Hong Kong shares close 1.20% higher

HONG Kong shares have climbed 1.20 per cent, in line with a regional rebound after recent selling fuelled by concerns over the US fiscal cliff.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index, which had lost more than four per cent in the past four sessions, rose 253.34 points to 21,441.99 on turnover of HK$48.34 billion ($A6.01 billion) on Wednesday.

Dealers were also looking to mainland China as the Communist Party prepares to unveil its top decision-making body on Thursday, with hopes leaders will clarify their plans for the economy.

The index, along with global markets, has fallen over the past week as investors grow nervous about the US fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts that are due to take effect from January 1.

The package, agreed last year during a spending cap face-off between Democrats and Republicans, will almost certainly tip the economy back into recession if a deal between deeply divided politicians cannot be made.

"It is difficult to understand the confidence that investors have in the ability of US politicians to accomplish in the next few months what they haven't been able to do in the past two years," investment house UBS said.

US politicians are expected to begin negotiations on Friday.

In Hong Kong, aluminium giant Chalco rose 2.8 per cent to HK$3.32, while China's largest two banks ICBC and China Construction Bank, and mainland developer China Resources Land all rallied more than 3.0 per cent.

Chinese shares closed 0.37 per cent higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 7.53 points to 2,055.42 on turnover of 35.9 billion yuan ($A5.59 billion).

"The market is likely to welcome a Politburo Standing Committee line-up that includes more leaders who favour reform," Changjiang Securities analyst Wu Bangdong told Dow Jones Newswires.

Aluminium producers rose as dealers bet that the falls in prices would be arrested after state media said China may soon start government procurement of the metal.

Chalco jumped 4.65 per cent to 4.95 yuan, Shandong Nanshan Aluminium rose 2.22 per cent to 6.45 yuan and Dongyangguang Aluminum added 0.86 per cent to 8.24 yuan.

Among liquor makers, Xinjiang Yilite Industry gained 3.01 per cent to 13.68 yuan, while Sichuan Swellfun climbed 1.33 per cent to 22.81 yuan.

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Aust could keep some forces in Afghanistan

UNITED States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says a deployment of Australian special forces to assist in maintaining security in Afghanistan after 2014 is worth considering.

Mr Panetta, who visited the barracks of the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth to meet some of those who had fought in Afghanistan, said Defence Minister Stephen Smith had expressed an interest in an Australian special forces presence in Afghanistan in the post-2014 period.

"I believe that is worth considering," he told the media conference at the conclusion of the annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations in Perth.

Under current transition plans, Afghan National Security Forces are progressively taking the lead in security, with that process to be fully completed by the end of 2014.

Australia is now considering what assistance it can provide after that period. Among the possibilities is ongoing help with training and deployment of special forces, subject to a suitable mandate and legal framework.

Mr Panetta said one of the missions in Afghanistan after 2014 would be counter-terrorism and continuing to target al-Qaeda and other groups.

"As we design that post-2014 presence, we want to consider the role not only of Australia but other countries can provide in special forces that I think would be very important in the future security of Afghanistan," he said.

In the communique released at the close of AUSMIN, Australia and the US reiterated the continued commitment to a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan that is not a safe haven for international terrorists.

Australia and the US reiterated their commitment to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) transition strategy and to a post-2014 mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces.

Much pre-AUSMIN discussion centred on alleged US concerns at the level of Australian defence spending but the topic was only mentioned briefly in the media conference after a specific question to Mr Panetta.

He said both the US and Australia were facing budget constrictions which had to be taken into consideration.

"But I remain fully confident that in light of what we are confronting that we have the capability to maintain a strong national defence for both of our countries," he said.

"We will be able to meet the threats that confront us, not only in this part of the world but elsewhere as well."

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Most Afghans optimistic about future: poll

MOST Afghans believe their country is headed in the right direction but still worry about the lack of security resulting from the 11-year war, a public opinion survey by a major international non-profit group says.

