Lebanese president accepts PM resignation

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the government has resigned. Source: AAP

LEBANESE President Michel Suleiman has formally accepted the resignation of the prime minister, who stepped down blaming government infighting during a time of rising sectarian tensions.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati submitted his written resignation to the president after announcing he was stepping down the day before, taking the country by surprise.

Suleiman asked that his government assume a caretaking role while a new government is being formed.

Mikati's unexpected resignation throws the country into uncertainty at a critical time and threatens to leave a void in the state's highest ranks amid sporadic violence inflamed by the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

It opens the way for what is expected to be prolonged political jockeying as parliamentary blocs try to build a majority coalition to choose a new prime minister.

"I hope that this resignation will provide an opening in the existing deadlock and pave the way for a (political) solution," he said, following his meeting with Suleiman on Saturday.

Mikati has been prime minister since June 2011, heading a government dominated by the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah and its allies.

Their main rivals are a coalition headed by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, who was also prime minister and was killed in a truck bombing in 2005.

A Harvard-educated billionaire, Mikati was chosen to lead the government after Hezbollah forced the collapse of Lebanon's previous government over fears a UN-backed tribunal investigating the killing of the elder Hariri would indict Hezbollah members.

Mikati stepped down on Friday to protest the parliament's inability to agree on a law to govern elections set for later this year, as well as the refusal by Hezbollah and its allies in the cabinet to extend the tenure of the country's police chief, Major General Ashraf Rifi, who at 58 is about to hit the mandatory retirement age for his rank.

Rifi, like Mikati, is a Sunni Muslim who is considered a foe by Hezbollah.

In his speech on Friday, Mikati said that if Rifi is not allowed to stay on, his departure would send the police department into "a vacuum".

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Pope tells Benedict 'we're brothers'

POPE Francis has travelled to Castel Gandolfo to have lunch with his predecessor Benedict XVI in a historic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said the two popes embraced on the helipad.

In the chapel where they prayed together, Benedict offered Francis the traditional kneeler used by the pope.

Francis refused to take it alone, saying "We're brothers," and the two prayed together on the same one.

Outside the villa, the main piazza of Castel Gandolfo was packed on Saturday with well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of history - two popes breaking bread together and presumably discussing the future of the Catholic Church.

They chanted "Francesco! Francesco!".

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he understands Benedict offered his pledge of obedience to the new pope, while Francis thanked Benedict for his ministry.

He said they both wore white, though Benedict was in a simple cassock without the traditional sash and cape worn by Francis.

Benedict has been living at the papal summer villa since he resigned on February 28, the first pope to step down in 600 years.

He has said he plans to live out his final years in prayer and remain "hidden from the world".

Benedict's dramatic departure that day - flying by helicopter from the helipad in the Vatican gardens with his weeping secretary by his side and circling St Peter's Square in a final goodbye - is one of the most evocative images of this remarkable papal transition.

The Vatican is downplaying the luncheon in keeping with Benedict's desire to remain in private and not interfere with his successor's papacy.

There was to be no live coverage of the private meeting by Vatican television, only a few still photos from the official Vatican photographer and perhaps a video released after the fact.

The Vatican said Benedict was at the helipad in the villa gardens to welcome Francis, and that the two were meeting in Benedict's library and having lunch together.

Francis will then return to his makeshift home at the Vatican hotel at an unspecified time later in the day.

The Vatican spokesman promised a general comment about the meeting, but no detailed statement.

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Russian trial of dead lawyer starts

A MOSCOW court has begun proceedings in the trial of a Russian lawyer who died in custody more than three years ago.

Sergei Magnitsky was jailed in 2008 on charges of tax evasion.

He died in prison the next year of untreated pancreatitis after he testified against police officials, accusing them of stealing $US230 million ($A221.47 million) in tax rebates.

His death attracted international attention.

Magnitsky's family is boycotting the trial with only state-appointed attorneys defending the dead lawyer.

