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World's media sweat it out for royal baby

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Juli 2013 | 20.47

THE media frenzy over the birth of Prince William and his wife Catherine's baby has reached fever pitch as the reported due date came and went with no sign of the royal heir.

A rumour that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labour on Thursday spread like wildfire on Twitter and reportedly caused British Prime Minister David Cameron's office to call Buckingham Palace to check on it.

It was another false alarm, but the dozens of international journalists camped outside the private London hospital where Kate is giving birth are on tenterhooks, knowing that it could happen any day now.

The palace has said the baby was due in "mid-July" and many editors have had this weekend in the diary for weeks - even though any parent knows that babies rarely arrive on time.

William's father, Prince Charles, revealed that it is not just royal observers waiting for the baby, as they attended a festival celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on Friday.

Charles, the heir to the throne who will become a grandfather for the first time, said "it won't be long now" as he surveyed a range of commemorative china to mark the new arrival.

His second wife Camilla, who is already a grandmother, added in conversation: "We are very excited. Immensely looking forward to it and waiting for the phone call."

The popularity of William and Kate, who married in a glittering wedding at Westminster Abbey in 2011, has turned the birth of their first child into a global event.

Media organisations have been installed outside St Mary's Hospital in Paddington for almost two weeks now, and in the absence of news, time has been passing slowly.

For the television networks, the top priority is to hold their positions around the clock, working 12-hour shifts in baking summer heat.

That means fiercely defending their territory, never yielding an inch of space to a rival station, and woe betide anyone touching the gaffer tape marking out an organisation's patch.

The main British news broadcasters - BBC, ITN and Sky News - have got the prime spots, lined up in front of the major US networks, which have maximised their space with some mammoth pieces of broadcasting hardware.

Behind them, it is a scramble to get a decent angle to shoot the doorway where William himself first saw daylight in 1982, carried out of the Lindo Wing by his parents Prince Charles and Diana.

For the time being, the door is guarded by a police officer who is rapidly becoming the most filmed man on the planet.


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Track fault blamed in French train crash

A passenger train has derailed and crashed into a station outside Paris, killing at least seven. Source: AAP

A TRAIN derailment near Paris that killed six people was caused by a fault in the tracks, France's state rail company says, as the transport minister urged upgrades to aging regional lines.

The SNCF said the derailment on Friday, which left dozens injured, was caused by a connecting bar that had come loose at a rail switch at the station at Bretigny-sur-Orge, about 25km south of Paris.

The joint bar "broke away, it became detached and came out of its housing," said Pierre Izard, the SNCF's general manager for infrastructure.

It "lodged itself at the centre of the switch, prevented the normal progression of the train's wheels and seems to have caused the train's derailment," he said.

The company said the switch had been checked on July 4 and that it was immediately ordering checks of some 5000 similar joints on its network.

"We have decided to check equipment of this nature on the entire network and are starting now," SNCF chief Guillaume Pepy said.

Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier said human error was not to blame for the accident, praising the train's driver who he said "had absolutely extraordinary reflexes by sending the alert immediately", preventing a collision with an oncoming train.

But he said France's regional rail lines were out of date, after the SNCF focused much of its attention in recent years on high-speed TGV lines.

"We cannot be satisfied with rolling stock that is 30 years old," Cuvillier said, adding: "The situation is severe, with the deterioration in recent years of traditional lines because of a lack of resources."

A railway passenger association also denounced what it called "rust-bucket trains" and the practice of coupling different types of trains together, demanding proper inspections.

A minute of silence was held at noon on Saturday on all French trains and in all stations for the victims of the accident, which took place as many were leaving for summer holidays ahead of the Bastille Day holiday on Sunday.

A source close to the investigation said the dead were four men and two women, aged between 19 and 82.

In what officials described as a "catastrophe", the train came off the tracks and crashed into the station platform at 5.14 pm local time on Friday, as it travelled at 137km/h on its way from Paris to the west-central city of Limoges.

Four carriages of the train jumped the tracks, of which three overturned. One carriage smashed across a platform and came to rest on a parallel track; another lay half-way across the platform. There were 385 passengers on the train.

The local prefect's office said six people had been killed and nine seriously injured, including two in critical condition. Health officials said at least 50 people had been treated for injuries.

Rescuers worked throughout the night searching for victims potentially trapped in overturned carriages, but the prefect's office said no more were expected to be found.

The SNCF, judicial authorities and France's BEA safety agency were each carrying out separate investigations of the accident.

Witnesses said the crash site resembled a war zone, with 57-year-old passenger Marc Cheutin saying he had to "step over a decapitated person" to exit the carriage he had been travelling in.

The derailment was France's worst rail accident since 2008, when a train collided with a schoolbus, killing seven schoolchildren.


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Apologies over plane crash gaffe

US officials have apologised for mistakenly confirming false and offensive names identifying the pilots of the Asiana flight that crashed in San Francisco, leaving three dead and scores injured.

Fox network affiliate KTVU news Channel 2 in Oakland identified the pilots in their noon broadcast on Friday as "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow."

KTVU cited the National Transportation Safety Board as their source, but quickly realised the mistake and apologised.

"These names were not accurate despite an NTSB official in Washington confirming them late this morning," KTVU said late on Friday.

The NTSB later apologised for the "inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed" as those of the Asiana pilots - and blamed the mistake on an intern.

"In response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft," the statement read.

The NTSB "does not release or confirm the names of crew members or people involved in transportation accidents to the media," the board said.

"Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated."

The NTSB told the San Francisco Chronicle the offensive names "originated at the media outlet," and that the intern did not realise they were offensive and was "acting in good faith and trying to be helpful."

Three people died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 6 and more than 180 were injured.

In Seoul, Asiana Airlines earlier identified the pilot flying the Boeing 777 that crashed as Lee Kang-Kuk, 46.


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14 killed in traffic pile-up near Moscow

FOURTEEN people have been killed and 16 injured in a traffic accident outside Moscow involving a truck, a passenger bus and other vehicles, officials say.

Police said that according to initial information, the accident took place on Saturday when the truck which was carrying a cargo of gravel turned onto a main road and ploughed into the bus.

The interior ministry said that the 14 killed included a young child.

The bus, which was taking passengers on a regular public transport route from Podolsk to Zhokhovo in the Moscow region, was broken up into two parts by the force of the collision, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.


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Pamplona bull run hospitalises 23

Bull-runners were crushed in a pile-up in Pamplona on the seventh day of Spain's famed festival. Source: AAP

HALF-TONNE bulls have ploughed into a human pile-up in the Spanish city of Pamplona, leaving 23 injured, one seriously, at the celebrated San Fermin festival.

