Elderly man crashes car into Sydney shop

THREE people have been taken to hospital after a hatchback smashed through the front window of a supermarket in Arncliffe.

Police said they were called to the store on the Princess Highway after an elderly man drove his Toyota Corolla hatchback into the store about 4.20pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

They said the car entered the store from the car park, smashing through the glass frontage and winding up more than four metres inside.

A supermarket worker suffering cuts and bruises was taken to St George Hospital, while the driver and his elderly female passenger were also taken to hospital as a precaution.

A witness told AAP it was a miracle more people weren't injured.

She said shoppers screamed as the car drove into the store and that "plate glass was everywhere".

She said the impact of the car was so great that parts of the store's ceiling collapsed.

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Calm in Cairo after night of protest

The Egyptian government has postponed the start of early voting on a disputed draft constitution. Source: AAP

THE streets of Cairo are calm after a huge but peaceful protest overnight against President Mohamed Morsi, who has greatly expanded his powers and is pushing for disputed constitutional reform.

More than 100 demonstrators who had slept in tents or a nearby mosque were camped out in front of the presidential palace, while soldiers manned barbed wire barricades on roads to the square and tanks stood by.

Overnight, more than 10,000 people had filled the square for an hours-long demonstration calling for Morsi to step down.

The hard-core protesters who spent the night outside the palace said they were determined to oppose Morsi all the way.

"I'm ready to die. All these guys are ready to die. I don't want violence but if they try to oppress us, there has to be a stand," said Mustafa el-Tabbal, 27.

He admitted though, that "there has to be some dialogue" between Morsi and the opposition before a planned December 15 referendum on a new constitution drafted by a panel dominated by Morsi's Islamist allies.

Although the scene outside the palace was peaceful, an undercurrent of tension remained after bloody scenes on Wednesday, when pro- and anti-Morsi protesters clashed, leaving seven people dead and more tha 640 hurt.

Egypt's mainly secular opposition is against a decree Morsi issued two weeks ago giving him sweeping new powers free from judicial review.

They also oppose the draft constitution, which they see as weakening their rights and edging towards Islamic law.

Demands for the decree and referendum to be dropped have hardened into a call for Morsi to go altogether after the president gave a defiant speech on Thursday.

Analysts say that if the referendum goes ahead, the new charter will likely be approved because of the still strong support of many Egyptians for Morsi.

But the resulting political polarisation could have a serious impact on the economy which depends greatly on foreign investment and tourism.

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Vic cop clocked at over twice speed limit

A POLICE officer clocked driving at more than double the speed limit in Melbourne's southeast has been suspended with pay.

Highway patrol recorded the leading senior constable travelling at 122km/h in a 50km/h zone in Garden Road, Clayton, about 10.15pm (AEDT) on Friday.

His car will be impounded for 30 days and he is expected to be charged on summons with driving offences, a police spokeswoman said.

The ethical standards command will investigate the incident and has suspended the officer with pay.

The officer will also face an internal disciplinary inquiry.

Road Policing Command Superintendent Neville Taylor said anyone caught driving dangerously would be held accountable.

"We expect all motorists to behave responsibly on our roads, regardless of who they are," he said in a statement.

"No one is above the law and if you do the wrong thing you will be caught and penalised."

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Indonesian minister resigns on graft claim

Indonesia's sports minister has resigned after being named as a suspect in a corruption case. Source: AAP

INDONESIA'S youth and sports minister has stepped down, a day after he was named as a suspect in a graft case linked to a sports education construction project near the capital.

Andi Mallarangeng, 49, claimed he was innocent, but said he needed to "focus on my legal case".

"Under the current situation, I won't be able to carry out my duties effectively."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had accepted his resignation, and he had also stepped down from the advisory board of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, the former minister said.

A project to build a sports education centre on Jakarta's outskirts showed signs of corruption costing the state around 243 billion rupiah ($A24.15 million), auditors have said.

The Corruption Eradication Commission has said it suspects Mallarangeng of delegating the signing of the contract to build the 1.1-trillion-rupiah centre to his secretary, breaching a law that requires a minister to sign any contract over 50 billion rupiah.

Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum has also been implicated, but not named as a suspect in the case, the latest in a series of corruption scandals involving top officials of the ruling coalition's largest party.

