Madonna builds ten schools in Malawi

Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity has announced. Source: AAP

FORMER Material Girl Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity announced.

Two years after abandoning a $US15 million ($A14.52 million) girls academy, the pop diva said on Friday projects in 2012 would educate 4871 children in the tiny southern African country.

The projects were carried out by her charity Raising Malawi and the global non-profit buildOn.

"I am overjoyed that my commitment along with buildOn's to help educate the children of Malawi has come to fruition," Madonna said in a statement issued by her charity.

"In a country where girls have little opportunity for education, it's additionally inspiring to know that more than half the students attending will be young girls.

"The fact that more than 4800 children in Malawi will get to go to school next year is a tremendous step forward for their individual growth and the growth of Malawi," Madonna added.

The schools, which had been scheduled to be built over 18 months, were completed six months ahead of schedule.

The charity said six of the schools are already in use and all 10 would be up and running in January 2013 for the first day of school in the New Year.

Madonna is no stranger to Malawi.

In 2006 she adopted toddler David Banda under controversial circumstances and two years later adopted another child, Mercy James.

Her charity, Raising Malawi, has poured millions of dollars in support of orphanages and a network of orphan care service providers.

Malawi is ranked by the UN Human Development Index as one of the world's 20 least developed countries and 39 per cent of its 13 million citizens live below the poverty line, on less than a dollar a day.

UNICEF estimates that only 26 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls complete primary school because of poverty and the long distances travelled to reach schools.

Madonna controversially stopped the construction of the state-of-the-art $US15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls-RMAG- in Chinkhota village, 15 kilometres from the administrative capital Lilongwe, after it was mired in allegations of financial mismanagement.

The academy, styled on the lines of the one built by TV host Oprah Winfrey in South Africa, had been meant to offer 500 scholarships to girls from poor backgrounds and groom them into future leaders.

In abandoning the project, Madonna said the academy would not be adequate as two-thirds of the girls were not educated beyond primary school. Instead, she said, she wanted to reach "thousands and not hundreds of girls" by constructing several schools.

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Second man charged for Christmas murder

A second man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Source: AAP

A SECOND man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane.

Police said a 31-year-old man from Kippa Ring had been charged with one count of murder after a 43-year-old man died following a disturbance at a Morayfield home just after 9.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

The victim was found unconscious in the driveway of the property and later died in hospital.

The accused man is expected to face Brisbane Magistrates Court later on Saturday.

A 20-year-old man from Deception Bay has already been charged with murder and faced Caboolture Magistrates Court on Friday.

It's believed police are searching for up to four people who may have been involved in the man's death and their investigations are ongoing.

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Man drowns at NSW Central Coast beach

A MAN has drowned at a beach on the NSW Central Coast after getting caught in a rip.

Police say the 27-year-old man was one of six people swimming at Budgewoi beach when four members of the group got into trouble because of strong currents at about 5.25pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Most of the group were helped out of the water by friends but the 27-year-old could not be reached.

He was later taken from the water by beachgoers but could not be revived.

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Madonna builds ten schools in Malawi

Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity has announced. Source: AAP

FORMER Material Girl Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity announced.

Two years after abandoning a $US15 million ($A14.52 million) girls academy, the pop diva said on Friday projects in 2012 would educate 4871 children in the tiny southern African country.

The projects were carried out by her charity Raising Malawi and the global non-profit buildOn.

"I am overjoyed that my commitment along with buildOn's to help educate the children of Malawi has come to fruition," Madonna said in a statement issued by her charity.

"In a country where girls have little opportunity for education, it's additionally inspiring to know that more than half the students attending will be young girls.

"The fact that more than 4800 children in Malawi will get to go to school next year is a tremendous step forward for their individual growth and the growth of Malawi," Madonna added.

The schools, which had been scheduled to be built over 18 months, were completed six months ahead of schedule.

The charity said six of the schools are already in use and all 10 would be up and running in January 2013 for the first day of school in the New Year.

Madonna is no stranger to Malawi.

In 2006 she adopted toddler David Banda under controversial circumstances and two years later adopted another child, Mercy James.

Her charity, Raising Malawi, has poured millions of dollars in support of orphanages and a network of orphan care service providers.

Malawi is ranked by the UN Human Development Index as one of the world's 20 least developed countries and 39 per cent of its 13 million citizens live below the poverty line, on less than a dollar a day.

UNICEF estimates that only 26 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls complete primary school because of poverty and the long distances travelled to reach schools.

Madonna controversially stopped the construction of the state-of-the-art $US15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls-RMAG- in Chinkhota village, 15 kilometres from the administrative capital Lilongwe, after it was mired in allegations of financial mismanagement.

The academy, styled on the lines of the one built by TV host Oprah Winfrey in South Africa, had been meant to offer 500 scholarships to girls from poor backgrounds and groom them into future leaders.

In abandoning the project, Madonna said the academy would not be adequate as two-thirds of the girls were not educated beyond primary school. Instead, she said, she wanted to reach "thousands and not hundreds of girls" by constructing several schools.

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Second man charged for Christmas murder

A second man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Source: AAP

A SECOND man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane.