Bulls charged into the back of a pile of runners who were stuck in the narrow entrance to a bullring at the end of Saturday's short dash through the town's cobbled streets.

Two bulls leapt over the pile, crushing runners under their hooves. Panicked festival-goers in traditional white shirts and red neckerchiefs scrambled over those in front of them and others tried to pull the fallen free.

The rest of the animals - of the six bulls and six steers that ran - were herded to the arena through a side passage.

Several people were also trampled under the bulls' hooves during the crowded 850-metre run through the city's narrow streets, which lasted four minutes and 15 seconds.

It was the sixth day of the fiesta in this northern town, which draws festival-goers and daredevils from around the world for a week of drinking and perilous bull-runs.

Javier Sesma, head of the emergency unit of the local Navarra Hospital, told reporters that 23 people were hospitalised overall in the run and the pile-up.

These included a 19-year-old man from the Spanish town of Vitoria who was in serious condition with a chest injury, and an Irishman of 28 with a less severe injury, also to his chest.

The 19-year-old was "in an especially serious condition with a chest trauma causing breathing problems, and is requiring breathing apparatus," Sesma said. "He is in a stable but serious condition."

He added that two other people were being treated after being gored by the bulls' horns, with a Spaniard of 18 wounded in the armpit and a 35-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, injured in the buttock.

Local government minister Javier Morras said the authorities were analysing exactly what caused the pile-up, which was broadcast live on public television.

Morras told reporters that one of the inner doors to the arena had got pushed shut in the rush, narrowing access and contributing to the pile-up.

Saturday's chaotic run nearly doubled the overall number of those hospitalised in the previous six days of bull runs, which had stood at 22 before Saturday's charge, according to the Navarre region authorities.

During Friday's run, bulls gored three men including a 20-year-old American.

Each year, hundreds of other people are treated by medics and the Red Cross at the scene for cuts and scrapes without being hospitalised.

The festival ends on Sunday.


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Thousands evacuated as typhoon nears

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 12 Juli 2013 | 20.48

THOUSANDS of people have been evacuated in Taiwan and the entire island declared an "alert zone" as Typhoon Soulik edges nearer.

More than 8000 people have been moved from their homes, many from southern areas prone to landslides, the Central Emergency Operation Centre says as the typhoon is expected to pound the country with powerful winds and heavy rain over the weekend.

"The whole country is now considered an alert zone," an official from the National Fire Agency told AFP.

Around 5000 of those who have been evacuated were from the landslide zones in the south - 3000 were moved out of Kaohsiung city and 2000 others from Pingtung county.

They have been taken to local government buildings which have been turned into shelters.

Offices and schools closed in Taipei and eight other cities, with residents advised to stay indoors as the typhoon churns towards the island.

Packing winds of up to 209km/h, Soulik is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast around 3am on Saturday (0500 AEST), the Central Weather Bureau said.

The bureau downgraded Soulik from a super typhoon to a moderate typhoon but warned residents across the island to prepare for "extreme torrential rain" - classified as 350mm within 24 hours - and rough seas.

In the north, more than 600 residents were evacuated from six low-lying riverside villages on Friday morning.

In Wuchieh, a township in the northeastern Yilan county - which is forecast to bear the brunt of Soulik - over 2000 sandbags were snatched up by residents and two amphibious military vehicles deployed for rescue.

Waves as high as 1.5 metres hit the shore in Yilan on Friday afternoon as coastguards patrolled the beach to warn visitors to stay away while hundreds of fishing boats sought shelter.

"Many farmers have harvested rice, fruits and vegetables early as the typhoon is expected to impact our area," said Huang Hai-tao, an official in Jiaosi, a popular tourist destination in Yilan.

"The typhoon has also caused some damage to tourism as more than 90 per cent bookings for this weekend have been cancelled."

President Ma Ying-jeou urged government units and the public "not to let their guards down" in a statement, after inspecting the central government's disaster response centre.

A coastal highway in Yilan where 20 Chinese tourists were killed by landslides caused by Typhoon Megi in 2010 was also closed.

More than 2000 tourists had already been evacuated from the remote Green Island, southeast of Taiwan, on Thursday.

The storm has disrupted air travel to and from Taiwan with 65 flights cancelled according to the transport authorities.


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NSW teen catches fire, police hunt for ex

A HUNT is underway for a teenager whose ex-girlfriend was allegedly doused in accelerant as she stood near an open fire at a home south of Wollongong.

The woman, 19, caught alight and had to be airlifted to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital where she remained in an induced coma on Friday night.

She was found severely burned at a home in Koona Avenue, Albion Park Rail, about midday (AEST) on Friday, police said.

Police established a crime scene and seized several items for forensic analysis.

Investigators have been told the woman had previously been in a relationship with a 17-year-old male, who is now wanted for questioning.


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Mandela's wife now 'less anxious'

South Africa has marked 50 years since the police raid that led to Nelson Mandela's life sentence. Source: AAP

GRACA Machel, the wife of ailing South African icon Nelson Mandela, says she is less anxious about his condition, five weeks after he was admitted to hospital.

"He continues to respond positively to treatment. I would say that today I'm less anxious than I was a week ago," she told state-backed SABC television.

It is the latest in a series of upbeat accounts, which seem to suggest that while the 94-year-old's condition remains "critical", it has improved somewhat.

After visiting Mandela late Thursday, President Jacob Zuma said he was "responding to treatment."

"He remains as much of a fighter now as he was 50 years ago," Zuma said, marking the anniversary of a police raid that led to Mandela's life sentence in prison.

Earlier in the week Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, who is one of Mandela's nephews and king of his Thembu tribe, said the former statesman was "conscious".

"He could not talk, but he recognised me and made a few gestures of acknowledgment, like moving his eyes."

Two weeks ago the prognosis appeared much bleaker, with family massing at his Pretoria hospital as Zuma abruptly cancelled a trip to Mozambique.

Doctors are said to have ruled out switching off Mandela's life support machines unless there is serious organ failure.

Court documents filed on behalf of the family last month described Mandela's condition as "perilous", with one claiming he was in a "vegetative state".

Mandela, who turns 95 next week, was rushed to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection.


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Popular roving UK broadcaster Whicker dies

ALAN Whicker, one of the most widely-travelled and popular UK broadcasters of his generation, has died aged 87.

The presenter and reporter died in the early hours of Friday at his home in Jersey after suffering from bronchial pneumonia, his spokeswoman said.

For more than 40 years he roamed the world for the BBC and independent TV networks, seeking out the eccentric, the ludicrous and the socially revealing aspects of everyday life from all over the globe.

He was probably best known for Whicker's World, his long-running documentary program which he presented from 1959 to 1990.

And he acquired over the years an enviable reputation of having no equal as a television commentator.

