20 dead in air raids in Syria

AIR strikes by the Syrian military have killed at least 20 people in the northwestern province of Latakia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group says.

"The toll in several air strikes on the town of Salma in Jabal Akrad rose to at least 20 people," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP on Saturday.

Abdel Rahman said 10 of those killed were believed to be civilians, although many of the bodies were so badly disfigured that it was not immediately possible to identify them.

At least six of those killed were Syrian rebel fighters, while four were foreign volunteers, he added.

"The number of deaths is expected to rise because of the number of wounded and those in serious condition among them," he said.

Latakia province is a stronghold of the Alawite minority of President Bashar al-Assad.

In recent days, rebel forces have captured a number of villages in the Jabal Akrad, a mountainous district in the north of the province.

The army has hit back, sparking fierce fighting that has left dozens dead on both sides, according to the London based Observatory.

In Aleppo province, further east, government troops stormed a village overnight, killing 12 people, the Observatory said.

Fierce fighting also erupted during the night between government troops and rebels in the Barzeh neighbourhood of Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog said.

The army shelled both Barzeh and the Jubar district of the capital, it added.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cameron rules out Games boycott

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, claiming that anti-gay prejudice will be better tackled by attending the showpiece event.

In response to a high-profile intervention from broadcaster Stephen Fry calling for the Games to be moved, Cameron said he had shared the "deep concern" about the abuse of gay people in Russia.

But writing on Twitter the prime minister said: "I believe we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics."

Fry had urged the prime minister to support moves to strip Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympics over concerns about anti-gay laws passed in the country.

The broadcaster, writing in an open letter on his website, compared the situation to the decision to hold the 1936 games in Nazi Germany and said President Vladimir Putin "is making scapegoats of gay people".

"An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential," he said.

"Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillehammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilised world."

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Romania opens Ceausescu execution spot

THE military base where brutal Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed in 1989 has been restored and will open to the public in September, local media reports.

"Visitors will be able to see the wall where the Ceausescus were shot," Ovidiu Carstina, the director of the museum site at Targoviste in central Romania, told the Mediafax news agency on Saturday.

"The inside of the building has been repainted in the same colours as in 1989, the furniture will be the same. We are recreating both the room where the trial took place and the bedroom where they spent their last night," he said.

Authorities decided to open up the base after interest from foreign tourists in seeing the spot where the dictator died, Mediafax said.

On December 22, 1989, as angry crowds gathered in front of the Communist Party headquarters, the Ceausescus fled the capital Bucharest in a helicopter, but were stopped by the army.

After a three-day trial by a special military tribunal, the couple were sentenced to death by firing squad.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

California wildfire doubles in size

More than 1600 Californian firefighters are battling a blaze east of Los Angeles. Source: AAP

MORE than 1600 Californian firefighters are battling a blaze east of Los Angeles that has injured six people and forced hundreds to flee their homes.

The fire is estimated to cover 7200 hectares, a figure that has nearly doubled since Thursday.

Those injured include five firefighters and a civilian, the Riverside County Fire Department says.

As of Friday the fire had destroyed 29 buildings, mostly homes, and was only 40 per cent contained.

Two of the firefighters were overwhelmed by heat, and the condition of the other three has not been made public.

The civilian victim was wounded Wednesday, the day the fire broke out, and was airlifted to a burn centre, Fire Chief John Hawkins earlier told reporters.

Eight helicopters were being in use to fight the fire, which on Thursday forced the evacuation of 1,800 people in several towns near Banning, 90 miles (150 kilometres) east of Los Angeles. Some of those residents were allowed to return home on Friday.

Authorities have not determined what set off the fire.

The effort to douse the flames is being complicated by high temperatures, very low humidity and wind gusts, weather forecasters said.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenyan police quizzed over airport looting

INVESTIGATORS in Kenya are questioning police and airport workers suspected of taking advantage of a fire at Nairobi's main airport on Wednesday to steal cash and alcohol, an officer says.

"It is embarrassing because some of them concentrated on looting instead of raising alarms," said a police officer in the probe team who did not want to give his name.

"We're questioning all of them. Police officers, immigration staff, civilians who work in other areas and even taxi drivers," he added.

Security cameras caught some thieves in action, he said.

Kenyan paper Daily Nation said seven police officers would appear in court on Monday. The men were found with cash and alcohol on them, the paper said.

The cause of the fire that broke out at 5am local time at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday and blazed out of control for several hours has not yet been determined.

The airport's main arrivals hall was gutted in the blaze.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ruled out terrorism.

But "those responsible for negligence will have to be punished", he warned on a visit to the airport Friday.

The fire caused no casualties but paralysed the airport, which is the principal aviation hub for east Africa, on Wednesday.

International and domestic flights were cancelled.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gunmen grab two Turkish pilots in Lebanon

GUNMEN have kidnapped two pilots working for Turkish Airlines on Beirut's airport road, Lebanon's Interior Minister Marwan Charbel says.

The kidnap early on Friday is believed to be linked to the abduction of nine Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, whose families have urged Turkey to use its influence to secure their release.

"A kidnapping operation took place at 3.00am targeting a bus carrying several members of a Turkish Airlines crew going from the airport to the hotel," Charbel said.