Party former treasurer and legislator Muhammad Nazaruddin is serving a jail term of more than four years and 10 months for taking a 4.6-billion-rupiah bribe for awarding the construction of an athletes' village for the 2011 South-East Asian Games.

Nazaruddin has accused Mallarangeng of receiving a kickback of 20 billion rupiah in connection with the sports education complex project.

Another senior party official and legislator, Angelina Sondakh, is on trial in a separate corruption case.

Mallarangeng was on Thursday banned from travel to be questioned over the allegations.

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Faulker to take reforms to ALP conference

SENIOR Labor senator John Faulkner will move reforms at NSW Labor's next annual conference aimed at opening up the ALP and eliminating corruption.

Senator Faulkner this week said ALP powerbrokers held too much control over the party and Labor rank-and-file needed a greater say.

He's called for a code of conduct covering MPs and senators, including a "one strike and you're out" policy for any Labor member found guilty of corrupt behaviour.

Senator Faulker on Friday said he would take his reforms to NSW Labor's 2013 annual conference.

"It's my intention to move those proposals as rule changes at the next NSW annual conference," Mr Faulkner told ABC television's 7:30 Report.

"I don't intend to let those matters go. I intend to proceed with them."

Mr Faulkner said reform was urgent and conceded that without it Labor would take a hit at the next federal election.

"In a federal election this will cost us votes and cost us support as it will in a state election," he said.

The ALP stalwart said one key reform would be to end binding factional votes, an internal rule blamed for making it easy for party powerbrokers to maintain control.

"The problem comes when factions' interests are put before the interest of the Labor Party," Mr Faulkner said.

"The binding issue is just unacceptable, there's no need for that."

Mr Faulkner's call comes as a NSW corruption watchdog inquiry probes the involvement of former Labor ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald in the opening up of coal mining in the state's upper Hunter.

The inquiry has heard Mr Obeid was able to exert considerable control within parliamentary Labor as leader of a faction called the "Terrigals".

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German man charged with spying for Morocco

FEDERAL prosecutors say they have filed espionage charges against a German-Moroccan man on allegations he spied on Moroccan opposition supporters in Germany for the country's government.

Spokesman Marcus Koehler said on Friday that Bagdad A., 59, was charged on November 8.

His last name was not given in accordance with German privacy laws.

He's accused of providing Morocco's spy agency information on opposition supporters living in Germany that he had collected through a network of contacts from 2007 to 2012.

Among other things prosecutors say he provided details of opposition leaders who planned anti-government demonstrations.

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Tanks deployed near Egypt president palace

Tanks have been deployed outside Egypt's presidential palace following a night of deadly clashes. Source: AAP

EGYPT'S army has deployed tanks outside the presidential palace after a night of deadly clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi.

Three tanks and three armoured personnel carriers were stationed metres from the front gate of the palace in northern Cairo on Thursday as hundreds of Morsi's partisans chanted slogans in support of the president.

The military pledged on Thursday not to use violence against protesters.

General Mohammed Zaki, head of the Republican Guard tasked with protecting the president, said that "the armed forces, and the Republican Guard, will not be an instrument of oppression against protesters," the official MENA news agency reported.

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Fatal WA car crash followed altercation

AN altercation between two drivers near Perth has led to the death of another man, whose vehicle collided head-on with one of their cars.

Police said it was believed two men in separate vehicles were involved in an incident shortly before 2pm (WST) on Thursday.

One of the vehicles then drove off and shortly after smashed into another car that was travelling in the opposition direction along South Western Highway in Byford, on Perth's southeastern fringe.

The man in the third vehicle died, while the driver in the other car was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital.

The driver who'd been involved in the earlier altercation left the area.

He is now helping police with their inquiries.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The South Western Highway has been closed in both directions, between Thomas Road and Larsen Road.

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Migrant bus driver strike stuns Singapore

FOUR Chinese immigrant bus drivers accused of inciting Singapore's first labour strike in 26 years have been granted bail in a case that highlighted growing social friction caused by an influx of foreign labour.

A fifth Chinese driver has already been sentenced to six weeks in prison even though prosecutors said he was not an instigator of the strike, which was called to demand equitable pay.

Walking off the job in protest is almost unheard of in Singapore, and the swift prosecution following the November 26-27 strike was a clear sign the government of this strictly-enforced country will not brook any disobedience from its work force.