Alan Donald Whicker was born in Cairo, Egypt, on August 2 1925, but moved to England as a young child on the death of his father.

He attended Haberdashers' Aske's School and was commissioned as an officer in the Devonshire Regiment during the Second World War, serving as a captain.

He then joined the Army Film and Photo Unit in Italy in 1943, filming at Anzio.

Whicker was also responsible for taking into custody British traitor John Amery, who was subsequently executed.

In a 2004 TV series, called Whicker's War, he disclosed that he was one of the first of the Allied forces to enter Milan and that he took into custody an SS general and troopers who were looking after the SS money vault.

He also shot footage of the body of Mussolini.

After the war he became a journalist and broadcaster, acting as a newspaper correspondent in the Korean War, during which he was mistakenly reported as having been killed.

He joined the BBC in 1957 and was a reporter for the famous Tonight program.

Soon after that he began his Whicker's World series, which over the years consistently claimed a place in the top 10 ratings.

He was also instrumental in the launch of Yorkshire Television.

Whicker was noted for probing the private worlds of the rich and famous on cruise ships, the Orient Express, at cocktail parties, on world tours, in health spas and gentlemen's clubs.

He lured countless individuals into allowing him a privileged glimpse of sometimes extraordinary lives.

Among his "victims" were John Paul Getty and Haiti's feared dictator "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

On one occasion, while in the US, he heard about an Alan Whicker impersonation contest. He entered and came third.

He was also the man behind the popular advertising slogan Hello World for Travelocity.

Whicker was awarded a CBE in the 2005 New Year Honours list for services to broadcasting.

He had lived in Jersey and is survived by his long-standing partner Valerie Kleeman.


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Britain shelves plain cigarette pack plans

BRITAIN has announced it is postponing plans to introduce plain packaging on cigarettes, saying it's waiting to see the results of a similar move in Australia.

Prime Minister David Cameron faced criticism over the move, with opposition MPs asking whether the decision had been influenced by links between his chief party strategist and tobacco companies.

Health Minister Jeremy Hunt said the decision was delayed because the government wants more time to see how a similar system in Australia works before committing to such a policy.

In December 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to force tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in identical, olive-green packets bearing the same typeface and largely covered with graphic health warnings.

The British government is reported to be worried about the impact on jobs in the tobacco industry that any ban on branded packaging might have, especially at a time of austerity and economic stagnation.

Diane Abbott, health spokeswoman for the opposition Labour party, told parliament the government had made a "disgraceful U-turn".

"We have to ask, what happened? We suspect Lynton Crosby happened," she said, referring to the election strategist for Cameron's centre-right Conservative party.

Cameron's opponents have pounced on reports that a public relations firm run by Crosby, an Australian, had previously acted for tobacco firms opposed to the Australian plain packaging move and alcohol companies which reject minimum pricing.

Cameron's official spokesman rejected any link.

"The prime minister has never been lobbied by Lynton Crosby on cigarette packaging. The important point to stress on this issue is that Lynton Crosby has had no involvement in the decision," the spokesman told reporters.


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China plans to further restrict car use

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 11 Juli 2013 | 20.48

China will further restrict the sale of cars for private use in a bid to fight pollution. Source: AAP

CHINA is planning to up the number of cities that restrict vehicle purchases, in a bid to fight pollution and congestion.

Four cities including Beijing and Shanghai already curb the purchase of vehicles for private use, for example by restricting sales to 20,000 per year through a lottery system.

On Thursday, state media quoted the deputy secretary general of the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers as saying eight more cities are likely to announce similar policies.

The eight include port city Tianjin, near Beijing, metropolis Chongqing in the southwest and industrial powerhouse Shenzhen, not far from Hong Kong.

With more than 13 million cars sold in China last year, motor vehicles and their emissions have emerged as the chief culprit for air pollution in large cities.


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N Korea shelves talks on family reunions

NORTH Korea has retracted its proposal to hold talks with South Korea on restarting a family reunion program, after separate discussions on reopening a joint industrial estate faltered.

The North's sudden move came a day after the two Koreas agreed in principle to hold talks on reunions for hundreds of thousands of families separated since the 1950-53 war.

"In a message sent today to our side, North Korea said it is retracting its proposal in an effort to focus" on discussions on restarting the Kaesong industrial estate, a unification ministry official told AFP.

Pyongyang had proposed that a Red Cross meeting on restarting a temporary family reunion program be held on July 19. It also suggested talks on July 17 about restarting tours by southerners to its Mount Kumgang resort.

The South said it was premature to discuss the Kumgang tours while the Kaesong talks are still going on.

Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae told a forum on Thursday that progress at talks on the estate could help resolve a standoff over the suspended tours.

The Mount Kumgang resort opened in 1998 and once earned the North tens of millions of dollars a year. But Seoul suspended tours by its citizens after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean housewife there in 2008.

Pyongyang accused Seoul of insincerity on Wednesday after talks on the Kaesong estate, built as a symbol of reconciliation, failed to reach a firm agreement on a restart. But the two sides will meet again next Monday.

The industrial zone, just north of the border, opened in 2004 but shut down three months ago as relations approached crisis point.

At a rare weekend meeting the two sides agreed in principle to reopen the estate, where 53,000 North Koreans worked in 123 Seoul-owned factories producing textiles or light industrial goods.

The North in April withdrew its workers from Kaesong, an important source of hard currency for Pyongyang, citing military tensions and what it called the South's hostility.

The South now wants firm safeguards from the North against shutting Kaesong down unilaterally, to keep the zone insulated from changes in relations.

This would be a bitter pill for the North to swallow as it means it would accept responsibility for the April closure.


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US unemployment benefit applications rise

US unemployment benefit applications rose 16,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, although the level remains consistent with steady hiring.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week average increased 6000 to 351,750.

The weekly applications data can be volatile in early July because some automakers briefly shut down their factories to prepare for new models and many schools close.

Those factors can create a temporary spike in layoffs.

The broader trend has been favourable.

Applications have declined steadily in the past year, as companies have laid off fewer workers and stepped up hiring.

In the past six months, employers have added an average of 202,000 jobs a month.

That's up from an average of 180,000 in the previous six months.

Employers added 195,000 jobs in June, and revisions showed that an additional 70,000 jobs were added in the previous two months.

The unemployment rate was 7.6 per cent, down from 8.2 per cent a year earlier.

Applications fell to their lowest level since the recession began in the April-June quarter, according to calculations by Joseph LaVorgna, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank.

They averaged 346,000 a week in the second quarter.

That is the lowest quarterly average since it was 338,000 in the final three months of 2007.


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Hundreds of Srebrenica victims buried

BOSNIA has buried 409 victims of the Srebrenica massacre, including a newborn baby, on the 18th anniversary of the worst slaughter in post-war Europe.