"Gunmen kidnapped two passengers from the bus, the pilot and co-pilot," he added.

Lebanese sources said four gunmen were involved in the kidnapping, and that seven other passengers on the bus were not targeted.

Charbel said he had spoken with Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon and that an investigation was under way, including questioning the bus driver.

In the wake of the incident, Lebanese soldiers deployed in the area, with two armoured personnel carriers stationed by the roadside where the kidnapping took place.

In Turkey, the kidnapped men were named as pilot Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot, Murat Agca.

Speaking to Turkish television, Ankara's ambassador to Beirut, Inan Ozyildiz, said "the case is being followed closely" and that he was working with "Lebanese forces to free the two pilots".

The abduction is believed to be related to the kidnap of nine Lebanese Shi'ites in Syria in May 2012.

They were part of a group of Shi'ite pilgrims and went missing in northern Syria's Aleppo province as they returned from a pilgrimage in Iran.

The women in the group and two men were released, but nine men are still missing.

Their kidnap was claimed by a man who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim and said he was a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army, but the FSA denies any involvement.

The families of those kidnapped have staged protests outside Turkish Airlines offices in Beirut, arguing that Ankara - a strong backer of the Syria rebels - should use its influence to secure the release of their relatives.

There have been several failed rounds of negotiations to free the pilgrims.

The kidnappers have not spelled out any demands, although they have claimed that the hostages were members of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shi'ite party that is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

A representative for the families of the kidnapped Lebanese in a statement denied any involvement in Friday's abduction of the Turkish pilots.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ethiopian military jet crashes in Somalia

A cargo plane carrying weapons has crash-landed on a runway in Somalia's capital. Source: AAP

AN Ethiopian Air Force cargo plane has crash-landed at Mogadishu's seaside airport, killing four people on board, the African Union says.

Two crew members were rescued by emergency personnel and are being treated in the African Union military hospital near the base, said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, an African Union representative to Somalia. He said the runway wasn't damaged and airport operations are expected to resume soon.

The 8am crash on Friday sent dark plumes of smoke over Mogadishu. An airport official who insisted on anonymity said the plane was full of weapons.

The weapons most likely would have been destined for African Union or Somali troops, who continue to battle al-Qaeda-linked militants from al-Shabab. The militants have shot at planes in the past but not in recent years.

Air traffic has increased significantly at the airport as Mogadishu continues on a slow recovery from decades of warfare. Two major international carriers - Turkish Airlines and Air Uganda - operate direct flights into Mogadishu.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spain to review rail safety after crash

SPAIN says it will review its railway network to improve security after a train derailed last month killing 79 people, the country's deadliest train disaster in decades.

"We are carrying out a general review of all protocols and all security systems, as well as speed limits. When I say all, it is of the entire railway network," Public Works Minister Ana Pastor on Friday told a parliamentary panel about the July 24 crash.

"We are analysing the network. And we will take decisions that improve security based on this analysis," she added.

The eight carriage train was hurtling around a bend at 179km/h, more than twice the speed limit, when it leapt off the tracks near the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, according to its data recording "black boxes".

It came to rest in a mangled heap after ploughing into a concrete siding.

The driver, 52-year-old Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, was on the telephone to the on-board conductor and stopped speaking just 11 seconds before the train flew off the tracks.

Garzon has been provisionally charged with 79 counts of reckless homicide. He has been released under court supervision while an investigation into the crash continues.

In his first testimony to the regional court in Santiago that is investigating the accident last month, Garzon said he "didn't understand" how he failed to brake in time.

"I can't explain. I still don't understand," he told the judge when asked why he hadn't slowed down in time to take the sharp bend four kilometres (three miles) away from Santiago de Compostela station.

"I tell you sincerely that I don't know. Otherwise I would not have been so crazy as not to brake" earlier, he added according to a court recording of the hearing.

Railway officials say the track where the train crashed was not equipped with the automatic braking systems in place on some high-speed lines and that it was therefore left up to the driver to brake.

The president of state train company Renfe, Julio Gomez-Pomar, told the parliamentary panel on Thursday that the crew had not reported any problems with the train before the crash.

"All security procedures were followed correctly," he said.

"We are committed to finding out what caused the accident and we will continue to improve the safety of the Spanish rail system."

Nine foreigners, including two Americans, were among the 79 people who died in the accident.

Many aboard the train were Catholic pilgrims heading for Santiago de Compostela's internationally celebrated annual festival honouring St James, a disciple of Jesus whose bones are said to rest in a crypt beneath the altar of the city's cathedral.

It was Spain's deadliest rail accident since 1944 when hundreds were killed in a train collision, also between Madrid and Galicia. In 1972, 77 people died when a train derailed between Cadiz and Seville

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hong Kong shares up 0.7% by close

HONG Kong shares have closed 0.7 per cent higher after China posted upbeat industrial output data for July that hit a five-month high.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Friday gained 151.68 points to 21,807.56 on turnover of $HK44.13 billion ($A6.30 billion).

China's key industrial production growth accelerated to a five-month high of 9.7 per cent in July, the government said.