Police said a 31-year-old man from Kippa Ring had been charged with one count of murder after a 43-year-old man died following a disturbance at a Morayfield home just after 9.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

The victim was found unconscious in the driveway of the property and later died in hospital.

The accused man is expected to face Brisbane Magistrates Court later on Saturday.

A 20-year-old man from Deception Bay has already been charged with murder and faced Caboolture Magistrates Court on Friday.

It's believed police are searching for up to four people who may have been involved in the man's death and their investigations are ongoing.

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Man drowns at NSW Central Coast beach

A MAN has drowned at a beach on the NSW Central Coast after getting caught in a rip.

Police say the 27-year-old man was one of six people swimming at Budgewoi beach when four members of the group got into trouble because of strong currents at about 5.25pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Most of the group were helped out of the water by friends but the 27-year-old could not be reached.

He was later taken from the water by beachgoers but could not be revived.

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Japan whaling fleet leaves for Antarctica

Japan's whaling fleet has left port for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt. Source: AAP

JAPANESE whaling vessels have left port bound for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt of the marine mammals, a media report and Greenpeace say.

Citing the Fisheries Agency, Kyodo News reported on Friday three vessels had departed from the far-western port of Shimonoseki, while environmental group Greenpeace said the mother ship had left another port also in the country's west.

"The mother ship, Nisshin Maru, left Innoshima today," said Greenpeace Japan's executive director Junichi Sato on Friday.

"Today was virtually the last day when they could leave for the Antarctic Sea," he said, adding that the fisheries agency had announced that the departure would take place within this month.

The mother ship would join the three vessels that left Shimonoseki earlier in the day, Kyodo said.

The fleet plans to hunt up to 935 Antarctic minke whales and up to 50 fin whales through March, the fisheries agency said earlier.

Japanese authorities refused to confirm either departure to AFP.

"We do not disclose when the vessels leave or left for safety reasons," said an agency official said.

Coastguard officers will be aboard the ships to cope with possible harassment from anti-whaling activists, the coastguard and fisheries agency officials said earlier this month.

The fleet's departure comes weeks later than expected and days after a US court ordered militant environmental group Sea Shepherd to stay at least 500 yards (metres) from whaling vessels.

The injunction was ordered by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in the latest step in a legal battle between the anti-whaling group and Japanese authorities over vessels in the Southern Ocean.

It said Sea Shepherd and Canadian militant conservationist Paul Watson, who is wanted by Interpol, "are enjoined from physically attacking any vessel engaged by plaintiffs", including Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research.

In addition, they are banned from "navigating in a manner that is likely to endanger the safe navigation of any such vessel", said the order, issued on Monday.

"In no event shall defendants approach plaintiffs any closer than 500 yards (460 metres) when defendants are navigating on the open sea," it added. The joint plaintiffs are Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, Ltd., Tomoyuki Ogawa and Toshiyuki Miura.

It follows the issuing in August of an arrest notice by Interpol for Watson, Sea Shepherd's founder, who jumped bail in Germany in July.

He had been arrested there on charges from Costa Rica relating to a high-seas confrontation over shark finning in 2002.

In a statement on its website, Sea Shepherd called the new US court ruling "the first shot of the season" by Japanese whalers.

Confrontations between the whalers and activists have escalated in recent years, and the Japanese cut their hunt short in early 2011 due to Sea Shepherd harassment.

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Apple must pay on copyright: Chinese court

A Chinese court has ordered Apple to pay 1.03 million yuan ($A159,740) to eight Chinese writers. Source: AAP

A CHINESE court has ordered Apple Inc to pay 1.03 million yuan ($A159,740) to eight Chinese writers and two companies who say unlicensed copies of their work were distributed through Apple's online store.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled on Thursday that Apple violated the writers' copyrights by allowing applications containing their work to be distributed through its App Store, according to an official who answered the phone at the court and said he was the judge in the case.

He refused to give his name, as is common among Chinese officials.

The award was less than the 12 million yuan ($A1.84 million) sought by the authors.

The case grouped together eight lawsuits filed by them and their publishers.

An Apple spokeswoman, Carolyn Wu, said the company's managers "take copyright infringement complaints very seriously".

She declined to say whether the company would appeal.

Unlicensed copying of books, music, software and other products is widespread in China despite repeated government promises to stamp out violations.

Apple's agreement with application developers requires them to confirm they have obtained rights to material distributed through the company's App Store.

"We're always updating our service to better assist content owners in protecting their rights," Wu said.

The Chinese writers said they saw applications containing unlicensed versions of their books last year.

In November, a court ordered Apple to pay 520,000 yuan to the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House for copyright infringement in a separate case.

Apple is appealing, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

In the latest case, the Beijing court awarded 605,000 yuan to one company and 21,500 yuan to the second, according to the court official.

The biggest individual judgment went to writer Han Ailian, who was awarded 186,000 yuan.

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US teachers bear arms to protect students

US teachers are flocking to gun training as states consider allowing educators to carry weapons. Source: AAP

SEVERAL US states are considering allowing school teachers to carry weapons and educators, determined not to allow a repeat of the Newtown massacre, are flocking to training sessions.

As gun control advocates try to outlaw military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, gun enthusiasts, backed by the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), are taking a very different approach.