More than 15,000 people travelled to Potocari, near Srebrenica to attend the mass funeral of victims whose remains were found in mass graves and only identified almost two decades after the 1995 killing.

"This year we are going to bury the youngest victim of the genocide, the Muhic family's baby," Kenan Karavdic, a government official in charge of Thursday's burial ceremony told AFP.

The baby girl died shortly after birth in July 1995 at the UN base in Potocari.

She was buried next to the grave of her father Hajrudin, also a victim of the massacre in which 8000 men and boys were executed by Serb forces after they overran the UN-protected town.

Her tiny casket was covered with a modest green cloth with a white rose wreath on top and placed in a grave with a sign that read only: "The Muhic newborn."

The baby's mother, her head covered with a red veil, held the coffin as she murmured a Muslim prayer through sobs.

Many of those present lined up in front of the coffins praying, their hands turned towards the sky, amid drizzling rain.

Among the 409 victims laid to rest, 44 were aged between 14 and 18, officials said.

The sombre ceremony fell on the same day as the UN Yugoslav war crimes court was set to rule on an appeal to drop a charge of genocide against Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, who is accused of masterminding the Srebrenica massacre.

Srebrenica was a UN-protected Muslim enclave until July 11, 1995, when it was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces.

Dutch peacekeepers in the so-called "safe area", where thousands of Muslims from surrounding villages had gathered for protection, helplessly looked on as the massacre unfolded.

The Serbs loaded thousands of men and boys on to trucks, executed them and then threw their bodies into mass graves.

The remains of 5657 victims, identified through DNA tests, have already been buried in the memorial centre in Potocari since the process started a decade ago.

Their remains - often only a handful of bones - were found in dozens of mass graves scattered in the area, said Amor Masovic, head of the Bosnia's Institute for Missing Persons.

But many victims remain unidentified and more are yet to be found.

The Srebrenica massacre has been judged an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice.

After escaping justice for years, both Karadzic and Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic are now being tried by the ICTY for warcrimes and genocide.


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Electronic tag firms overcharged UK govt

THE British government is calling in fraud investigators after auditors found security giant G4S had overcharged by millions of pounds on contracts to monitor offenders using electronic tags.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said he was asking the Serious Fraud Office to investigate after G4S refused to take part in a forensic audit of its contract.

He said an initial audit had found that G4S and another firm, Serco, had charged the government for people they were not actually monitoring - and in a small number of cases for offenders who had died.

Grayling said the overcharging was in the "low tens of millions," went at least as far back as the start of the current tagging contracts in 2005, and could have begun as long ago as 1999.

He said Serco had agreed to a forensic audit to determine whether dishonesty had been involved in the overcharging, but G4S had refused.

The detailed audit would include examining internal emails between company executives to determine what happened.

Grayling told MPs in the House of Commons he felt "astonishment that two of the government's biggest suppliers would seek to charge in this way".

"The billing practices in question were clearly unacceptable and the government will take all necessary steps to secure a refund for the taxpayer," he said.

He said the government was reviewing all its existing contracts with Serco and with G4S, one of the world's biggest private security firms.

The government paid G4S more than STG394 million ($A647.07 million) in the 2012-2013 financial year.

The fraud investigation is the latest bad news for G4S.

Last year, Britain had to call in thousands of troops to help with security at the London Olympics after G4S acknowledged it couldn't provide the 10,400 guards it had been contracted to deliver.

This week, prosecutors said they were considering criminal charges over an Angolan man who died after being restrained by G4S guards during deportation from Britain.


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Carr meets with Myanmar president

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 10 Juli 2013 | 20.48

Foreign Minister Bob Carr (L) met Myanmar's president on a visit aimed at boosting relations. Source: AAP

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has met Myanmar's (Burma's) reformist leaders on a visit aimed at boosting relations with the former junta-ruled nation in reward for sweeping political changes.

Senator Carr discussed investment and aid with President Thein Sein and "offered Australian support" in efforts to end long-running ethnic rebellions during Wednesday's talks with senior officials in the capital Naypyidaw.

"Both parties agreed that there was more to be done in the reconciliation process," Senator Carr's media advisor Patrick Low told AFP.

He said talks with Thein Sein focused on raising living standards in the impoverished nation.

Canberra is increasing its development aid for Myanmar to $A100 million by 2015 - more than double its 2012 level - as it looks to support education in the country.

Australia was one of the first countries to roll back sanctions against the former pariah state last year. The removal of most Western embargoes has resulted in a slew of firms eyeing the resource-rich country.

"There are numerous Australian companies interested in investing, particularly in the resource sector. That's something that we encourage," Low told AFP, adding that Woodside, Australia's biggest energy firm, had already entered the country.

Senator Carr also met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday for discussions centred on strengthening democratic institutions, Low said.

Since Thein Sein, a former junta general, took over the presidency in 2011 hundreds of political prisoners have been released and Suu Kyi has been elected to parliament.

Tentative peace deals have been agreed with all major ethnic rebel groups, but human rights concerns remain particularly in western Rakhine state where communal unrest has killed over 200 people and left tens of thousands of mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims homeless.

President Thein Sein visited Australia in March, becoming Myanmar's first head of state to do so since 1974.

At the time Canberra announced an easing of restrictions on defence co-operation including humanitarian and disaster relief activities, as well as peacekeeping, but said its arms embargo would remain.

Carr will end his visit on Thursday in the commercial hub Yangon (Rangoon), where he will discuss efforts to preserve the city's historic colonial era architecture.


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Ireland set to pass abortion law

IRISH MPs are set to introduce abortion in limited cases where the mother's life is at risk, when controversial new laws go to a final vote on Wednesday night.

The predominantly Catholic nation's abortion laws faced global scrutiny after the death of 31-year-old Indian woman Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last October.

The bill follows a 2010 European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Ireland failed to implement properly the constitutional right to abortion where a woman's life is at risk.

Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion if needed to save a mother's life - but legislation has never been passed to reflect this.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill allows for abortion in circumstances where doctors certify there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.

The new bill also permits a termination when one obstetrician and two psychiatrists unanimously agree that an expectant mother is a suicide risk.

The "suicide clause" has caused consternation among some lawmakers who believe it will be abused and lead to more abortions in Ireland.

Four government deputies voted against the bill at an earlier stage and were expelled from the parliamentary party as Prime Minister and Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny has not allowed a free vote on the matter.

A number of other lawmakers and possibly a member of Kenny's cabinet, Lucinda Creighton, junior minister with responsibility for European Affairs, are likely to vote against the bill.

Lawmakers will discuss the 165 amendments tabled in the past few days, but widespread changes as demanded by some are unlikely to be introduced.