Authorities also announced steady expansion in retail sales and fixed asset investment, and a benign inflation figure of 2.7 per cent, unchanged from last month.

"Taken with Thursday's better-than-expected trade data, there's more reason to be positive on the economy," Minsheng Securities analyst Zheng Ping told Dow Jones Newswires.

Exports and imports, which had contracted in June, rebounded last month, growing 5.1 per cent and 10.9 per cent year-on-year respectively, according to Customs figures on Thursday.

Mainland plays were strong performers in Hong Kong after the slightly lower than expected inflation reading raised hopes China's leadership will introduce new measures to support slowing economic growth.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.2 per cent, its biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks. Shares of China Life rose 1.3 per cent to $HK18.52 and PetroChina gained 0.6 per cent to $HK8.87.

Mainland grocery giant China Resources Enterprises rose 7.8 per cent to $HK25.70 after announcing it is holding talks with British supermarket chain Tesco to form a joint venture.

Chinese shares ended up 0.36 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 7.34 points to 2,052.24 on turnover of 83.0 billion yuan ($A15.02 billion).

Resources shares led gains. Baotou Steel Rare-Earth surged by its 10 per cent daily limit to 28.16 yuan, Xiamen Tungsten gained 6.58 per cent to 30.92 yuan and Jiangxi Copper rose 3.94 per cent to 17.16 yuan.

Yanzhou Coal Mining climbed 2.91 per cent to 10.27 yuan while Yangquan Coal Industry rose 2.62 per cent to 9.02 yuan.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dead fish after oil spill in Manila Bay

A diesel oil spill has spread a large reddish stain over the Philippines' Manila Bay. Source: AAP

A HUGE diesel oil spill has shut down parts of the Philippine capital's vital fishing industry, jeopardising the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people living along Manila Bay's coast.

Dead fish floated on the water and some residents fell ill from the fumes, as authorities said an estimated 500,000 litres of oil cast a slick across 20 kilometres of the coastline.

"Many of our young and elderly residents are getting sick," Marcos Solis, the captain of a fishing village near the worst of the oil spill, said on Friday.

"The price of fish and shellfish has also collapsed. Even those who fish far out to sea are affected because the fish smell the oil and swim away."

Authorities said the slick was caused by either a leak at an oil terminal on the bay or a ship that had unloaded diesel there.

Coastguard marine environmental protection chief Commodore Joel Garcia told reporters the slick stretched seaward about 15 kilometres from the shore, covering an area of 300 square kilometres.

"I cannot say that we have contained it because it has affected so wide an area," Garcia told reporters.

The area described by the coastguard covers about 15 per cent of the bay, the country's busiest body of water in a region where about 30 million people live, according to government data.

Locals said they feared for the immediate future of the bay's vibrant fish and shellfish industry, which feeds millions of people in the capital and surrounding areas.

"Fish and shellfish are floating up dead. It could be months before the shellfish industry is revived unless the water is cleaned up soon," Jose Ricafrente, mayor of Rosario fishing town, told AFP.

He said 40,000 people dependent on the fishing and shellfish industry in the bay were temporarily without jobs.

Asis Perez, head of the government's fisheries and aquatic resources bureau, also told AFP the oil spill was impacting a vital section of the region's fishing industry.

"Each boat here would typically haul in 30-40 kilograms of fish a day, so definitely the impact is huge," Perez told AFP by telephone as he toured the affected areas by boat.

Ricafrente said he had implemented an emergency "food-for-work" program, in which fishermen and their families would help in the clean-up in exchange for rice and canned goods with the local government.

The residents were collecting diesel from the water using bottles and other improvised scooping implements.

"Even the children are helping out. We have asked them to wear face masks," he said.

Ricafrente said at least two Rosario residents were taken to hospital and were put on oxygen tubes on Thursday, but both had recovered.

Garcia, the coastguard official, said authorities initially suspected the leak had come from the tanker that had unloaded fuel at the depot.

The 34,000-barrel-capacity M/T Makisig and its crew have been detained, he added.

However, Garcia said coastguard divers later found a leaking underwater fuel pipe that leads to the jetty of the Rosario oil terminal, owned by Philippine refiner Petron Corp.

In a statement issued on its account on the social networking site Facebook, Petron insisted its pipeline was intact.

"According to initial information, the leak may have come from the vessel but this will have to be investigated further," it said.

Garcia said the oil slick would likely remain for the next few days, or up to a week, depending on sea currents and the weather. He said the oil was expected to evaporate as it was exposed to sunlight.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Korea approves $US6m aid for North

SOUTH Korea has approved $US6 million ($A6.74 million) in government aid for vaccines, medical care and food for North Korean children.

Seoul officials say it's the first such humanitarian aid set aside for Pyongyang since President Park Geun-hye took office in February.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said on Tuesday that it will send UNICEF the money on Wednesday.

Seoul last provided aid through the UN agency in 2011.

Park has vowed a tough response to any North Korean provocations but has also worked to build trust and encourage dialogue.

The aid comes as the Koreas remain deadlocked over efforts to restart a jointly-run factory park in North Korea that has been shuttered since Pyongyang withdrew its workers in April.