The gun lobby argues that there is no way to stop crazy or evil people doing bad things and so the only sure-fire way to prevent mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook primary is to take down the shooter.

In a rare press conference one week after 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot dead 20 six and seven-year-olds and six adults with a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle, the NRA called for armed guards in every school in the country.

But in Utah, one of the handful of American states that currently allows people to carry licensed concealed weapons into public schools, many teachers are unwilling to wait and see which political argument wins out.

In response to Newtown, the Utah Shooting Sports Council (USSC) waived its fee on Thursday for educators wanting to participate in training sessions to gain permits to carry concealed weapons.

More than half of the roughly 400 education professionals that showed an interest had to be turned away because there wasn't enough room on the course.

"We had about 400 that wanted to do it and we only had seating for about 180," USSC board member Bill Scott said.

The surge in interest was seen by organisers as a direct response to the shooting in Newtown, with teachers showing a heightened awareness that people are responsible for their own safety and wanted their own permits.

"A lot of these people may have shot all their lives and some of them may have never touched a gun," Scott said.

"We're not advocating that all teachers should be armed. We're just saying that those that choose to be armed, that want to get the training, they have the right to do that in Utah, we'd like to facilitate that."

While teachers train themselves to try to stop the next Lanza, state officials like Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne are busily crafting legislation to make sure they can legally do so.

"The proposal is that any school that wishes to do so may designate the principal or another designee to receive training in the use of firearms and how to handle emergencies such as that which occurred in Newtown," he said.

Ideally there would be an armed police officer in every school, but due to budget considerations this may not be possible, so training a designated teacher to handle firearms was "the next best solution," Horne said.

Pro-gun politicians in Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, South Dakota and Tennessee have also vowed to propose legislation in the coming months that would allow for armed teachers in schools.

"Hopefully, these monsters, these animals that are doing this stuff will stay away from the schools," said Scott.

"Our view also is that it's not just that you would actively engage the shooter, just the fact that the bad guys know that teachers are armed in Utah is a huge deterrent.

"They tend to pick targets where they know there will be lots of innocent victims and they're not going to encounter any resistance."

As teachers stripped semi-automatic pistols on tables at the USSC gathering, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein was putting the final touches to a bill that would ban weapons like the one Lanza used in Newtown.

Gun rights advocates, led by the NRA, are stringently against such measures.

"The thing about them being assault weapons, it's a misnomer," said Scott.

"These weapons are no different than a standard sporting weapon. We don't support any bans on those because true military weapons are already banned in the United States."

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Asian shares rise amid US fiscal concerns

ASIAN shares have risen, with Tokyo scaling a 21-month high thanks to a weaker yen, but pessimism lingers over the prospects of a US "fiscal cliff" deal by the year-end deadline.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index on Thursday climbed 0.91 per cent, or 92.62 points, to 10,322.98, the highest level since March 11 last year when a massive quake struck Japan, sparking a tsunami and the worst atomic crisis in a generation.

The dollar rose to its highest level in more than two years against the yen as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office, raising expectations that the Bank of Japan would initiate more aggressive monetary easing under his leadership.

Seoul closed 0.26 per cent, or 5.10 points, higher at 1,987.35, and Sydney gained 0.28 per cent, or 12.8 points, to 4,648.0.

Hong Kong climbed 0.35 per cent, or 78.6 points, to 22,619.78, while Shanghai eased 0.60 per cent, or 13.23 points, to 2,205.90.

Regional gains came despite overnight falls on Wall Street as investors continue to fret over the looming fiscal cliff - a series of tax hikes and spending cuts worth some $US600 billion ($A580.92 billion) due to take effect in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19 per cent to finish the session at 13,114.59.

The broad-market S&P 500 lost 6.83 points (0.48 per cent) to end at 1,419.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 22.44 points (0.74 per cent) to 2,990.16.

US lawmakers are set to return to the negotiating table after the Christmas holidays in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal, with experts warning that going over the cliff could drive the world's biggest economy back into recession.

The Treasury Department said on Wednesday the government would hit its legal borrowing limit by Monday, setting in motion emergency measures to keep the government operating for several more weeks.

The Treasury's manoeuvring is designed to put off until February or March the prospect of a full-blown debt crisis, indicating that the US budget wrangling could continue well into 2013.

Despite those concerns the dollar made steady gains, hovering around Y85.79 in afternoon Tokyo trade, the highest level since September 2010.

The euro fetched Y113.57 and $US1.3242 compared with Y113.19 and $US1.3230 in New York late on Wednesday.

Oil prices were mixed, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, adding six US cents to $US91.04 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery shed 10 US cents to $US110.97.

Gold was at $US1,657.30 at 1940 AEDT, compared with $US1,658.10 late on Wednesday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 0.19 per cent, or 14.22 points, to 7,648.41.

Hon Hai Precision rose 0.56 per cent to $Tw89.0 while TSMC was 0.42 per cent down at $Tw95.60.

- Wellington gained 0.19 per cent, or 7.63 points, to 4,065.44.

Telecom Corp was down 1.32 per cent at $NZ2.25, while Fletcher Building rose 1.81 per cent to $NZ8.45.