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Astronomers spot monster star

ASTRONOMERS have reported their best observation yet of a massive star embryo growing within a dark cloud - the largest stellar "womb" ever spotted in our Milky Way galaxy.

The star, which could grow to 100 times the mass of our Sun and up to a million times brighter, was spotted by the most powerful radio telescope on Earth - the ALMA international astronomy facility located in Chile, according to a paper published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Astronomers hope its discovery, at a distance of some 11,000 light years from Earth, will shed light on how these exceptionally massive stars are formed, shrouded as they are in dust and mystery.

"Not only are these stars rare, but their births are extremely rapid and childhood short, so finding such a massive bject so early in its evolution in our Galaxy is a spectacular result," study co-author Gary Fuller of the University of Manchester said in a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory (ESO)

The most massive and brightest stars in the galaxy form within cool and dark cloud cores, hungrily feeding on material being dragged inwards by the embryo star's gravitational pull.

This specific star is located in the Spitzer Dark Cloud, whose core has a mass about 500 times that of the Sun.

"This object is expected to form a star that is up to 100 times more massive than the Sun. Only about one in ten thousand of all stars in the Milky Way reach that kind of mass," said study lead author Nicolas Peretto of Cardiff University.

"The remarkable observations from ALMA allowed us to get the first really in-depth look at what was going on within this cloud. We wanted to see how monster stars form and grow, and we certainly achieved our aim. One of the sources we have found is an absolute giant - the largest protostellar core ever spotted in the Milky Way!"

According to the ESO, there are two theories on the formation of massive stars, which have at least ten times the mass of our Sun.

The first theory suggests that parental dark clouds fragment, creating several small cores that collapse and form stars. The other sees the entire cloud collapse inwards, with material racing into its centre to feed the star or stars growing there.

The new results support the second theory, said the statement.


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China auto sales up 11.2%

AUTO sales in China, the world's largest car market, increased by 11.2 per cent year-on-year in June, an industry group says.

A total of 1.75 million vehicles were sold nationwide last month, marginally lower than 1.76 million in May, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

In the first half of the year, car sales rose 12.3 per cent year-on-year to 10.78 million, it said.

China's auto sales rose only 4.3 per cent annually to 19.31 million in 2012, hit by limits on vehicle licence plate numbers imposed by some cities to ease traffic congestion and tackle pollution.

China's economic rise has been accompanied by a surge in demand for vehicles, including luxury ones, as the country's increasing wealth gives consumers more money to spend.

China became the world's largest auto market in 2009. Of the more than 19 million vehicles sold last year, 15.5 million were passenger cars.


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UK to privatise majority of Royal Mail

Royal Mail will be sold by the British government through flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Source: AAP

BRITAIN'S government has announced plans to privatise more than half of Royal Mail following a major restructuring in recent years triggered by a surge in email use.

Business Secretary Vince Cable told parliament that the coalition government planned to "dispose of a majority stake", which would include 10 per cent of the company being handed to employees in the form of free shares.

Cable, a member of the Liberal Democrats which share power with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives, said the government would seek to hold an initial public offering (IPO) for Royal Mail shares by the end of the current financial year that ends next March.

"This is logical, it is a commercial decision designed to put Royal Mail's future onto a long term sustainable basis," Cable told parliament.

"It is consistent with developments elsewhere in Europe where privatised operators in Austria, Germany and Belgium produce profit margins far higher than the Royal Mail but have continued to provide high quality and expanding services."

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) on Wednesday said it would ballot members over strike action unless a legally binding deal on employee terms and conditions could be agreed with any potential new owner.

"I really do not understand what the government are trying to achieve by this," said CWU deputy leader Dave Ward.

"If you think about the profits the Royal Mail are now making, there's no need for it to be privatised. What privatisation will do is destroy the UK's universal postal service.

"There's no way private companies can maintain six-day-a-week deliveries to every single address in the UK," he added.

Royal Mail has recently enjoyed a surge in annual profits thanks to the increasing popularity of online shopping which generates parcel traffic, and owing also to deep cost-cutting and big increases in stamp prices.

Media reports say the part sale of Royal Mail could worth up to STG3.0 billion ($A4.89 billion).


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Mandela still 'critical but stable'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 09 Juli 2013 | 20.47

THE South African government says ailing icon Nelson Mandela remains in a "critical but stable" condition after more than one month of intensive hospital treatment.

In a statement, President Jacob Zuma thanked members of the public for their "dignified gatherings outside the hospital" in Pretoria where he was rushed on June 8, and for services that have offered prayers for the 94-year-old hero.

Zuma also thanked the international community "for ongoing messages of support to Madiba and his family," using the Nobel Peace Prize winner's clan name.

Meanwhile friends and family offered a more upbeat assessment of Mandela's condition.

"With less than two weeks to go before the old man's 95th birthday on 18 July, it's time to celebrate his life. The old man is very much alive," said grandson Ndaba Mandela outside the hospital.

"When I speak to him he responds. Let us not be in a spirit of sadness but a spirit of celebration because the old man is still with us today."

Granddaughters Zaziwe and Zamaswazi took to Twitter to reassure followers that Mandela was responsive.

"He is communicating with us, we are staying positive," said the granddaughters via a joint account.

"He smiles."

Court documents filed on behalf of the family last month described Mandela's condition as "perilous," with one claiming he was in a "vegetative state."

According to friend Denis Goldberg, doctors had considered turning off his life support, but decided it was not warranted in the absence of organ failure.


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Elton John diagnosed with appendicitis

ELTON John has cancelled a show in London's Hyde Park after being diagnosed with appendicitis that will require surgery.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the musician's publicist said John was suffering from an inflamed appendix and surrounding abscess.

He has been advised by doctors to cancel his concerts while he undergoes a regime of antibiotics to treat the abscess. That will be followed by surgery in the next few weeks.

The statement said John fell ill during his recent European tour, but "is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013."

The 66-year-old performer had been due to play an outdoor concert in London's Hyde Park on Friday on a bill with Elvis Costello and Ray Davies.


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Knox murder appeal set for Sept in Italy

AN appeal trial over the murder of a British student in Italy is to begin on September 30 after Italy's top court overturned the acquittal of American Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

The two were initially convicted in 2009 for the frenzied murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia in what prosecutors was a sex game gone wrong, then absolved on appeal in 2011 after nearly four years in prison.

But that ruling was reversed in 2012 over "contradictions and incoherencies", particularly over crucial DNA evidence that had been challenged by the defence, meaning the case returns to the appeal stage.

The case will be heard in a court in Florence.

Knox is now in the United States and is highly unlikely to return to Italy voluntarily, although there is a very remote chance that she could be extradited and imprisoned if she is convicted.