Pyongyang hasn't responded to a call by Seoul in late July for another round of talks.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Four sentenced for Hungary Roma killings

A COURT in Hungary has sentenced four men for the racially motivated killings of six ethnic Roma between 2008 and 2009.

Three men were handed life terms, while an accomplice was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The verdict is not final and can be appealed.

The four were arrested in August 2009 for armed attacks against Roma family homes on the edge of remote rural settlements that began in July 2008.

According to the indictment, in nine attacks the perpetrators used a total of 80 gun shots and set Roma homes on fire with Molotov cocktails.

Hungary's Roma are among the country's most disadvantaged citizens, often living in de facto segregation on the edge of villages.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Delays expected as Virgin system crashes

VIRGIN Australia has warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations to flights on Tuesday night following a worldwide computer glitch which crashed the airline's check in service.

Thousands of frustrated passengers are banked up in queues at Sydney airport with Virgin one of several airlines affected by problems with the Sabre booking and check-in system.

A Virgin spokeswoman said the airline had cancelled 35 flights on its domestic and international network and there were currently delays of up to an hour at airports.

The airline said the temporary outage occurred between 2pm (AEST) and 4pm on Tuesday but the disruptions were expected to continue.

It was working with Sabre to get flight back on track.

"We're working to get it back to normal as soon as possible," the spokeswoman told AAP.

The airline has cancelled flights on Tuesday afternoon and is busily arranging accommodation and new travel plans for stranded passengers.

Among the travellers was NSW south coast resident Beverley King, whose 2pm flight to Cairns, to play squash in Great Barrier Reef Games, was cancelled.

She's been waiting at the airport for nearly six hours.

Asked if the airline was looking after her, Mrs King told AAP: "Oh you've got to be kidding!"

Mrs King has to stay with a friend overnight before making a second trek to the airport on Wednesday.

Insurance agent Bodo Lenitschek was also bound for Cairns after a work training trip in Sydney.

"Things happen, it's frustrating, it's taken too long for them to tell us what's going on," he told AAP.

"The staff are friendly enough but no information is coming through."

Welsh backpacker Richie Morgan was looking forward to a few beers in tropical paradise in far north Queensland with his mates.

"It is what it is," he told AAP.

The airline's provided an $8 meal voucher and staff have been handing out water bottles.

Swiss backpacker Noura Imhof and her group of friends had the best seats in the house, sitting on their bags eating chips and playing with their tablets.

Virgin advised passengers to check its website for updates.

People who miss flights on Tuesday will be provided with a full credit for the cost of the flight and customers will be able to change their flight to the same destination to another service until August 13 for free.

Customers stranded overseas may be eligible for hotel accommodation.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rudd too sensitive to media: Howard

John Howard has criticised Kevin Rudd (pic) for "whingeing" over a Sydney newspaper front page. Source: AAP

WHEN John Howard opposed the idea of Australia becoming a republic, he knew his view wasn't shared by most of the country's media.

If he didn't, Rupert Murdoch's The Daily Telegraph certainly drilled it home during 1998's Constitutional Convention to nut out a referendum on the issue.

The Sydney News Corp tabloid ran a photo of the former prime minister sitting on his own during the 10 days of deliberations.

The headline?

"Alone on the Queen's bench."

But Mr Howard didn't take it personally.

"It was a very clever headline," he quipped to a lunchtime audience in Sydney on Tuesday.

When petrol prices rose a few years later, the tabloid dressed him and then treasurer Peter Costello up as Middle Eastern oil tycoons.

"They had Peter Costello and me dressed up as Sheikhs, the implication we were responsible."

Mr Howard conceded he's had his ups and downs with the media.

"But you've just got to cop that in Australian politics."

Which is what he says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should do after the Telegraph led its Monday edition with a full-page photo of Mr Rudd and an editorial under the headline: "Kick this mob out".

Mr Rudd hit back, saying News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch had repeatedly made his political stance clear through his publications and public statements.

Mr Howard said his successor was "sensitive" for "whinging" so early on in an election campaign.

"One of the big mistakes this government made is to single out people in Rupert Murdoch's pretty successful business," he said.

"It's not good for our country, to have political leaders attacking individuals."

There are a healthy range of views in the media, which has more diversity than in the past, Mr Howard said.

"The argument for more control of the media is less now than it's ever been."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Monday denied the coalition had the support of News Corp.

"Over the years I've copped a fair bit of criticism from News Limited papers along with some support," Mr Abbott told ABC radio.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rolf Harris silent after new arrest

Rolf Harris has been rearrested and bailed again following further allegations of sex abuse. Source: AAP

ROLF Harris is staying silent in the face of fresh sex abuse allegations after he was arrested for a second time by a UK police taskforce set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

His neighbours, however, have been vocal in their support of the Australian entertainer.

The widening police investigation was front page news in London on Tuesday with media gathering outside the performer's Berkshire home.

Harris, 83, was first arrested in late March by officers from Operation Yewtree.

He was bailed until May and then again until early August "pending further inquiries".

Now police say new allegations against Harris have come to light.

"He has returned on bail today where he was further arrested on suspicion of sexual offences in connection with further allegations made to Operation Yewtree," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday.