Three of the men who appeared in court on Thursday were allowed a bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars ($A7,880).

A fourth driver, He Jun Liang, who faces an additional charge of making an online post in Mandarin, was given a bail of $S20,000.

It is not clear if they will be able to raise the money to get out of detention before their case resumes on December 12.

A Chinese embassy official who was present at the hearing declined to comment on the cases.

If found guilty, all four men face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $S2,000.

The four drivers and the fifth already in jail were among 171 Chinese bus drivers of a state transport company who went on strike in protest at being paid nearly a quarter less than their Malaysian colleagues.

The labour action disrupted about five per cent of the city-state's bus services.

Singapore requires essential service workers to give 14 days' notice of a strike.

The last strike in the country was in 1986 by shipyard workers.

The government revoked the work permits of 29 other drivers and deported them to China.

The remaining drivers in the group were issued warnings, and will be allowed to remain and work in Singapore.

Authorities say a police investigation found the strike was premeditated and the drivers were absent from work without reason.

The bus company's chief, Desmond Kuek, has said the Chinese drivers' salary was fair.

He said the Chinese were paid less than the Malaysians because the company bore their expenses for transport, accommodation and utilities.

Singapore relies on hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia and Myanmar (Burma) to work as maids, construction workers, waiters, rubbish collectors and at other jobs deemed unappealing to many locals.

But the massive influx of foreigners has created much resentment among locals who see them as undisciplined and noisy.

They also blame the foreigners for the overcrowding that has put pressure on infrastructure, and for raising housing prices because of bigger demand on limited supply.

The case has not caused any diplomatic rift between Singapore and China, a major trading partner.

But activists in Hong Kong staged a protest outside the Singapore consulate on Wednesday.

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UN chief warns Syria on chemical weapons

A mortar has slammed into a ninth-grade classroom in Damascus, killing nine students and a teacher. Source: AAP

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Syria's regime against using its stockpile of chemical weapons, warning of "huge consequences" if Bashar al-Assad resorts to such weapons of mass destruction.

Ban also suggested that he would not favour an asylum deal for the Syrian leader as a way to end the country's civil war and cautioned that the United Nations doesn't allow anyone "impunity".

"I again urge in the strongest possible terms that they must not consider using this kind of deadly weapons of mass destruction," Ban told The Associated Press on Wednesday, speaking on the sidelines of a climate conference in Qatar.

"I have warned that if in any case this should be used, then there will be huge consequences. And they should be accountable," he said of the Syrian regime.

Syria is believed to have hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, a blistering agent, and the more lethal nerve agents sarin and VX, experts say.

Assad has said he would not use such weapons on his own people even if it had them. Syria is party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning chemical weapons in war.

US intelligence has seen signs that Syria is moving materials inside chemical weapons facilities recently, though it is unsure what the movement means. Still, US officials said the White House and its allies are weighing military options should they decide to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons.

In Qatar, the UN chief was asked about the potential for an asylum deal that would remove Assad from power. The Syrian president vowed in an interview with Russia Today last month that he would never be forced into exile and that he would "live and die in Syria".

"Whoever commits (a) gross violation of human rights must be held accountable and should be brought to justice. This is a fundamental principle," Ban said.

Ban's warnings came as fighting around the Syrian capital, Damascus, was closing in on Assad's seat of power.

Clashes between rebels and regime troops have intensified in the suburbs ringing the city in recent weeks. The area has been a stronghold of predominantly Sunni Muslim rebels, who are fighting to topple Assad's regime, dominated by Alawites, an offshoot Shi'ite group.

The increased pressure of the opposition fighters on the capital has raised worries that Assad or his forces will resort to desperate measures, perhaps striking neighbours Turkey or Israel, or using chemical weapons.

Syria's uprising began with peaceful protests in March 2011 and later escalated into a civil war that the opposition says has killed more than 40,000 people. So far, both sides have refused international calls for a negotiated solution.

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More than 50 bushfires as Qld temps hit 40

MORE than 50 bushfires burned across Queensland on Tuesday, as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius across much of the state.

New records for December were set in the southeast, where Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast hit 39.7C - its hottest December temperature on record.

"Their previous record was set in 1901," senior weather bureau forecaster Michelle Berry told AAP.

Brisbane reached 38C - the city's hottest December day since 2001.