The only person behind bars for the murder is Rudy Guede, a local drifter born in Ivory Coast who is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being tried separately and convicted of murder and sexual assault.

Based on the physical evidence, prosecutors say the murder could not have been carried out by one person.

Kercher was found half-naked in a pool of blood on November 1, 2007 in the house she shared with Knox.


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Bulgaria denies transfer for Palfreeman

BULGARIA'S chief prosecutor has denied a request to transfer an Australian home to serve the remainder of his 20-year sentence for the murder of a Bulgarian student in 2007.

Jock Palfreeman was sentenced in December 2009 for stabbing to death 20-year-old Andrey Monov, and for wounding another man in a drunken street brawl in Sofia.

The Australian, now 26, pleaded not guilty but lost the case twice on appeal, and Bulgaria's Supreme Court upheld his sentence in July 2011.

Bulgarian prosecutors said on Tuesday that Australia had sent an official request for Palfreeman to be transferred home to serve the rest of his sentence there.

They noted, however, that Palfreeman had "committed numerous grave violations and has been repeatedly sanctioned by prison authorities" during the five years and 10 months he had spent in a Sofia jail.

"Taking into account the limited time that has been served as part of the 20-year sentence and the above mentioned conduct of the convicted person, Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov has refused the transfer," the statement said.


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Labor reforms end absurdist culture: Carr

REFORMS to the Labor Party will end the ridiculous reality TV culture where poor polling led to the leader having their head chopped off, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.

Senator Carr, Labor leader in NSW for 17 years, said many times he was struggling in the polls, but the party was mature enough to accept they had to stick with him for the long haul.

Under the proposed reforms outlined by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday, a successful Labor leader who takes the party to electoral victory can't be toppled during a term of government, as happened to him at the hand of Julia Gillard in 2010 to Julia Gillard by him last month.

Following election defeats, there'll be a leadership ballot with a weighting of 50 per cent of votes by Labor Party members and 50 per cent by Labor MPs.

Senator Carr termed the removal of Mr Rudd in 2010 as "a sort of biggest loser reality TV psychology that said 'our leading contestant has slipped in the ratings, we are going to chop his head off and bring in someone else'."

He said ending that absurdist culture was very helpful, as was giving rank and file party members something they would value.

"All political parties are in decline. This could be an important step in rejuvenating Labor Party rank and file life," he said.


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Suspended death sentence for ex-minister

Written By Unknown on Senin, 08 Juli 2013 | 20.47

China's former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been given a suspended death sentence. Source: AAP

CHINA'S former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been given a suspended death sentence for his role in a huge corruption scandal, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Liu, 60, was convicted of bribery and abuse of power by the No 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing. Under Chinese law suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment.

The scandal surrounding Liu is reported to have involved as much as 800 million yuan ($A144 million)).

Liu was appointed to head the railways ministry in 2003 and sacked eight years later, said to have taken payouts while handing out contracts for the rapid expansion of China's flagship high-speed railway system.

According to the indictment, Liu took advantage of his position to help 11 people win promotions or contracts, and accepted 64.6 million yuan in bribes between 1986 and 2011, Xinhua reported previously.

He was responsible for "huge losses of public assets and of the interests of the state and people" it quoted the indictment as saying.

Under Chinese law the death penalty can be imposed for taking bribes exceeding 100,000 yuan.

China's rail system - which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars - has been one of its flagship development projects in recent years, and it now boasts the world's longest high-speed network.

But a high-speed crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou killed some 40 people in 2011, sparking a torrent of public criticism that authorities compromised safety in their rush to expand the network.

The country's new leaders President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have vowed to fight corruption, which the Communist Party has identified as a threat to its continued rule.


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Myanmar 'Godfather of Heroin' dies: report

A former drug kingpin, once dubbed the "godfather of heroin" has died in his home in Myanmar. Source: AAP

A FORMER drug kingpin and business tycoon that the US government once dubbed the "godfather of heroin" has died in his home in Myanmar (Burma).

A source close to the family says Lo Hsing Han died on Saturday in Yangon.

The man spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have authorisation to speak to the media.

Lo Hsing Han was believed to be in his mid-70s.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Lo Hsing Han's involvement in the drug trade began more than four decades ago.

The US Department of Treasury, dubbing Lo Hsing Han the "godfather of heroin," put him on the financial sanctions list in 2008.


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Saddam's half brother dies of cancer

SADDAM Hussein's half brother and former director of his feared general security services died of cancer on Monday in a Baghdad hospital, a senior official said.

Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim told The Associated Press that Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, who had received several death sentences, was transferred to the hospital from prison as his health deteriorated at dawn.

His body will be handed over to his family.

Al-Hassan had lived in exile for a period after the 2003 US-led invasion, but was deported to Iraq by the Syrian government in 2005.

He was suspected of directing and financing insurgency operations by Saddam loyalists in Iraq from Syria.

His photo appeared as the Six of Diamonds in decks of playing cards distributed by the US military featuring members of Saddam's deposed regime.

Al-Hassan was No. 36 on the US list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis at the time.

Under Saddam, al-Hassan served as head of intelligence and security during the 1991 Gulf War.

He then ran the general security services until 1996, when he took up his final post of presidential adviser to Saddam.

His son, Ayman Sabawi Ibrahim, was arrested in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped in northern Iraq in late 2006.

Saddam was executed by hanging on December 2006 for his role in the 1982 killings of 148 Shi'ites following a failed assassination attempt in the early 1980s.


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French court acquits Total in Iraq case

A FRENCH court has acquitted energy giant Total, its chief executive, a former minister and more than a dozen other defendants of corruption charges in connection with Iraq's oil-for-food program.

The court ruled on Monday there had been no corruption, influence-peddling or misuse of assets linked with the 50 billion euros ($A71.35 billion) UN program that allowed Iraq, then under crippling international sanctions, to sell limited quantities of oil to buy humanitarian supplies between 1996 and 2003.

The company, along with Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, former interior minister Charles Pasqua and more than a dozen former managers and retired diplomats, had faced graft charges.

Total and the other defendants rejected the accusations, with the company saying it acted in strict accordance with the rules of the UN program, which was suspended following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prosecutors had called for Total to pay the maximum fine of 750,000 euros.

During the trial, which took place in January and February, Total was accused of using intermediaries between 2000 and 2002 to pay surcharges for oil that ended up in the hands of Iraqi officials.

French prosecutors had opposed bringing the case to trial, but the investigating judge had decided to press charges anyway.

In France, an investigating magistrate conducts a probe and can overrule prosecutors, who must still argue a case in court.

