Suspended death sentence for ex-minister

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

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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