Harris has been bailed again and must return to a police station later in August.

There was no sign of the performer at his home on Tuesday.

When asked by AAP via the intercom whether Harris was available for comment a female voice answered "thank you very much" before hanging up.

A next door neighbour, who didn't want to be identified, said the local community was standing by the much-loved entertainer.

"I don't think you'll find anybody who will say anything critical about him," he said.

"He's lovely with the children."

Harris's British agent did not return calls or reply to emails.

Although police have never named Harris - referring to him only as "Yewtree 5" - he has widely been identified in media as the Berkshire man involved.

Harris painted a portrait of the Queen in 2005 and performed at her Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012.

But his hit British TV shows Animal Clinic and Olive The Ostrich were pulled from the air in April after he was named in relation to Operation Yewtree.

Police have stressed the allegations against Harris aren't linked to the Savile scandal other than that the Australian "was in the public spotlight at around that time".

So far 13 people have been arrested under Operation Yewtree. Of those two have been charged.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google gadget brings internet to TV

YOU know what Google Chrome is, don't you? It's a browser that sits on your computer or on your phone.

Now, it sits on your TV too. Or at least it will, if you cough up STG25 ($A43.16) or so to buy Google's latest gadget innovation, the Chromecast.

It looks like a slightly oversized USB stick. At one end there's an HDMI plug that goes into the back of your TV. At the other, a power socket. What it does is connect your TV set to the internet, and to other Chrome-capable devices in your home.

It turns your TV into a giant browser window, capable of displaying and running anything that ordinary Chrome on your computer can.

If you have a YouTube video on your tablet, you can tap a button and it will start playing on the TV. If you use Chrome as your computer's browser, you can send web pages in the same way.

All very clever, but the question is: do you actually need it?

Not for reading text - that's easier on a laptop or tablet. But for video and audio, yes. In fact, they look and sound better on the TV, because that's what it was designed to do in the first place.

So you can spend hundreds of dollars on a so-called "smart" TV that has its own built-in internet wizardry, but the beauty of Chromecast is that it adds similar wizardry to any TV with the right socket, for a fraction of the cost.

Keep an eye on the Chromecast website (www.google.com/chromecast), or on the Google Play store for details of its arrival.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor's after hours care boost for parents

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to pump $450 million into after hours school care. Source: AAP

PARENTS stressed over the daily school drop off and pick up have been promised a $450 million boost to after school hours care with Kevin Rudd's big pitch to families on the first day of campaigning.

Up to 345,000 children aged five to 12 years will benefit from the pledge, which would provide up to 500 schools with the extra funding needed to introduce new services, or expand what they currently offer.

"A kid's development doesn't just begin at 9am and end at 3pm," Mr Rudd said of the measures, which would start in 2014.

"The government will give parents a further helping hand."

Mr Rudd said after school care could open as early as 7am and run to 7pm, while extra hours might also be provided during holidays.

Additional places would be provided in areas where parent currently lack access to such care.

New services, such as music programs, supervised sport and homework clubs, would also be encouraged, with grants of up to $200,000 available to schools.

"The practical stuff which makes that time before and after school useful and a fun place to be as well," Mr Rudd said.

Families who access the improved after-school services would still be eligible for the 50 per cent Child Care Rebate, the prime minister said.

The union representing after hours care workers said the extra funding would help meet the dramatic increase in demand for services.

"This new $450 million program will go a long way to improving services offered to families, which can only make a positive contribution to children's wellbeing and to women's workforce participation," United Voice president Michael Crosby said in a statement.

ACTU President Ged Kearney said 70 per cent of people with kids were in paid work.

"They need affordable, accessible and high quality childcare as well as the ability to plan their working hours around formal care," she said in a statement.

The Women's Electoral Lobby said it would boost work opportunities for mothers "hampered by a lack of access to flexible and appropriate care for school age children".

The Australian Greens Sarah Hanson Young welcomed the move but said it only "tinkers around the edges" of the funding hole faced by the childcare sector.

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne and childcare spokeswoman Sussan Ley reminded voters Mr Rudd had promised to end the "double drop off" in 2007.

The coalition would consult with states and the sector on the after hours plan, "to check that the funding being promised can actually deliver what Labor claims".

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan on alert as 8 hurt in train blast

A BLAST on board a passenger train in central Pakistan has wounded at least eight people, police say, though the nature of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Police said the explosion happened on Monday in the washroom of a carriage on the Shalimar Express from the eastern city of Lahore to Karachi and they were investigating whether a bomb or gas cylinder was to blame.

"At least eight people have been wounded, condition of one of the victims is critical," Shehzad Asif, district police chief of Toba Tek Singh city, where the incident took place, told AFP.

"Bomb disposal experts are investigating the nature of the blast," Asif said.

Rao Asif Zaman, another police official on site, said the blast had damaged the carriage but the track remained safe.

The blast came as Pakistan was on high alert on Monday after a warning by intelligence agencies that homegrown Taliban might be planning the "biggest ever" attack in major cities, officials said.

Prisons, airports, top political leaders, Western embassies and military installations were the likely targets, officials told DPA, days after Islamist militants staged a jailbreak in a north-western city to free Taliban detainees.