A UN inquiry led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker alleged in 2005 that the 2,200 companies involved in the program had paid a total of $US1.8 billion in kickbacks to win supply deals. Of those, 180 were French.


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Prince Andrew launches Twitter account

THE Duke of York has become the first member of the Royal Family to join Twitter under their own name.

Andrew's Twitter membership was launched today with the simple tweet "Welcome to my Twitter account - AY".

Tweets signed AY, for Andrew York, are personally written by the Duke while others will be posted by his office.

But already his account - @TheDukeOfYork - has attracted unfavourable comments.

One person tweeted "yo how's Jeffrey Epstein?", referring to the Duke's relationship with an American billionaire who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Another posed the question "Has your account been hacked by Ali G?", but Andrew also received messages of welcome from the online community.

The Queen and members of her family are represented on Twitter by the account @BritishMonarchy, while @ClarenceHouse covers the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

A spokesman for Andrew said: "The Duke has long been an early and enthusiastic adopter of new technology.

"He was in fact the first member of the British Royal Family to tweet on the British Monarchy (account) when he visited Tech City. The logical next step was to tweet individually."

Asked about the derogatory tweets Andrew has received, the spokesman added: "The Duke is a champion of free speech, for him it's about telling people what he's doing."


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Two killed as jet crashes in San Fran

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 07 Juli 2013 | 20.47

A Boeing 777 on a flight from Seoul has crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport. Source: AAP

AN Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 passenger jet crashed and burst into flames as it landed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, killing two people and injuring 182 others.

Flight 214 originated in Shanghai, and had 307 people on board - 291 passengers and 16 crew - after it stopped to pick up passengers in Seoul. The aircraft apparently struck a rocky area at the water's edge short of the airport runway on Saturday.

"It is incredible and very lucky that we have so many survivors. But there are still many that are critically injured," said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, who sent condolences to the families of those killed and hurt.

The crash sheared off the plane's landing gear and tore the tail off the fuselage.

San Francisco International Airport was immediately closed, though two runways later reopened. Some flights were diverted to Los Angeles.

Aboard the flight were 141 Chinese nationals, 77 South Koreans, 61 Americans, one Japanese, three Indians, three Canadians, one French, one Vietnamese, three others with unidentified nationality and 16 crew members, according to Asiana.

Anxious relatives swarmed the airline's headquarters in Seoul, seeking details of the crash and information on the victims.

The two people killed were Chinese passengers sitting in back seats, said Yoon Young-Doo, the CEO of the Seoul-based airline.

South Korea's transport ministry said separately they were both women, born in 1996 and 1997.

The ministry also said the plane's tail hit the runway and the aircraft veered to the left off the runway.

Yoon was remorseful as he spoke at a press conference in Seoul. "Please accept my deepest apology," the CEO said, bowing in front of TV cameras.

Yoon said his company bought the plane in 2006, and that "currently we understand that there are no engine or mechanical problems."

The plane was flown by experienced pilots, and there was no emergency warning ahead of the crash. "Our pilots strictly comply with aviation rules," Yoon said.

San Francisco General Hospital said it was treating 34 patients, five of them in critical condition. Other patients were rushed to different area hospitals.

In total, 123 people aboard the flight escaped unharmed, US officials said.

Survivor Elliott Stone told CNN that as it came in to land, it appeared the plane "sped up, like the pilot knew he was short."

"And then the back end just hit and flies up in the air and everybody's head goes up to the ceiling."

Video footage showed the jet on its belly surrounded by at least six fire engines that sprayed white foam on the wreckage. Debris was scattered on the runway and in the surrounding area.

A four-member South Korean government team was also heading to inspect the site of the accident, officials in Seoul said.

One dramatic photo tweeted by a survivor showed people streaming out of the jet following the crash-landing. An inflatable slide was at the front entrance. Other emergency exits also appeared to have been used.

"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok," the passenger, David Eun, wrote on Twitter.

But another photo from above showed a more distressing scene, with most of the roof of the plane missing and the cabin seating area charred by fire. The aircraft's wings were still attached.

"I saw some passengers bleeding and being loaded onto an ambulance," another passenger, Chun Ki-Wan, told YTN TV in Seoul.

"Everything seemed to be normal before it crash-landed."

The White House said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the incident, noting: "His thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost a loved one and all those affected by the crash."

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye offered his "deepest condolences to the victims and their relatives," and promised that all government agencies concerned "will join forces to provide all necessary assistance and resources to deal with the disaster."

The twin-engine 777 aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another.

It was the first fatal crash involving an Asiana passenger plane since June 1993, when a Boeing 737 operated by the carrier crashed into a mountain in South Korea, killing 68.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said there was no indication that terrorism was to blame for the crash.


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Qatada denies Jordan terror charges

Islamist cleric Abu Qatada has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in Jordan. Source: AAP

ISLAMIST cleric Abu Qatada has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges pressed by Jordanian military prosecutors just hours after his deportation from Britain, his lawyer says.

Britain's expulsion of the Palestinian-born preacher after a decade-long legal battle drew expressions of delight from Prime Minister David Cameron.

Abu Qatada, who had been in and out of British prisons since 2002 even though he was never convicted of any offence, had once been described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.

"Abu Qatada pleaded not guilty," defence lawyer Taysir Diab told AFP after the closed-door hearing before a military tribunal on Sunday.

"I will appeal tomorrow (Monday) to the (state security) court to release him on bail," he added.

The cleric was taken to the courthouse near Marka military airfield in east Amman just hours after he was flown in from Britain.

"State security court prosecutors charged Abu Qatada with conspiracy to carry our terrorist acts," a judicial official told AFP.

"He was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days in the Muwaqqar prison," in eastern Jordan, he added.

Reporters were not allowed into the courtroom to hear the charges being read out despite a pledge by Information Minister Mohammad Momani of "transparency" in Jordan's handling of Abu Qatada's retrial.

Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman, but the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour.

In 2000, he was sentenced in his absence to 15 years for plotting to carry out terror attacks on tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations.

Jordanian law gives him the right to a retrial with him present in the dock.

Cameron hailed the final removal of Abu Qatada from British soil after a legal battle that cost the taxpayer 1.7 million pounds ($A2.82 million).

"I was absolutely delighted. This is something this government said it would get done, and we have got it done," Cameron told reporters.

"It's an issue that, like the rest of the country, has made my blood boil."

Britain was finally able to expel the 53-year-old father-of-five to Jordan after the two governments last month ratified a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial.

The Jordanian information minister reiterated the undertaking on Sunday.

"His retrial will be conducted in line with international standards, protecting his rights and ensuring justice, fairness, credibility and transparency," Momani told the state-run Petra news agency.

A security official told AFP that after his arrival "a team of doctors including the state coroner examined the suspect and made sure there were no signs of torture."