"Gold Coast got to 35.1C at Coolangatta, the hottest December reading since 2004," Ms Berry said.

"Charters Towers got to 40.5C, which is its hottest December day since 2002, and Rockhampton reached 39.1C, its hottest December day since 2008."

With more dry air forecast to blow across the state on Wednesday, fire danger will remain in the severe to near-extreme range in many areas.

"The highest readings are across the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, into the Lockyer Valley district," Ms Berry said.

"Some of the highest readings have been occurring around the Oakey, Dalby and Warwick areas, but we've also had severe fire danger values further west towards Birdsville, Longreach and up towards Mt Isa.

"We say anything over 50 is severe and we've been getting readings of about 85 around the Oakey area, which is near extreme."

Temperatures are forecast to ease a little on Wednesday, but the bureau says it will still be warmer than the December average.

"That, combined with the dry air and gusty southwest winds, means we will still have enhanced fire dangers through the southern, western and central parts of the state," she said.

As temperatures peaked in the mid-afternoon, 54 bushfires were burning around Queensland but a few hours later that number had fallen to 35.

A number of people voluntarily evacuated their homes in the face of a large blaze near Miles in south central Queensland as 12 fire crews and two water-bombing aircraft fought to bring it under control.

But Peter Varley from Queensland Fire and Rescue Service said the day could have been a lot worse.

"There has been nothing that's caused us any major concerns - I think we've got off pretty lightly considering the conditions," Mr Varley told AAP.

"Tomorrow, and possibly on Thursday as well, there'll be milder temperatures but an increase in the wind speed and low humidity.

"Of the three factors, temperature is our least worry."

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WA fire threats ease at two communities

RESIDENTS of a community in Western Australia's Great Southern region are being allowed back into their homes after the threat from a bushfire eased, while another fire in a national park in the state's southwest is generating lots of smoke.

There were fears the summer tourist destination of Bremer Bay could be threatened by a bushfire on Wednesday, while another fire in a national park near Augusta in the state's southwest is being held in check by water bombing.

But both fires were under control on Wednesday evening with threat levels decreased from watch and act to advice in both cases.

Bremer Bay residents were told they could return to their homes after improved weather conditions lowered the threat from the bushfire, which was started by lightning and has burned more than 11,000 hectares.

"Although there is no immediate danger you need to be aware and keep up to date," WA's department of environment and conservation said in a statement.

A Bremer Bay primary school, however, will remain closed for a third day.

"We are not taking any chances and must protect students and staff from fire, which is why we have closed the school," Department of Education deputy director-general of schools David Axworthy said on Wednesday.

Many of the town's residents had taken refuge after hearing earlier warnings, but winds in the area ended up being weaker than forecast.

Shire of Jerramungup president Robert Lester said some protective backburning had also been conducted in the area.

Bremer Bay has a population of around 300 residents, but the township can swell in size to 10,000 in January, he said.

The second bushfire, roughly 7km west-north-west of Augusta, in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park is generating a lot of smoke but poses no immediate danger.

Authorities plan on updating residents again on both fires by 11am (WST) on Thursday.

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Chocolate warnings don't work on women

WARNING women that eating chocolate can make them fat may actually drive some to eat more, research from the University of Western Australia (UWA) shows.

The joint study with the University of Strathclyde in Scotland found low restraint eaters - those not on a diet - showed a strong impulse to eat chocolate when presented with negative messaging, including warnings that chocolate could lead to obesity.

Women on a diet were also prone to rebel against attempts to scare them off chocolate, particularly by ads featuring thin models.

Researchers found dieters shown ads featuring thin models displayed an increased desire to eat chocolate coupled with greater feelings of wanting to avoid consumption, or indulged in higher consumption - and ultimately felt more guilt.

Lead author Professor Kevin Durkin said the reaction of a warning having a contrary effect was known as "reactance".

"Reactance could be more marked among the low-restraint participants because they are generally less preoccupied with regulating their food intake and thus find external attempts to intervene in freely determined behaviour more jarring," Prof Durkin said.

The study involved 80 female participants between the ages of 17 and 26, categorised into low or high restraint and scored on a specifically designed "chocolate questionnaire" developed by UWA-based psychologist Professor Werner Stritzke.

The research was published in the journal Appetite, which specialises in behavioural nutrition and the cultural, sensory, and physiological influences on intake of foods and drinks.