Elite commandos from anti-terror police were combing the Margalla Hills overlooking the capital Islamabad, fearing the thickly forested mountains could provide militants with a launch pad for attacks on the city.

"Our men are searching through the hills," said Sikandar Hayat, Islamabad police chief. "We have a very specific threat."

He said militants were planning to attack "sensitive buildings" on Constitutional Avenue, the city's main boulevard.

The presidential palace, the prime minister's secretariat and residence and a fortified walled enclave housing embassies are located on the road in the foothills of Margalla.

Hayat said militants wanted to attack some "high-value" targets but did not say if the president or the prime minister were among them.

"We are on red alert for an indefinite period. It is the highest level of security," the police chief said amid a global warning of possible al-Qaeda attacks.

Authorities in the southern province of Sindh called in commandos from a paramilitary force to secure jails in Hyderabad and Sukkur towns, said one official who declined to be named.

Paramilitary rangers were deployed to reinforce police at the airport in Islamabad after intelligence agencies discovered a Taliban plot to storm the facility in a commando-style assault and blow up planes.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK police apologise over G20 death

BRITISH police have apologised to relatives of a man who died after being pushed to the ground during protests against the G20 summit in London in 2009, and confirmed a settlement had been reached with his family.

Ian Tomlinson, 47, was hit with a baton and shoved by a riot policeman and later collapsed and died.

His widow, Julia Tomlinson, said the apology and settlement - the amount of which has not been disclosed - was "as close as we are going to get to justice".

Tomlinson's fatal encounter with riot policeman Simon Harwood was filmed by a US hedge fund manager, who passed the footage to the Guardian newspaper.

It showed Tomlinson - who had a history of alcoholism and was estranged from his family - walking away from a group of police officers, and falling to the ground after he was hit and shoved by Harwood.

Harwood was sacked last year after being found guilty of gross misconduct.

The Metropolitan Police's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Maxine de Brunner on Monday said he took "full responsibility" for Harwood's actions which "fell far below the standard we expect from our officers".

He said he accepted the finding of an inquest that Tomlinson was unlawfully killed.

"As the jury found, at the time of the strike and push Mr Tomlinson was walking away from the police line... He posed no threat'.

"Today, I apologise unreservedly for Simon Harwood's use of excessive and unlawful force, which caused Mr Tomlinson's death, and for the suffering and distress caused to his family as a result."

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hong Kong stocks rise 0.14% by close

HONG Kong stocks have risen 0.14 per cent, following a late surge on Wall Street that saw US stocks end at a record high last week despite weaker-than-expected jobs growth.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Monday gained 31.04 points to 22,222.01 on turnover of $HK42.37 billion ($A6.16 billion).

Investors were looking ahead to a semi-annual earnings report from British banking giant HSBC where shares closed up 0.8 per cent at $HK89.55, accounting for nearly all of the index's gains.

Shortly after the market closed the British bank announced its half-year net profits had jumped 22 per cent to $US10.28 ($A11.59) billon on lower costs and falling bad-debt charges.

The stock "looks much more expensive than the mainland banks but considering the transparency and uncertainties on the latter, (I'd) rather hold the global bank", said Kim Eng investment advisory head Edward Fung.

Shares in China Modern ended near a two-month high at $HK2.59, while Biostime rose 9.8 per cent to $HK43.35 and China food giant Want Want fell 3.2 per cent to $HK10.16.

Chinese shares closed up 1.04 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 21.06 points to 2,050.48 on turnover of 73.3 billion yuan ($A13.53 billion).

The government said last week that its official purchasing managers' index, a gauge of manufacturing activity, rose to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June, in a positive sign for recovery.

Chinese authorities had also introduced measures, including tax reductions on small firms and speeding up infrastructure investment, to boost its economy.

"Market expectations were not as pessimistic as earlier and the government has made clear of its policy stance to stabilise economic growth, so there's upward momentum," BOC International analyst Shen Jun told AFP.

Dairy producers led gains on hopes a scandal involving tainted whey products from New Zealand industry giant Fonterra could turn customers toward domestic brands.

Beijing Sanyuan Foods jumped 4.75 per cent to 6.62 yuan while Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group gained 3.06 per cent to 37.09 yuan.

Locomotive car makers were higher after the country's top economic planner said over the weekend it sped up approvals for some urban rail projects in the first half.

China CNR Corp advanced 2.28 per cent to 4.49 yuan while CSR Corp rose 1.71 per cent to 4.17 yuan.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rudd 'no friend to NT', says Giles

THE federal Labor government has been no friend to the Northern Territory, says Chief Minister Adam Giles.

Mr Giles has welcomed an early September election date, criticising Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's "erratic leadership" which he says has failed to deliver vital road improvements or fair education funding for NT schools.

"While he's neglected the territory ... Labor has no plan to manage the nation's economy, and will surely hit families and businesses with more taxes after the election," Mr Giles said in a statement on Sunday.

There are about 3000 asylum seekers being held in detention in Darwin, which Mr Giles said showed Labor had lost control of Australia's borders.

Other key issues for the NT are schools funding and the coalition's Northern Australian development plan.