- Manila fell 0.65 per cent, or 37.94 points, to 5,794.89.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company slipped 0.77 per cent to 102.10 pesos, while BDO Unibank rose 0.62 per cent to 72.75 pesos.

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4 Afghan police killed with 'insider' help

FOUR Afghan policemen have been killed and two wounded in an insurgent attack assisted by an insider loyal to the Taliban, officials say.

Attackers stormed the police post at Tarin Kowt, a remote district in the southern province of Oruzgan, before dawn on Thursday and killed the officers as they slept, police spokesman Farid Ahmad Aiel told AFP.

One policeman who fled with the insurgents was believed to be a Taliban infiltrator who aided the attack, Aiel said.

"He had links with the Taliban and he helped the Taliban to attack the post. He had called them to attack while the other policemen were sleeping," the spokesman said.

Abdullah Hemat, a spokesman for the Oruzgan provincial administration, confirmed the incident and also blamed a Taliban infiltrator. One gunman was wounded during fighting and later arrested, he added.

"Insider" attacks by members of the police and army have become a major concern for the US-led NATO force deployed in Afghanistan.

The attacks have seen a dramatic surge this year, causing scores of casualties among international troops and among local security forces.

The Taliban claim that insider attacks are carried out by its supporters. Afghan authorities and their NATO allies say most are personally motivated.

On Monday a female police officer killed an American adviser in Kabul's police headquarters. Police said she was mentally ill.

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UN peace envoy urges real change in Syria

Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is seeking help from Russia to get the warring parties to negotiate. Source: AAP

INTERNATIONAL envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has called for "real change" in war-torn Syria including a transitional government with full powers until elections can be held.

The envoy unveiled his initiative in Damascus on Thursday as Russia, the Syrian government's most powerful ally, denied the existence of a joint peace plan with the United States, amid a flurry of end-of-year diplomatic activity on the crisis.

"Change should not be cosmetic; the Syrian people need and require real change, and everyone understands that," the UN-Arab League envoy said on the fifth day of his latest peace mission to Syria.

"We need to form a government with all powers... which assumes power during a period of transition. That transition period will end with elections," Brahimi told reporters.

He did not specify a date for the proposed elections. Syria elected a parliament in May and President Bashar al-Assad's current term expires in 2014.

"The transition period should not lead to the collapse of the state and its institutions," Brahimi said, adding that the initiative was incomplete.

"We prefer... a project whose facilitation the parties have agreed upon, and, if they do not, the last solution is going to the (UN) Security Council which will make a binding resolution."

Brahimi, who has held talks with Assad as well as with opposition groups tolerated by the regime, replaced former UN chief Kofi Annan after his dramatic resignation in August over what he said was the failure of major powers to back his peace plan.

A diplomat at the UN Security Council said Brahimi, the veteran Algerian troubleshooter, had received no support from either side since arriving in Syria on Sunday.

"Assad appears to have stonewalled Brahimi again, the UN Security Council is not even close to showing the envoy the kind of support he needs and the rebels will not now compromise," said the diplomat.

Brahimi will hold talks on Saturday with Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said.

Russia on Thursday hosted a Syrian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad.

"This is of course a part of the efforts we are undertaking to encourage dialogue not just with the government but all opposition forces," Russian spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

Moscow has refused to end its co-operation with the Assad regime during the conflict, despite the fury of the West.

The diplomatic drive comes as Western media report about a new Russia-US initiative that would see Assad stay in power until 2014 but prevent him from renewing his mandate.

Lukashevich vehemently denies any such plan.

"There was not and is not such a plan and it is not being discussed," he said.

Russia insists it will not prop up Assad's regime but it will not seek to persuade the Syrian president to step down, saying it is up to the Syrian people to decide the country's future.

The diplomatic drive comes after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented at least 45,000 deaths in the civil war, which erupted in March 2011 following a brutal crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests.

The Observatory said the real number of those killed could be as high as 100,000, with both sides concealing many casualties.

The grim statistics add gravity to a UN warning that the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees "estimates that if fighting in Syria continues, the refugee figure could reach 1.1 million by June 2013," a report said.

That is double the current number of those registered by the United Nations.

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Russian ban on US adoption nears approval

RUSSIA'S upper house of parliament is set to vote on a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, the final legislative hurdle requiring clearance before the controversial law is sent to President Vladimir Putin for signing.

The highly contentious measure - retaliation for a US law sanctioning Russian officials implicated in the prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 - has inflamed tensions between the two former Cold War rivals.

The draft legislation has already passed the three required readings in the State Duma lower house despite the protests over the measure from human rights advocates and even senior officials.

The Federation Council upper chamber - comprised exclusively of Putin allies and ruling party members - is expected to overwhelmingly approve the measure on Wednesday after it was backed in a committee meeting the day before.

Putin has not made clear explicitly if he will sign the law but comments by his spokesman on Tuesday appeared to indicate that he backed the measure.

"This will not lead to any infringement of international rights," Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russia is fully implementing the rights it has under international law."

The bill also includes a provision banning Russian political organisations that receive US funding.

In Washington, the White House said on Tuesday that "we deeply regret recent efforts to restrict civil society activity in Russia" and vowed to continue raising concerns over the proposed adoption ban.