The lawyers filed a motion on Friday, contesting the legality of trying a dead man.

Last year, the United States enacted a law, named after Magnitsky, that allows sanctions against Russians considered human rights violators.

Russia retaliated by banning US citizens from adopting Russian children.

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Jetliner makes emergency landing in Canada

A CANADIAN charter flight to Cuba with 170 passengers onboard has made an emergency landing at the Ottawa airport shortly after taking off, an official says.

The Sunwing flight was en route to Varadero, Cuba.

It left the Canadian capital at 6.32am local time (2132 AEDT) but abruptly turned around 20 minutes later, said Krista Kealey, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa airport.

Public broadcaster CBC said smoke had filled the cockpit, but Kealey said there was no fire.

Authorities were reportedly checking the brakes on the Boeing 737-800 while passengers eager to leave behind snow in Ottawa for sunny Cuba were rebooked on other flights.

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Govt must encourage innovation, says Argus

BUSINESS community elder Don Argus says government should make productivity a top economic priority, and has warned about the impact of consumer debt on spending.

The former BHP Billiton chairman and National Australia Bank chief executive says government needs to focus on productivity in the current global economic climate.

"We need to encourage innovations and not stifle it through excessive oversight by government," Mr Argus said in a statement on Friday.

"We have built 20 years of solid economic wealth for all Australians through good productivity gains, flexible labour markets and the productive use of private, not public capital."

The respected business leader has previously slammed the federal government for what he's termed the "sloganeering" of modern political and economic debate.

He has also highlighted the need for better economic management and raising productivity.

Mr Argus also warned about the "real consequences of excessive debt".

"We are the third country in the world for consumer debt, and what so many people don't seem to understand is just how intrusive debt is on disposable income," he said.

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Ten people hospitalised after Vic tornado

TEN people have been hospitalised after a tornado swept across Victoria's northeast.

Roofs have been ripped off houses and buildings damaged as the wild weather hit about 8pm (AEDT) on Thursday, an SES spokesman said.

The tornado swept along Murray river townships near Bundalong, Rutherglen and Yarrawonga.

The SES fielded 60 calls for help in the region with 10 people hospitalised for injuries.

The spokesman said the greatest trauma risk was from falling buildings and roofs.

"It becomes dangerous and deadly debris," he said.

While the weather appeared to be a tornado, authorities had not yet officially confirmed it, the spokesman said.

"It definitely has tornado like patterns. Certainly that's what it looks like," he said.

He said powerlines in the area are likely to be down.

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Spain exports help narrow trade deficit

SPAIN'S trade deficit narrowed in January as exports surged, in a rare glimmer of good news for a nation struggling in a double-dip recession.

Exports leapt 7.9 per cent from a year earlier to 17.88 billion euros ($A22.45 billion) in January while imports rose 5.7 per cent to 21.38 billion euros, largely because of an increase in demand for energy products, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.

As a result, the trade deficit narrowed by 4.3 per cent to 3.5 billion euros.

Spain boosted exports especially to markets outside of the European Union, the ministry said, noting the EU-bound exports made up 63.5 per cent of the total, down from 66 per cent a year earlier.

Exports soared by 43.8 per cent to Asia, 16.6 per cent to Africa and 15.1 per cent to Latin America, the government said, noting in particular a rise in exports to emerging markets such as India, up 35.4 per cent, China, up 15.2 per cent, and Brazil, up 28.5 per cent.

In 2012, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy shrank the trade deficit by 33.6 per cent as exports grew 3.8 per cent and imports to the depressed domestic market fell 2.85 per cent.

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PM's apology makes headlines in UK

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard made headlines in the United Kingdom on Thursday but not just for the farcical leadership spill.

Ms Gillard's apology to people affected by Australia's forced adoption policy between the 1950s and 1970s was one of the top news items on the BBC.