Mr Giles refused to sign up to the Gonski education reforms before the election, and this week he backed a coalition plan which he said would cost the Territory nothing and allow it to spend money independently.

He called for Territorians to vote out the ALP's "tired" incumbent Member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, who "has failed to bring prosperity to our remote communities".

Mr Snowdon holds his seat by a margin of 3.7 per cent, and will probably be a casualty of the NT's rising discontent with federal Labor.

His enormous seat of Lingiari covers 99.8 per cent of the Territory, along with Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) islands, with a 40 per cent indigenous population.

He is being challenged by the CLP's Tina MacFarlane, a cattle station owner.

The urban Darwin and Palmerston seat of Solomon is the only other seat in the NT and is expected to remain with Natasha Griggs of the CLP.

The two NT senate seats are up for re-election this year, and are equally divided between the CLP and Labor.

Trish Crossin was dumped by former prime minister Julia Gillard earlier this year when she parachuted in former Olympian Nova Peris - who wasn't a member of the ALP when her pre-selection was announced.

Despite wide dissatisfaction over the ousting of Ms Crossin and what's seen as a paternalistic meddling in territory politics, Ms Peris will most likely keep the seat for Labor.

The second senate seat is held by Nigel Scullion of the CLP, who will also most likely keep it.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

ALP wipeout fears fade in Tasmania

LABOR is hopeful fears of a Tasmanian wipeout in the federal election won't be realised under Kevin Rudd.

The ALP occupies four of the island state's five seats and polls suggested all were vulnerable despite healthy margins while former prime minister Julia Gillard remained at the helm.

Bass and Braddon in the north were considered as good as gone by some, while tough fights were predicted for the long-serving Dick Adams in Lyons and Gillard government front-bencher Julie Collins in Franklin.

Tasmania's fifth seat, the Hobart-based Denison, is likely to be retained by high profile independent Andrew Wilkie.

Labor can be buoyed by the fact the Liberal party recorded its lowest vote ever in the state in 2010.

The ALP's vote then, under Ms Gillard, was better than under Mr Rudd three years earlier.

"They'll vote on Tasmanian issues and that's what's giving me some comfort because the coalition have not articulated anything for Tasmania," state secretary John Dowling told AAP.

But that may be wishful thinking in the state with the highest unemployment in the country and an unpopular Labor-Greens state government.

The ailing forestry sector has dominated local debate and Ms Gillard recently fast-tracked $100 million for its downsizing in the wake of the controversial peace deal between environmentalists and the industry.

The opposition says the forestry sector needs a plan for growth.

Mr Wilkie is unlikely to again be in a position influential enough to attract the hundreds of millions of dollars that have flowed to his electorate.

But polling strongly suggests he will be returned to a seat Labor held for 23 years before 2010.

"I'm travelling well right now but whether or not I can hold the seat remains to be seen," he said.

"I'm certainly not taking anything for granted, not least because that's how the Labor Party lost the seat to me three years ago."

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who replaced former leader Bob Brown, is considered likely to retain his seat.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbott ahead as Rudd calls Sept 7 election

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that Australians will go to the polls on September 7. Source: AAP

LABOR is heading into the federal election as the underdog as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tries to take the lead on the economy and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott focuses on stability.

Just over five weeks since returning as leader, Mr Rudd visited Governor-General Quentin Bryce on Sunday to seek a September 7 lower house and half-Senate election.

"It's on," he declared in a letter to ALP supporters.

But Labor faces a tough battle to retain government after six years, two changes of prime minister and a federal budget forecast to be in deficit for at least three years.

The first opinion poll of the campaign, conducted by ReachTEL for Seven Network, gives the coalition a 52-48 per cent two-party lead over Labor while Mr Abbott has a 1.8 percentage point lead as preferred prime minister with 50.9 per cent.

Mr Rudd declared he was a "stronger person" since the June 2010 coup against him by Julia Gillard's backers and had a clear plan for the economy.

"Who do the Australian people trust to best lead them through the new economic challenges that lie ahead?" he said, echoing the 2004 election war cry of former Liberal prime minister John Howard.

Mr Abbott asked whether voters wanted "three more years" of Labor internal division and economic mismanagement.

The real question was: "Who is more fair dinkum?"

"We will scrap the carbon tax, we will get the budget back under control, we build the infrastructure of the future, and we will stop the boats," he added.

Labor starts the election with 71 MPs, while the coalition has 72 in the 150-member lower house.

The ALP needs a net gain of five seats to govern in its own right, while the opposition needs four.

"You, the Australian people, know me pretty well - warts and all," Mr Rudd said.

"I would be deeply honoured to serve you the Australian people and the country into the future."

The government's latest economic update - which projected a $30 billion deficit for 2013/14, a rising jobless rate and falling revenues - was the stark proof of Labor's mismanagement, Mr Abbott said.

"This was a massive admission of failure," he added.

"If you can't manage the budget, you can't run the country."

The opposition leader promised also not to negotiate with crossbenchers or minor parties should the election end in a tie as it did in 2010.

Nationals leader Warren Truss, whose party holds 12 seats and is running 35 candidates in all mainland states and the Northern Territory, said regional Australia deserved better government.