"Children should have every opportunity to grow up in loving families," US President Barack Obama's national security staff said in a statement.

"Their fate should not be linked to unrelated political considerations."

The legislation came up this month after Obama signed into law the so-called Magnitsky Act, a measure paying tribute to the Russian lawyer who died in custody after exposing a $US235 million ($A227 million) police embezzlement scheme.

The US law blacklists Russian officials allegedly involved in his death.

Magnitsky's employer Hermitage Capital - once Russia's largest Western investment fund - and family both believe he was tortured to death.

But Russian prosecutors this week moved to drop charges against the only person on trial in the case.

They are also due to hold hearings on Thursday into a separate set of fraud charges that originally put Magnitsky under arrest.

The Russian MPs' response has agitated some cabinet members including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has said banning adoption as an institution "is wrong" in a rare rebuke to the official position.

Putin's advisory human rights council also condemned the pending legislation as potentially unconstitutional.

Leading rights advocate Lyudmila Alexeyeva said she planned to appeal to the constitutional court should Putin sign the bill into law.

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Girls taken in 'domestic incident': Police

POLICE do not hold concerns for the safety of two young girls who were feared to have been abducted from Alexandra Hills this afternoon.

A police spokeswoman said it is now being treated as a domestic incident and it's believed the girls were taken by someone known to them.

Earlier it was reported that a three-year-old and five-year-old girl were taken from a shopping centre about 4.30pm.

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Egypt's Morsi signs new charter into law

EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi has signed into law a new constitution voted in despite weeks of opposition protests, but he was left facing an economic crisis and international disquiet over his rule.

The Islamist-dominated senate convened on Wednesday to swear in 90 new members appointed by Morsi. It was expected to draft a law for legislative elections for the dissolved lower house that have to be held by the end of February.

The National Salvation Front opposition coalition said it would vie for seats in the parliament, which has powers under the new charter that could hamper Morsi's ability to govern.

"We will work together to enter the election," Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud said.

He also said the coalition would legally contest the referendum, which it claims was riddled by fraud. Its supporters had demonstrated since late November against the document, with some clashes with pro-Morsi supporters turning bloody.

The national electoral commission said late on Tuesday that 64 per cent of voters in the two-round referendum backed the new constitution. Turnout was 33 per cent, it said.

Morsi immediately afterwards signed into law the charter, which had been written up by his Islamist allies.

Christians and liberals boycotted the process in protest against changes they saw as weakening human rights, especially those of women, and possibly paving the way for the introduction of a form of fundamentalist Islamic law.

The US, which gives $US1.3 billion ($A1.26 billion) a year to Egypt's influential military, called on Morsi to work to "bridge divisions" with the largely secular opposition.

"We have consistently supported the principle that democracy requires much more than simple majority rule," acting US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

"We hope all sides will re-commit themselves to condemn and prevent violence."

The political crisis has taken a heavy toll on Egypt's economy.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported there was "fear in the Egyptian street" after rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Egypt's long-term credit rating one notch to B-.

The chief economist at CI Capital, Mona Mansour, said a crucial $US4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan that had been scheduled for this or next month might be postponed until the new parliament is established in March.

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Russian ban on US adoption nears approval

RUSSIA'S upper house of parliament is set to vote on a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, the final legislative hurdle requiring clearance before the controversial law is sent to President Vladimir Putin for signing.

The highly contentious measure - retaliation for a US law sanctioning Russian officials implicated in the prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 - has inflamed tensions between the two former Cold War rivals.

The draft legislation has already passed the three required readings in the State Duma lower house despite the protests over the measure from human rights advocates and even senior officials.

The Federation Council upper chamber - comprised exclusively of Putin allies and ruling party members - is expected to overwhelmingly approve the measure on Wednesday after it was backed in a committee meeting the day before.

Putin has not made clear explicitly if he will sign the law but comments by his spokesman on Tuesday appeared to indicate that he backed the measure.

"This will not lead to any infringement of international rights," Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russia is fully implementing the rights it has under international law."

The bill also includes a provision banning Russian political organisations that receive US funding.

In Washington, the White House said on Tuesday that "we deeply regret recent efforts to restrict civil society activity in Russia" and vowed to continue raising concerns over the proposed adoption ban.

"Children should have every opportunity to grow up in loving families," US President Barack Obama's national security staff said in a statement.

"Their fate should not be linked to unrelated political considerations."

The legislation came up this month after Obama signed into law the so-called Magnitsky Act, a measure paying tribute to the Russian lawyer who died in custody after exposing a $US235 million ($A227 million) police embezzlement scheme.

The US law blacklists Russian officials allegedly involved in his death.

Magnitsky's employer Hermitage Capital - once Russia's largest Western investment fund - and family both believe he was tortured to death.

But Russian prosecutors this week moved to drop charges against the only person on trial in the case.

They are also due to hold hearings on Thursday into a separate set of fraud charges that originally put Magnitsky under arrest.

The Russian MPs' response has agitated some cabinet members including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has said banning adoption as an institution "is wrong" in a rare rebuke to the official position.

Putin's advisory human rights council also condemned the pending legislation as potentially unconstitutional.