London had been trying to deport Abu Qatada since 2005 but British and European courts had blocked his expulsion on the grounds that evidence might be used against him that had been obtained by torture.

But after years of legal battles his lawyers unexpectedly said in May that he would return once the fair trial treaty was ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

He was taken from prison in an armoured police van to a military airfield on the outskirts of London, from which he was flown out.

Abu Qatada's wife and five children are expected to remain in Britain, where he first sought asylum in 1993.


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Pupils' Weight Concerns Highlighted

CHILDREN as young as 10 are unhappy with their weight and believe they need to shed some pounds, research suggests.

It indicates that young people become increasingly concerned about their weight as they grow up, with nearly two-thirds of 14 and 15-year-old girls saying they would like to be slimmer.

The study also suggests young people are increasingly likely to skip breakfast or lunch as they get older.

The findings come from a report by the UK Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) which questioned more than 93,600 young people, of which more than 68,000 were 10- to 15-year-olds, in 2012, on a variety of topics.

It found that nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of girls aged 14 and 15 say they would like to lose weight, along with more than half (54 per cent) of those aged 12 and 13.

And more than a third (37 per cent) of 10 and 11-year-old girls - those in the final year of primary school - say they would like to lose weight, the survey found.

It suggests that boys are less concerned about how much they weigh, with just under three in 10 (29 per cent) of those aged 14 and 15 saying they want to drop a few pounds and 14 per cent saying they would like to put some weight on.

Around one in six (17 per cent) 14 and 15-year-old girls, and more than one in 10 (11 per cent) boys of the same age did not eat breakfast, the survey found - around double the numbers of Year 6 pupils who skipped this meal.

Laura Sharp, a nutritionist for the Children's Food Trust, said: "These are very worrying findings - all pupils, whatever their age, need to start the day with breakfast if they're going to be able to focus in class, and research shows a clear link between eating breakfast and children's attainment at school.

"What's particularly worrying is that girls and boys are skipping meals at a time when their bodies are changing fast and they're particularly in need of good nourishment.


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Syrian city almost flattened: monitors

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Homs looks like it has been hit by a "world war". Source: AAP

INTENSE fighting in the central Syrian city of Homs has left up to 70 per cent of a besieged rebel-held district damaged, destroyed or uninhabitable, a monitoring group says.

The estimate from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday came nine days into an all-out army assault on the rebel-held Khaldiyeh and Old City neighbourhoods, which have been under siege for more than a year.

On Sunday, regime forces subjected insurgent areas of the city to fierce shelling, said the Observatory.

"60 to 70 per cent of buildings in Khaldiyeh are either totally destroyed, partially destroyed, or unsuitable for habitation," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Homs is Syria's third-largest city, and tens of thousands of its residents have fled the fighting.

"Of all Syria's cities, Homs has suffered the highest levels of destruction ... Images of Homs make it look like a world war has hit the city. Much of it has been flattened," he added.

Amateur video posted online by activists on Sunday showed flames and thick black smoke rising from several empty burnt-out buildings already riddled with holes.

Some structures shown in the video are barely standing.

"Even if the regime takes the neighbourhoods back, there's barely a house left standing to return to," said Abdel Rahman.

"It would even be dangerous to return. People from Homs are constantly under regime surveillance wherever they are in Syria, because their city has served as a rebel bastion since early in the revolt."

On Sunday, government troops used mortars, rocket fire and heavy artillery to target rebel areas in the city, the Britain-based Observatory said.

On the edges of Khaldiyeh, fresh clashes broke out between rebels and troops and pro-regime militiamen, it added.

According to the United Nations, some 2500 to 4000 people are trapped in the besieged areas.

In Damascus, regime warplanes targeted Jubar in the east of the capital, while tanks hit Qaboon in the northeast, said the Observatory.

Several mortar rounds hit Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, it added, as rebels and troops clashed nearby.

In northern Damascus, the army tried to storm Barzeh, where rebels are still holed up, the watchdog said.

Syria's 27-month war has killed more than 100,000 people, the Observatory estimates.

On Saturday alone, at least 69 people were killed nationwide, it said.


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Canada 'Ghost train' toll still unknown

At least 80 people are missing after an oil train derailment in Quebec, Canadian police say. Source: AAP

SOME residents warily eyed the driverless "ghost train" as it rushed through the countryside before derailing and crashing into a small Quebec town.

The downtown area of Lac-Megantic was engulfed in flames and now scores of people, perhaps as many as 80, are missing, while around 2000 have been forced from their homes.

Rescuers cautiously entered the charred debris on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the spectacular crash that saw flames shoot into the sky and burn into the night.

Witnesses reported up to six explosions after the train derailed at about 1.20am on Saturday in Lac-Megantic.

Officially, as of late Saturday, only one person was killed and one wounded.

The train, 72 tanker cars loaded with crude oil pulled and pushed by five locomotives, left Montreal, 250km to the west, and was heading to the port of St John on Canada's Atlantic coast.

Instead, its final destination was this picturesque resort town of 6000 residents in a corner of the Appalachian mountains near the border with the US state of Maine.

The town's fire chief, Denis Lauzon, said his department wanted information on what was being moved by rail through his town.

"But we had yet to present a formal request," he said.

Shocked by the force of the accident, residents pressed against police barricades seeking even the smallest detail that could help them cope with the disaster.

Rumours of the runaway "ghost train" quickly spread.

"It had no driver, it was a unmanned train," a young man tells his friends gathered in front of a small grocery store.

Antoinette Paree, 78, remembers seeing "a glimmer, a sort of fire" on the train as it made its way through the night.

Paree arrived home and was looking out from her window, which overlooks the track, when she said she heard "a loud bang - it lit up the whole house," she said.

Paree ran out to save her life, forgetting her dentures and her pyjamas.

The cause of the crash was still unknown but a spokesman for the Montreal Maine & Atlantic company, Christophe Journet, told AFP the train had been stopped in the neighbouring town of Nantes, around 13km west of Lac-Megantic, for a crew changeover.

For an unknown reason, Journet said, the train "started to advance, to move down the slope leading to Lac-Megantic," even though the brakes were engaged.

As a result, "there was no conductor on board" when the train crashed, he said.

Residents gathered on the far shore of Lake Megantic around a large illuminated cross that dominates the view. There, overnight Saturday into Sunday, they watched much of their town go up in flames.

Linda Rodriguez followed the movement of the flames with her binoculars.

"That's the pharmacy, our home is 50 metres away on the other side of the road," she said.

Another resident, Mariette Savoie, feared the death toll from the "wall of fire" that engulfed her town will be high.

"Above all the Main Street shops were homes," she said.

"All those people who were there were unable to get out."


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