"Voters will decide whether our country continues down the familiar dead-end road of debt, deficit and dysfunction or takes a new path to progress and prosperity," Mr Truss said.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne, whose party is aiming to retain the balance of power in the Senate and hold on to its sole lower house seat of Melbourne, said voters should send a message to the "old parties".

"We have our eyes firmly fixed on the big issues ... protecting the environment, building a caring Australia and creating a new diversified, innovative and low-carbon economy," she said.

The September 7 election date means a planned referendum to recognise local government in the constitution won't go ahead - to the disappointment of local government groups.

But the timing also means Foreign Minister Bob Carr is likely to take Mr Rudd's place and attend the Group of 20 leaders' summit in St Petersburg, Russia, on September 5-6.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

One dead, 11 hurt in LA car chaos

AN accelerating car driven by a young man screeched across a footpath and straight into a crowd enjoying one of California's most popular boardwalks, killing one person and injuring 11.

The victim died at a hospital a few hours after the Saturday night crash at the Venice Beach boardwalk, Los Angeles police lieutenant Andy Neiman said.

Security video shows the man parking his black car alongside the seaside boardwalk as the sun sank, surveying the idyllic scene for several minutes before getting back into the car and speeding into the crowd. It shows hundreds of people walking lazily or sitting at cafes before the black car suddenly appears and sends them scrambling wildly.

Witnesses reported a horrifying aftermath.

"There was people kind of stumbling around, blood dripping down their legs looking confused not knowing what had happened, people screaming," said 35-year-old Louisa Hodge, who was out enjoying the day on the Venice Beach boardwalk with a friend visiting from San Diego.

"It was blocks and blocks of people just strewn across the footpath."

Firefighters combed the chaotic crowd, finding 12 people wounded and taking 10 of them to the hospital where one later died, fire and police officials said.

Another victim was in critical condition, two more were in serious condition, and the remaining eight had minor injuries, city fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

The driver fled the scene and about an hour later, just as police were circulating word that they were seeking a black Dodge with a driver in his 20s, a man walked into a police station in neighbouring Santa Monica, told officers he was involved in the boardwalk incident, Neiman said.

Police then found a car nearby that they believe belonged to the man, Neiman said.

Detectives were questioning the man, calling him a person of interest and attempting to determine whether he was the driver, Neiman said.

Neiman would give no details on the identity of the person who died or the person of interest.

According to the security video and witness accounts, the man with a baseball cap, grey shirt and white pants parked next to the Cadillac Hotel, twice walking out to the boardwalk before getting into the Dodge Avenger and accelerating, swerving around yellow poles meant to prevent cars from getting into the pedestrian-only area and onto the boardwalk.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mugabe faces growing fallout from election

ROBERT Mugabe looked to a seventh term as Zimbabwe's president after winning elections denounced by the opposition as "stolen" and criticised by Western powers.

Mugabe, 89, who has run the country since he helped end white rule in 1980, trounced his long-standing political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, in Wednesday's election, Zimbabwean election officials said.

By the time he completes his new tenure, he will have ruled the former British colony in southern Africa for 38 years.

Official results showed Mugabe won 61 per cent of the presidential vote and his party got a super majority in parliament that will allow it to change the constitution. He routed Tsvangirai who trailed heavily with 34 per cent.

But 61-year-old Tsvangirai, who has unsuccessfully tried to unseat Mugabe three times, condemned the vote as "fraudulent and stolen".

The reaction in the Sunday press was divisive with state-controlled newspaper The Herald proclaiming "President Mugabe romps to victory", while the independent Daily News said "It's a crisis".

US Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile described the election as "deeply flawed" and said the US "does not believe that the results ... today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague added his own "grave concerns" over the conduct of the vote in the former colony.

On Sunday, Australia called for Zimbabwe to go to the polls again.

"Given our doubts about the results, Australia calls for a re-run of the elections based on a verified and agreed voters roll," Foreign Minister Bob Carr said in a statement.

Tsvangirai vowed to challenge the result in court and said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would boycott government institutions.

"We will not join government," he said. "We will go to court."

"The fraudulent and stolen election has plunged Zimbabwe into a constitutional, political and economic crisis."

With gentler assessments from African observers who nonetheless noted flaws, President Jacob Zuma of powerful neighbour South Africa offered his "profound congratulations" to Mugabe on Sunday.

"President Zuma urges all political parties in Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the elections as election observers reported it to be an expression of the will of the people," a foreign ministry statement said.

Tsvangirai has been in a coalition with Mugabe since 2009. He defended the decision then to enter into an uneasy power-sharing government with Mugabe, who has had him arrested, beaten and charged with treason.

"Our participation rescued this country. Schools had closed, hospitals had closed. We were using the Zimbabwe dollar which was worthless, there were no goods in the shops, everyone was desperate," he said.

But Mugabe's ZANU-PF party says there is no more need for the MDC in the new government.

"We have received over 60 per cent of the vote, we have two thirds majority, why would we want to bring someone else on board," State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi said to AFP.

The MDC now has until Wednesday to present evidence of fraud to the high court, but finding a smoking gun may prove difficult. Inauguration is expected within 48 hours of the court's decision.

17.52 | 0 komentar | Read More