Leading rights advocate Lyudmila Alexeyeva said she planned to appeal to the constitutional court should Putin sign the bill into law.

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Girls taken in 'domestic incident': Police

POLICE do not hold concerns for the safety of two young girls who were feared to have been abducted from Alexandra Hills this afternoon.

A police spokeswoman said it is now being treated as a domestic incident and it's believed the girls were taken by someone known to them.

Earlier it was reported that a three-year-old and five-year-old girl were taken from a shopping centre about 4.30pm.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt's Morsi signs new charter into law

EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi has signed into law a new constitution voted in despite weeks of opposition protests, but he was left facing an economic crisis and international disquiet over his rule.

The Islamist-dominated senate convened on Wednesday to swear in 90 new members appointed by Morsi. It was expected to draft a law for legislative elections for the dissolved lower house that have to be held by the end of February.

The National Salvation Front opposition coalition said it would vie for seats in the parliament, which has powers under the new charter that could hamper Morsi's ability to govern.

"We will work together to enter the election," Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud said.

He also said the coalition would legally contest the referendum, which it claims was riddled by fraud. Its supporters had demonstrated since late November against the document, with some clashes with pro-Morsi supporters turning bloody.

The national electoral commission said late on Tuesday that 64 per cent of voters in the two-round referendum backed the new constitution. Turnout was 33 per cent, it said.

Morsi immediately afterwards signed into law the charter, which had been written up by his Islamist allies.

Christians and liberals boycotted the process in protest against changes they saw as weakening human rights, especially those of women, and possibly paving the way for the introduction of a form of fundamentalist Islamic law.

The US, which gives $US1.3 billion ($A1.26 billion) a year to Egypt's influential military, called on Morsi to work to "bridge divisions" with the largely secular opposition.

"We have consistently supported the principle that democracy requires much more than simple majority rule," acting US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

"We hope all sides will re-commit themselves to condemn and prevent violence."

The political crisis has taken a heavy toll on Egypt's economy.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported there was "fear in the Egyptian street" after rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Egypt's long-term credit rating one notch to B-.

The chief economist at CI Capital, Mona Mansour, said a crucial $US4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan that had been scheduled for this or next month might be postponed until the new parliament is established in March.

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Weak yen gives Tokyo a Christmas boost

TOKYO stocks have closed 1.41 per cent higher as a weak yen helped boost the market which surged last week following a return to power for the country's conservatives.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 140.06 points to 10,080.12, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares added 0.64 per cent, or 5.29 points, to finish at 838.01 on Christmas Day.

A strong yen is negative for Japanese markets as it erodes exporters' revenue and makes their products less competitive overseas.

The yen had dipped against the dollar and the euro on Monday after Japan's incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe, whose Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide national election this month, renewed calls on the Bank of Japan to take further steps to ease monetary policy.

Abe at the weekend threatened to change a law guaranteeing the bank's independence if it did not agree to set a two-per cent inflation target.

He is pressing the bank to set the goal in a bid to drag the country out of the deflation that has haunted its economy for years.

Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.

In forex trading, the dollar stood at Y84.75, slightly lower than Y84.82 in New York on Monday, where the greenback had climbed to the Y85 level last seen in April 2011.

The euro fetched Y111.75 and $US1.3181 from Y111.87 and $US1.3183 in US trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended a shortened Christmas Eve session on Monday down 0.39 per cent at 13,139.08 amid pessimism about prospects of a deal to avert the US "fiscal cliff" due to take effect in January.

"The fact that the discussions apparently remain bogged down is a negative, but the overarching factor for stocks - a cheaper yen - trumps everything else," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo.

Divided US politicians have until the end of the year to reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, a combination of steep tax hikes and spending cuts which threatens to drag the world's largest economy into recession.

In Tokyo, Mitsubishi Motors gained 1.23 per cent to Y82, despite transport officials inspecting the company's offices across Japan on Tuesday after it widened a vehicle recall to about 1.7 million vehicles.

Sharp dived 7.45 per cent to Y273, a fall sparked by profit-taking after the stock's recent rally.

Chinese shares put on 2.53 per cent, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumping 54.56 points to 2,213.61 to close near a six-month high.

Industrial Bank gained 5.89 per cent to 16.36 yuan, while property developer Gemdale jumped 5.61 per cent to 6.40 yuan.

Taiwan's weighted index rose 1.34 per cent, or 101.05 points, to 7,636.57.

Leading smartphone maker HTC rose 1.99 per cent to Tw$282.5 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was 1.37 per cent higher at Tw$96.5.

Most Asian markets were closed.

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Taxi driver dies in Victoria crash

The national holiday road toll has risen to eight, after a man died from a collision in Victoria. Source: AAP

VICTORIA'S holiday road toll has climbed to five following the death of a taxi driver in a crash in Geelong.

Investigators believe a Holden Commodore was travelling east on Ballarat Road, in the Geelong suburb of Hamlyn Heights, when it crashed into a stationary taxi at about 6.15pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

The male driver of the taxi died at the scene while the driver of the Commodore was not hurt.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Toll rises to 10 as Vic taxi driver dies

THE national Christmas holiday road toll has risen to 10 with the death of a taxi driver in Victoria.