Morning radio bulletins didn't even mention the spill which turned out to be a non-event after former prime minister Kevin Rudd refused to run for Labor's top job.

The BBC website's world page ran a news story headlined "Australia sorry for forced adoptions" while the government's internal troubles were covered in an an analysis piece by Sydney correspondent Nick Bryant.

He wrote that the PM's moving apology to victims of forced separation should have been one of the more solemn and orderly days in the parliamentary calendar.

"But Canberra's coup culture helped transform it into one of confusion, comedy and commotion that many Australians would prefer to forget."

The left-leaning Guardian newspaper, which has a large Australian readership, ran a prominent online news story declaring: "Gillard survives leadership threat."

The paper reported that in an "extraordinary" day in Australian politics Ms Gillard kept her job after "no one dared stand against her".

The Guardian also reported on its front page online that the "PM apologises over forced adoptions".

The Telegraph online ran both stories on its world page as did The Independent.

Top-selling tabloid The Sun didn't cover either the apology or leadership tussle.

Its online coverage was focused on "16 incredible Kate Upton boob gifs".

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Idea of Rudd comeback 'over': Feeney

LABOR senator David Feeney says the idea of a Kevin Rudd comeback as prime minister is over after Thursday's leadership tussle.

Speaking on Thursday night, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence said Julia Gillard had won a decisive victory over Mr Rudd to confirm herself as party leader.

"The idea of a Kevin Rudd prime ministership is over," Senator Feeney told ABC television.

"It's not a pyrrhic victory, it's a decisive victory. This is an occasion where for the third time the prime minister has been decisively re-endorsed by the caucus as leader."

Labor MPs and senators met for a caucus spill motion on Thursday afternoon after party elder Simon Crean sought to end months of talk about a Kevin Rudd reboot.

Ms Gillard retained the leadership unopposed after Mr Rudd said he wouldn't stand without a request from a majority of the party.

Senator Feeney said the party now had to remain "absolutely focused on the challenge that is immediately before" it.

"This has been a week where the Liberal Party have quite happily said nothing and done nothing and allowed the Labor Party to talk about itself," he said.

"It's precisely the type of week that's emblematic of our challenge."

Senator Feeney refused to be drawn on whether there were concerns inside Labor about cabinet processes under Ms Gillard.

He said he could not comment on the issue because he was not a cabinet member.

"I'm not about to start speculating on cabinet processes," he said.

He said he believed Mr Rudd didn't have a tilt at the top job because "he knew he didn't have the support to become leader".

Victorian Labor MP Richard Marles told the ABC he backed Mr Rudd because he thought the former leader represented the "best chance" for the party.

"I thought the best chance we had in terms of putting our best foot forward was for Kevin Rudd to contest," he said.

"I had a point of view, I made it clear, I don't resile from it, I certainly made my decision, there is no regrets."

At no point did Mr Rudd say he was going to stand for the leadership, Mr Marles said.

"It has always been a question of trying to convince Kevin that this was something that he should do," he said.

Ms Gillard accepted the resignation of Mr Marles from his parliamentary secretary position following Thursday's dramatic events.

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Over 100 missing from Nigeria boat sinking

A BOAT that capsized off southern Nigeria in recent days was carrying an estimated 128 passengers and only two survivors have been found so far, an emergency official said.

"One hundred twenty-eight people were suspected to be aboard the boat, but only nine bodies have been recovered, while there were two survivors so far," Yushau Shuaib, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP.

"The incident happened about two or three days ago, but there is still some confusion as to the origin of the boat."

Shuaib said the accident occurred more than 60 kilometres off the coast of the southern Nigerian city of Calabar.

There were indications that the boat had originated from the Congo, but that has not been confirmed, he said.

He did not have further details.

A rescue source speaking on condition of anonymity said initial indications were that the two survivors were Togolese.

Such accidents occur regularly in parts of Africa, with rickety boats often overloaded with passengers and few reliable records of who was aboard.

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