving off.

"I was told at the time it was raining," Acting Supt Cook told AAP, adding that conditions were "slippery".

It was "extremely rare" for such a car to be stolen, he said.

Mr Partsch is described as being of Pacific Islander appearance, 170cm tall, with brown eyes and a medium build.

Anyone who spots him should not approach him but contact police immediately.

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Foreign labels found in Bangladesh fire

THE unlicensed garment factory in the Bangladeshi capital where seven women workers died in a fire on Saturday was making clothing for Spanish giant Inditex and several French brands.

An AFP correspondent sifting through the charred remains of the Smart Export factory on Sunday found labels such as Bershka, a retailer owned by Inditex, Sol's, Scott and Fox, and G Blog, which is part of France's Gemo.

Sourcing by global retailers first came under the spotlight just two months ago, after Bangladesh's deadliest garment factory fire killed 111 workers who were making clothing for Walmart and a variety of Western firms.

The November blaze at Tazreen Fashion, which also had no fire department licence, highlighted the Bangladeshi apparel industry's appalling safety record.

The fire at the Smart factory employing around 300 workers broke out Saturday afternoon, leaving at least seven female workers dead and 15 injured -- five of them critically.

Worker Laizu Begum said the factory, which paid workers as little as $37 a month, had one of its doors closed when the blaze broke out during lunch break, forcing the workers to rush to the other door in a stampede.

Fire officials said the stampede caused most of the deaths.

"Burnt foam and clothing created huge smoke. I survived as I was sitting close to a gate," she said.

Major Mahbubur Rahman, operations director of the Bangladesh Fire Service, said the factory had not received an operating licence from the service.

"It's just a factory in name," he said.

"The owners set up some sewing machines on a floor without taking care of any safety issues. It did not have any fire exit or fire equipment."

Mohammad Akash, an official with Smart, told AFP the company mainly subcontracts from larger Bangladeshi factories including Mactex, which could not be contacted for comment.

Of the country's 4500 garment factories, most are small plants in residential areas which depend on sub-contracted orders from bigger plants. Many operate only in peak seasons.

Fire is a common problem in the factories in Bangladesh, the world's second largest apparel maker. Around 700 people have been killed in garment factory fires since 2006.

The industry is the mainstay of the impoverished country's economy, accounting for up to 80 per cent of annual exports worth $US24.3 billion ($A23.34 billion) last year.

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Severe weather warnings issued for NSW

A severe weather warning has been issued in northern NSW as ex-tropical cyclone Oswald moves south. Source: AAP

MORE than 1000 people have been isolated by floodwaters in northern NSW, as people in the state's south are told to prepare for 100km/h winds and flash flooding on Monday.

More than 360 calls for assistance were made to the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) on Sunday, as ex-tropical cyclone Oswald moved across the Queensland border, packing damaging winds and heavy rain.

SES spokesman Phil Campbell told AAP on Sunday evening that there had been no evacuations in NSW's north but around 1300 people had been isolated by floodwaters.

Winds of up to 140km/h hit parts of the northern rivers while flooding on the Bellinger River upstream of Thora had left around 500 people isolated.

"Those people will be isolated for a day or so, they're well prepared and isolation there is quite a regular occurrence," Mr Campbell said.

Another 800 people were isolated by flooding on the upper Clarence River at Ewingar and they were expected to be cut off for two or three days.

Mr Campbell said most calls for assistance to the SES were for leaking roofs and minor property damage from falling trees and branches, mostly in the state's north around Lismore, Grafton and Coffs Harbour.

SES crews on Sunday carried out four flood rescues including that of two people trapped in a car on a causeway near Murwillumbah.

SES spokeswoman Jessica Chan told AAP earlier that emergency crews would focus their efforts south on Monday as Oswald moved south.

"We expect conditions in the north to ease after lunchtime on Monday, with that weather front increases to Sydney.

"We are expecting heavy rainfall and flash flooding."

A severe weather warning was issued for much of the state on Sunday, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that gusts of 100km/h are forecast for the mid North Coast, the Northern Tablelands, the metropolitan and Hunter during Monday.

"Beach conditions in these areas will be dangerous and people should stay well away from the surf and surf exposed areas," the BoM said.

Heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding is also forecast to extend to the Hunter overnight and to the metropolitan, Central Tablelands and Illawarra districts by Monday afternoon.

But BoM regional director Barry Hanstrum said the low-pressure system will move rapidly and should pass out to sea in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"The rain and wind will ease from most of NSW on Tuesday as the low moves further offshore and into the Tasman Sea, but dangerous surf will continue into Wednesday," he said in a statement.

The NSW SES urged people returning to NSW's southern cities to be careful.

"With damaging winds and heavy rain expected in Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast on Monday, holiday makers should exercise patience, drive to the conditions and never enter flood water," NSW SES Commissioner Murray Kear said.

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Vic man burned as fire bears down on Boho

Rain has slowed the progress of two major bushfires burning in eastern Victoria. Source: AAP

A 60-YEAR-OLD man has been burned fighting a grassfire that is believed to have turned into the large, fast moving out-of-control bushfire which has burnt out 750 hectares in Victoria's northeast.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullin said the man suffered burns to about 18 per cent of his legs, but after being treated by paramedics refused to go to hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Winds picked up the fire, which has now burned out 750 hectares, and is heading towards Boho and the Hume Highway.

More than 40 CFA tankers are battling the blaze but the five aircraft that were assisting have been grounded because of nightfall.

The CFA says there is an imminent threat to lives and property and it may be too late for people in the Boho area to leave.

The Emergency Alert affects the area bounded by Harrys Creek Road, Hayes Road, Boho Church Road and School Road.

The CFA will carry out an investigation into how the fire started but at the moment its focus is on getting it under control.

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Venezuela riot jail under partial control

RIOT police squads are working to establish full control over a prison in northwestern Venezuela, where a riot has left at least 61 inmates dead and twice as many injured.

Prisons Minister Iris Varela admitted to reporters on Saturday that the government "was not in control of all of the area of the Uribana penitentiary" in Lara state.

Security forces were working "to remove inmates from the heart of the jail," she said, adding that the rioters and other inmates would be moved to other prisons around the country.

Meanwhile, relatives of inmates missing after the deadly violence were desperately seeking news of their loved ones.

"I don't know if my son is alive or dead behind those big doors," said Elvira Rodriguez, weeping and waiting for her son Joseph, who has spent two years awaiting trial for kidnapping. "I have looked for him in all the hospitals."

Most of the 61 killed in the clashes between prison gangs and security guards at the Uribana facility on Friday were shot by assault weapons. Antonio Maria Pineda Hospital director Ruy Medina said in an updated toll that another 120 people were wounded.

But the toll was expected to increase as security forces fought to recover control of the penitentiary.

Government sources said it was "very probable" that the final results of the operation would be announced Sunday or Monday.

National Guard troops earlier surrounded the Uribana prison as inmates in bloody clothes were taken out of the building and as distraught relatives waited for news behind the barriers. Dozens more lined up waiting for death certificates.

Carmen Garcia was seeking word on her son Edilso Rodriguez, who had been brought back to the prison after being treated in hospital for a bullet wound.

"We just cannot find anybody who will give us an explanation," said the woman of about 50, who was among about 200 relatives.

"It was like a war movie here - with tanks rolling and shooting and too much smoke," she said.

Linelida Alvarez was equally anxious to find out the fate of her brother, 21-year-old Carlos Eduardo, but braced for the worst. She said she suspected the body of her sibling was somewhere in the central part of the prison, still not controlled by the government.

"We don't know anything," Alvarez told AFP. "They told us he had received a shot in the chest. But the question is why are there so many people who have been slaughtered. There are many people with firearm wounds."

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, just back in the country after visiting President Hugo Chavez in a Cuban hospital, called the riot "regrettable" and "tragic," and said an investigation had been launched.

The Uribana prison is believed to hold about 2,500 inmates.

National Guard troops moved inside the facility in a bid to completely put down the uprising, law enforcement sources said.

Opposition parties immediately accused the government of exercising lax control over the prison system.

"Who will they blame for this massacre this time around?" opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on Twitter, calling the government "incapable and irresponsible."

Humberto Prado, head of the non-governmental Venezuelan Prison Monitoring Organization, said the government "had failed to take responsibility for the events" and instead was "piling blame on the media."

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