Police believe a Holden Commodore was travelling east on Ballarat Road in the Geelong suburb of Hamlyn Heights when it crashed into a stationary taxi about 6.15pm (AEDT) on Christmas Day.

The taxi driver died at the scene while the driver of the Commodore was not hurt.

Earlier in the day, a man believed to be in his 60s died in hospital from injuries he suffered in a crash on the Princes Highway at Dandenong on Monday night.

The deaths bring the Victoria toll to five since the holiday road period started on December 23.

In South Australia a motorist died when his car left the road and caught fire at Millicent, southeast of Adelaide. The death was the second in the state

NSW, Tasmania and Western Australia have each recorded one death.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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US yachtsman rescued after 8 days adrift

VIETNAMESE fishermen have rescued an American man who had been drifting at sea for eight days on a disabled yacht.

Coastguard official Vo Hoang Liet said on Monday that Kenneth Putney of Melbourne, Florida, was in good health after being rescued on Thursday.

Liet says Putney, 54, told Vietnamese authorities he and three others were towing a yacht from the Philippines to Thailand when the rope broke on December 15.

He said Putney jumped onto the yacht because he feared it would be lost.

Putney drifted on the yacht for eight days before being rescued by the fishermen 25 kilometres off the coast.

Putney will be handed over to US embassy. Liet did not say what happened to the other vessel.

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser

AN Afghan policewoman has shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul.

The woman, identified as Afghan police Sergeant Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small shop, Kabul Governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa told The Associated Press.

The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack.

Earlier, she had asked bystanders where the governor's office was located, the governor said. As with many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name.

The slain adviser was a contractor whose identity wasn't immediately released.

The attack occurred outside the police headquarters in a walled, highly secure compound which also houses the governor's office, courts and a prison. Kabul Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said an investigation was under way.

The killing came just hours after an Afghan policeman shot five of his colleagues at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan late Monday. The attacker then stole his colleague's weapons and fled to join the Taliban, said an official in Jawzjan province.

More than 60 international allies, including troops and civilian advisers, have been killed by Afghan soldiers or police this year.

More than 50 Afghan members of the government's security forces also have died this year in attacks by their own colleagues.

Taliban militants claim such attacks reflect a growing popular opposition to both foreign military presence and the Kabul government.

The provincial official in Jawzjan said the attacker on Sunday was an Afghan policeman manning a checkpoint in Dirzab District who turned his weapon on five colleagues before fleeing to the militant Islamist group.

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Syria peace envoy Brahimi meets Assad

UN-ARAB League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he hopes all parties will reach agreement to end the "worrying" situation in Syria.

After holding talks in Damascus with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, he said: "I had the honour to meet the president and as usual we exchanged views on the many steps to be taken in the future."

He has been in Syria since Sunday to launch a fresh bid to end the conflict roiling the country.

He said the Syrian crisis was "always worrying". More than 44,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad's regime erupted in March last year, according to figures of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Brahimi expressed hope that "all parties are in favour of a solution that draws Syrian people together".

"Assad expressed his views on the situation and I told him about my meetings with leaders in the region and outside," said the veteran Algerian diplomat who took over the Syria role from former UN chief Kofi Annan.

Brahimi recently held talks with US and Russian officials, who hold differing views on how to deal with the Syrian crisis.

Washington has repeatedly called for the ouster of Assad, while Moscow still remains one of the few staunch supporters of the Damascus regime.

Brahimi had last visited the country on October 19.

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Aussies warned about Phuket scamsters

AUSTRALIAN tourists in Phuket should be wary of extortion gangs, some of which are in cahoots with local police.

Australian Ambassador James Wise and his British counterpart, Mark Kent, have joined a Thai Ministry of Tourism campaign to tackle tourist scams on Phuket.

Up to 25,000 Australians visit Phuket each month, with Christmas and New Year the peak of the tourism season.

The main scams involve taxi and jet-ski operators in Phuket and the seaside resort town of Pattaya.

Mr Wise told AAP travellers needed to be on their guard when they hired jet-skis or motorcycles.

"Consider the implications if it is stolen or damaged. Foreigners are commonly detained by police until compensation, often thousands of dollars, is negotiated between the parties."

Mr Kent said travellers should be cautious in "crowded markets, tourist sites, bus or train stations and festivals".

"It is best to avoid isolated neighbourhoods, shortcuts, narrow alleys and poorly lit streets, especially late at night," he said.

Larry Cunningham, Australia's honorary consul in Phuket, said scams and criminality had increased to such an extent that expatriates wanted to leave the island.

Mr Cunningham said young travellers were specially targeted by gangs and on occasion by local police.

In one incident, a young Australian man was involved in a minor traffic accident when riding a rental bike. He was told by police an injured man's condition was serious and was forced to pay thousands of dollars in compensation.

An investigation found the Thai man had minor injuries.

Mr Wise said travellers should have comprehensive insurance before setting off from Australia.

"If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. Medical costs in Thailand can run into many thousands of dollars," he said.

But even insurance may not be enough.