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Big gaps as climate talks enter final day

There is no solution in sight in the latest UN climate change talks, officials say. Source: AAP

ABOUT 100 ministers and a handful of heads of state have gathered in Doha for the final, high-level stretch of UN climate talks marked by bickering over cash and commitments needed to curb greenhouse gases.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to address the gathering of more than 11,000 participants around 1200 GMT (2300 AEDT) on Tuesday.

He's expected to urge countries to put aside differences for the sake of the planet's future.

Even as the alarm was again raised about the dangerous trajectory of Earth-warming gas emissions, observers say the nearly 200 nations at the talks remain far apart on issues vital for unlocking a global deal on climate change.

Poor countries insist Western nations sign up to deeper, more urgent cuts in carbon emissions and commit to a new funding package from 2013 to help them cope with worsening drought, floods, storms and rising seas.

Resolution of both questions by the meeting's end on Friday should smooth the way to a new, universal treaty that must be signed by 2015 and enter into force in 2020 to roll back global warming.

The UN goal is to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 deg Fahrenheit) at which scientists hope we can escape the worst climate change effects.

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres expressed "frustration" on Monday at the pace of progress, as some delegates began to voice fears of deadlock ahead of the ministers' arrival for the final, political push.

Five heads of state and government were scheduled to address Tuesday's plenary meeting - from Gabon, Mauritania, Samoa, Ethiopia and Swaziland.

The Doha talks are meant to finalise a second period of the Kyoto Protocol, the world's only binding pact on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but delegates disagree on its timeframe and country targets.

The first leg of the protocol bound about 40 rich nations and the EU to curbing emissions, but excludes the two biggest polluters - the US, which refused to ratify it, and China which was left out because it is a developing country.

Another area of disagreement is money.

Developed nations are being asked to show how they intend to meet a promise to raise funding for poor nations' climate mitigation plans to $US100 billion ($A96.4 billion) per year by 2020 - up from a total $US30 billion in 2010-2012.

The developing world says it needs a total of $US60 billion from now to 2015 - but so far no commitments have been made.

A report warned on Sunday that Earth could be on track for warming above 5C by 2100 - at least double the 2C limit targeted by the UN.

And on Tuesday, an economists' report said even an impossible zero-per cent pollution target for the developed world by 2030 won't stop calamitous climate change, and poor nations too must do their part.

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Finks take bikie ban laws to High Court

LAWYERS for the Queensland government have defended the use of confidential information that helped it declare a chapter of the Finks bikie club a criminal organisation, saying the public has a right to live free of crime.

Pompano Pty Ltd, a company linked to the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks, is challenging the state's Criminal Organisation Act in the High Court in Canberra.

Queensland police want the chapter and the company declared criminal organisations, on the basis that their members associate for the purposes of engaging in or conspiring to engage in serious criminal activity.

But lawyers for the Finks say hearings on the issue have been limited to a small group of people, excluded the club's legal representation and dealt with criminal intelligence which came from untested information.

They claim the Queensland legislation is unconstitutional, stripping courts of their independence and denying procedural fairness.

Police should use criminal law if they have evidence to lay charges, Finks lawyer Bret Walker SC told the court on Tuesday.

"This is another scheme enacted by a state parliament which seeks to address the suppression of crime in ways other than by criminal trial," Mr Walker said.

Walter Sofronoff, QC, representing the Queensland government, said the laws were designed to strike a balance and were in aid of a serious purpose.

"Sometimes these competing rights will come into collision," Mr Sofronoff said.

He said it was not merely about rights but the right of informants to give information without their lives being risked and the right of the public to live free of organised crime.

Others states have sought to implement laws allowing particular groups, especially motorcycle clubs, to be declared criminal organisations and are intervening in the case, as has the federal government.

If the Queensland government wins the High Court case, its laws could allow police wide-ranging powers to pursue past and current Finks members by restricting their activities and banning them from recruiting, entering clubhouses or owning weapons.

Brisbane criminal lawyer Bill Potts, who lodged the application on behalf of the Finks and Pompano Pty Ltd, says the laws are a "step too far".

If the High Court deems the anti-association laws to be proper, then other states and the commonwealth could legislate in similar ways.

The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.