In June, a 27-year-old New Zealand man, Sean Kenzie, was badly injured in a motorbike accident. Despite paying for insurance before travelling, the coverage excluded medical expenses arising from motorbike accidents.

An appeal was called on to help him pay a $A20,000 medical bill for injuries including a split liver, punctured lungs, broken ribs, as well as surgery to reattach shoulder muscles and jaw bones.

Mr Cunningham was blunt: "Don't hire a motorbike - period."

Diplomats warned travellers never to hand over their passport as a guarantee to a hiring company.

"If a dispute arises, it can be extremely difficult or impossible to recover you passport until compensation is settled," Mr Wise said.

Lutzi Matzig, managing director of Indochina tour operator Asian Trails, says a concern in Phuket is overcharging by taxis.

"The local taxi mafia who grossly overcharge the tourists - charging them 500 baht ($A16) for a trip which should cost 20 baht or 50 baht ($A0.65 to $A1.60). The local taxi mafia is pretty bad in Phuket," Mr Matzig said.

Australians have also been warned to be cautious about attending full moon parties where criminals and corrupt police prey on young travellers.

"Australians have been arrested, assaulted, raped, injured or died as a result of incidents at full moon parties, often because they have drunk too much, taken drugs or had their drinks spiked," Mr Wise said.

In 2011 ,the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) reported 69 deaths in Thailand.

Reports say an average of 50 Australians die each year in Phuket due to natural causes, traffic accidents and accidental drug overdoses.

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Afghanistan Taliban pair pledge tolerance

Taliban have held talks with Afghan government officials at a landmark meeting in France. Source: AAP

TWO senior Taliban representatives have pledged to accept a multiparty political system and respect women's rights in future post-war governments.

The officials last week attended a two-day conference in Paris with Afghan parliamentarians, opposition leaders and government officials organised by a research institute.

In a declaration made public after the conference, they promised political tolerance, but criticised Kabul and the United States government for not being serious about their peace efforts.

They also called for a new constitution based on "the Islamic principles, national interests, social justice, and historical gains".

Such a charter would "guarantee, without prejudice, equal rights for all ethnic groups".

The rebels said they did not accept the current constitution because it was "written under the pressure of B-52 war planes" in 2004.

In a conciliatory note, the movement said it was not "seeking an exclusive right to power".

"We want an all-Afghan, inclusive government," the statement said, adding that Taliban leader Mullah Omar "respects his opponents and insists on mutual understanding and asks them to join him in defending the country."

The Taliban also claimed they would respect "women's rights" and the role that "Islam has given them."

"A woman in Islam has the right to get married, inherit, own (possessions), education, and work."

The former Taliban regime, which was ousted by the US-led military invasion in 2001, called the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Its leaders say they continue to be "a legitimate force."

"It has a political representation in the world and our invitation to this conference is a good example of our political existence," the group said.

The Taliban want direct talks with the US, and have refused to talk with the Afghan government, which it regards as a "puppet administration."

"Foreigners and the Kabul administration are not interested in peace," it said. "Nor are they committed to the goals and principles of peace.

"Indeed, under the pretext of peace they want the mujahideen (militants) to surrender, lay down their weapons, accept the constitution, and obey their orders. Is that what you call a peace process?"

The Taliban insist that an end to all foreign military occupation remains a prerequisite for peace.

The officials praised France for taking steps to withdraw its troops, and called on the US and other allies to "withdraw" immediately.

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Muslims reject anti-Christmas message

MUSLIM leaders have been quick to reject an anti-Christmas message posted on the Lakemba Mosque Facebook page, saying it gives people the wrong impression.

The Lakemba Mosque Facebook page became the target of angry responses on Sunday, after it posted a "fatwa" on the social networking site saying it was a "sin" to offer Merry Christmas wishes.

The post followed a lecture during the mosque's Friday prayers in Sydney's west in which the head imam, Sheikh Yahya Safi, said followers should not take part in anything to do with Christmas, Fairfax reported.

The mosque's Facebook Page was hit with more than 100 posts, including numerous sarcastic "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year".

One Facebook user, Doug Barclay, wrote: "How do I issue a fatwa against the Easter Bunny?", while another, Brett Rann, said: "Don't pretend Islam is tolerant of other religions".

By Sunday night the feed had been deleted from the page.

Islamic Friendship Association spokesman Keysar Trad said the Lakemba Mosque post was damaging.

"When I saw it I was quite shocked ... It just gives people the wrong impression," he told AAP on Sunday.

"I'm happy that they are not sticking by those comments and that they are distancing themselves from them," he said.

Samier Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association told ABC television the Facebook post was a mistake by a youth officer.

"We have given him a warning," he said.

The association says it arranged for a Christmas message to be written in the sky above the country's biggest mosque in response.

Looking back on the year, Mr Trad said there had been some highs and lows.

Among the lows was the violent September protest at Hyde Park in Sydney against an anti-Islamic film which resulted in 11 arrests, he said.

However, a high point came earlier this month, with Alan Jones apologising on-air for saying in April 2005 that Lebanese men were "vermin" and "mongrels".

Mr Trad said he was optimistic about 2013 and hoped Muslims and non-Muslims could create a "relationship based on mutual respect and cooperation".

"I think that is the only way forward for us as a nation."

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