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UK and France 'may' recall Israel envoys

BRITAIN and France are considering recalling their ambassadors to Israel over its plans to build new settler homes in a highly controversial area of the West Bank, Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.

Reports of a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build 3,000 homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank emerged on Friday when an official source confirmed that it was in retaliation for the Palestinians winning the rank of a UN non-member state a day earlier.

The decision to build in a key area east of Jerusalem, called E1, sparked a storm of diplomatic protest from Washington and Brussels as well as from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who on Sunday warned it would deal an "almost fatal blow" to the prospects of resolving the conflict.

And on Monday, Haaretz reported that Britain and France were considering recalling their ambassadors for consultations over the plans to build in E1, which the newspaper said they considered a "red line."

"This time it won't just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel," a senior European diplomat told the paper, which also quoted another diplomat as saying: "London is furious about the E1 decision."

Quoting diplomatic sources, the paper said Britain and France were coordinating their moves and had "discussed the extraordinary step of recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv for consultations" and had informed Washington accordingly.

A final decision would be taken by the countries' foreign ministers on Monday, it said.

There was no immediate confirmation of the report from either embassy.

E1 is a highly contentious area of the West Bank that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement.

Palestinians bitterly oppose the E1 project, as it would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and sever it from Jerusalem, and make the creation of a viable Palestinian state even more problematic.

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Greece launches bond buyback

GREECE says it will spend up to 10 billion euros ($A12.54 billion) in a heavily-discounted bond buyback program that it hopes will help stabilise its debts.

Private holders of Greek bonds, such as banks and pension funds, have until Friday to register their interest in participating in the buyback program. It will be conducted by what is known as a Dutch auction, a type of auction whereby prices start high and then decline.

The buyback should be completed by December 17, the Public Debt Management Agency said in its announcement on Monday.

Greek officials are to brief finance ministers of the 17 EU countries that use the euro on details of the scheme when they meet in Brussels later Monday.

The buyback was agreed at a meeting last week of the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund when Greece's next bailout payment was authorised. The hope behind the buyback is that it will shave about 20 billion euros off the country's debt and comes less than a year after private holders of Greek debt agreed a big writedown in the value of their Greek bonds.

There are 20 series of outstanding bonds eligible for the scheme, which will command different prices depending on the bond maturity. Greece has set a minimum range of 30.2 per cent to 38.1 per cent of the bond's nominal value, and a maximum of between 32.2 per cent and 40.1 per cent.

Greece has been dependent since May 2010 on international rescue loans from the IMF and its partners in the euro. The funds have prevented the country going bankrupt and possibly leaving the euro.

In return, Greece has had to take drastic measures to reform its economy, including slashing pensions and salaries, and increasing taxes. But the measures have not had the effect Greece's creditors had hoped, with a worse than expected recession now heading into its sixth year and undermining efforts to make the country's debt sustainable.

The debt buyback is part of additional measures Greece agreed to take last week, which came alongside the approval for the release of a critical, 44 billion euros, bailout instalment.

The country expects to receive the vast majority of that amount - more than 30 billion euros - by December 13.

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Ukraine's PM and government resign

UKRAINIAN President Viktor Yanukovych has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire government, the presidency said.

The ministers would remain in their posts until a new government was formed, a statement on Monday said.

"President Viktor Yanukovych accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, satisfying the demand of the latter," the statement added.

It noted that according to Ukrainian law, whenever the prime minister resigns the entire government must do so alongside the government chief.

The move comes as a new parliament prepares to meet after parliamentary elections on October 28 which raised new concerns about democratic standards under Yanukovych.

The ruling Regions Party appears to have retained control of the Verkhovna Rada with the help of independents despite a strong challenge from the opposition parties of boxer Vitali Klitschko and imprisoned ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

A Russian-speaking bureaucrat mocked by many in Ukraine for his dry and humourless image, Azarov took office in 2010 shortly after Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko in fiercely contested presidential elections.

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Charred bodies found in Japan tunnel

A tunnel has caved in 80 kilometres west of Tokyo, trapping an unspecified number of vehicles. Source: AAP

JAPANESE rescuers found five charred bodies in a highway tunnel that collapsed, crushing cars, triggering a blaze and sparking fears of another cave-in.

At least seven people are missing inside the nearly five-kilometre-long tunnel. Witnesses spoke on Sunday of terrifying scenes as at least one vehicle burst into flames, sending out clouds of blinding, acrid smoke.

Rescuers were forced to suspend their efforts to reach those believed trapped under thick concrete ceiling panels for several hours when engineers warned more debris could fall.

Emergency crews who rushed to the Sasago tunnel on the Chuo Expressway, 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of the capital, were hampered by thick smoke billowing from the entrance.

Dozens of people abandoned their vehicles on the Tokyo-bound section of carriageway, and ran for one of the emergency exits or for the mouth, where they huddled in bitter winter weather.

Emergency crews equipped with breathing apparatus battled around a third of the way into the tunnel, where they found up to 70 metres of concrete panels had come crashing down, crushing at least two vehicles.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency later confirmed there were five bodies, adding another vehicle had also been burned.

By late afternoon the operation had resumed. Footage from security cameras showed large concrete panels in a V shape, apparently having collapsed from the middle, with teams of men in protective gear scrambling over them.

One 28-year-old woman who emerged from the smoke-darkened tunnel by herself told rescuers she had been in a rented van with five other people, fire department official Kazuya Tezuka told AFP by telephone.

"I have no idea about what happened to the five others. I don't know how many vehicles were ahead and behind ours," she was quoted as saying.

A truck driver who telephoned a colleague from inside the tunnel was also believed to be trapped.

The tunnel, which passes through hills not far from Mount Fuji, is one of the longest in Japan. It sits on a major road connecting Tokyo with the centre and west of the country.

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Islamist protesters force Egypt court halt

President Mohammed Morsi has called on Egyptians to vote in a December 15 referendum. Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of supporters of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi have protested outside a top Egyptian court, forcing judges to delay a hearing on a constitutional panel at the heart of a deepening crisis.

The Supreme Constitutional Court could not even begin sitting on Sunday when it called an "administrative delay" to the session that would have also looked into the status of the Islamist-dominated senate, a judicial official told AFP.

Any rulings would have escalated a crisis with Morsi, who in a decree expanding his powers barred the court from examining the case, before the panel adopted the constitution on Friday.

Both the judicial official and state television did not say when the court would hold any new session.

The Islamists, many wrapped in blankets and carrying posters of Morsi, had spent the night outside the courthouse in a bid to prevent its judges from entering.

The disputed draft constitution - which declares "the principles of Islamic sharia" as the main source of legislation - is to be put to a referendum on December 15.

It has fuelled the country's worst political crisis since Morsi's election in June, squaring Islamist forces against secular-leaning opponents.

Mass rival rallies preceded Morsi's referendum announcement on Saturday, a day after crowds thronged to Tahrir Square to denounce his "dictatorial" decree.

"One nation, two peoples," read the front page of Al-Shuruq newspaper, while Al-Masri al-Youm ran with "Egypt at the mouth of a volcano".

Sunday's session on the legality of the constituent assembly, which drafted the new charter amid a boycott by secularists, liberals and Christians, would have defied a presidential decree barring any judicial body from dissolving the panel.

The protesters surrounded entrances to the courthouse and blocked off a main road that runs along the Nile leading up to it, trying to prevent the judges from entering.

"The will of the people is stronger than the will of a few judges," said demonstrator Ismail Ahmed, 39, referring to the judiciary that contains many judges left over from the reign of former strongman Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by a popular uprising last year.

Hundreds of thousands of Islamist protesters gathered on Saturday in support of Morsi, his sweeping powers and the disputed constitution.

Morsi's November 22 decree sparked the crisis, with the constitution, which had been due for more deliberation, being rushed through days later amid popular unrest.

The Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters have branded the anti-Islamist opposition enemies of the 2011 revolution.

Sunday's protesters also chanted against secular and liberal opposition leaders.

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Bushfire out of control in Tas northeast

A LARGE bushfire is burning out of control in Tasmania's far northeast.

The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) says the fire has jumped a containment line and may affect the Musselroe Bay township area by midnight Sunday (AEDT).

Residents are warned to check their bushfire plans as embers, smoke and ash may fall on the town.

The TFS says well built and prepared homes are defendable in these conditions, but if people choose to leave, they should do so only if the path is clear.

"As the fire approaches it may become unsafe to be either on foot or in a vehicle as the smoke and heat from the fire will create very dangerous conditions on the roads," the service says.

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