The poll by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation also found that an overwhelming majority of Afghans back the government's efforts to negotiate and reconcile with armed insurgent groups.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has offered jobs and housing to Taliban fighters who defect and formed a High Peace Council to facilitate negotiations.

Though officials and diplomats say contacts are being made with insurgent leaders, no formal peace talks are currently under way - mostly because the Taliban broke off efforts to start negotiations earlier this year.

"Security continues to be the biggest indicator of both optimism and pessimism for Afghans," Abdullah Ahmadzai, the deputy representative for Afghanistan with the Asia Foundation, said on Wednesday.

Only 30 per cent of respondents in the poll expressed sympathy for the insurgents, while nearly two-thirds said they did not support them.

But when asked why the Taliban continue to fight, the most common reason cited was opposition to the presence of foreign troops in the country.

Other reasons included a desire to gain power, illiteracy, support from Pakistan and corruption.

Despite their opposition to the Taliban, many respondents also said they were afraid of the troops from the US-led NATO coalition and government's security forces.

Nearly three-quarters said they felt fear when meeting international troops, while just under half said they had the same reaction when encountering the Afghan army or police.

NATO has intensified training of the 352,000-strong Afghan police and army to help improve standards and enable them to operate independently after foreign combat troops leave the country at the end of 2014.

The survey, which included 89 questions on a wide range of issues, showed that the vast majority of Afghans see corruption as a major problem in all facets of life and at all levels of governance.

Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said graft was a serious problem across the country, the report said.

The in-person survey of 6,290 Afghans from all 34 provinces, conducted with support from the US Agency for International Development and other foreign agencies, had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 per cent.

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Hong Kong shares close 1.13% lower

HONG Kong shares have slid 1.13 per cent, in line with a regional sell-off sparked by growing concerns over Greece's bailout and the approaching US "fiscal cliff".

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Tuesday fell 241.65 points to 21,188.65 on turnover of HK$52.28 billion ($A6.50 billion).

The losses, which mirrored falls in mainland China, came despite data out of Beijing on Friday and Saturday indicating the slowdown in the world's No.2 economy was coming to an end.

In Europe finance ministers said Greece had made "considerable progress" on meeting conditions for its next tranche of rescue cash, but they would have to meet again on Tuesday next week to decide whether to release it.

Investors are also growing increasingly nervous about the approaching automatic spending cuts and tax rises that threaten to send the US economy back into recession unless a cross-party deal is brokered.

"China's economy is on a recovery (track), though not a V-shape rebound," Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at UOB KayHian, told Dow Jones Newswires, saying he saw value emerging in policy-driven and cyclical stocks.

Out of 49 Hong Kong blue chips, 45 finished in the red - with property giant New World Development, major Chinese oil firm Sinopec and coalminers Shenhua and China Coal registering losses of over 2.0 per cent.

Chinese shares closed down 1.51 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 31.39 points to 2,047.89 on turnover of 44.6 billion yuan ($A6.84 billion). The index ended at its lowest level since September 26.

"Positive October economic indicators helped ease concerns over the domestic economic outlook but remained insufficient to move the market further north," Shenyin Wanguo Securities analyst Li Xiaoxuan told Dow Jones.

Investors were also awaiting the end this week of the Communist Party's 18th congress that will choose the country's leaders for the next 10 years.

Developers fell after state media quoted a housing official as saying on Monday that the government had no immediate plans to loosen property control measures, which have been in place for more than two years.

China Vanke ended down 2.2 per cent at 8.37 yuan while Gemdale lost 3.9 per cent to 5.25 yuan.

Securities firms also fell on earnings fears. Sinolink Securities fell 6.5 per cent to 14.21 yuan, Haitong Securities lost 3.4 per cent to 8.44 yuan and Citic Securities slid 1.6 per cent to 10.69 yuan.

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Brazil jails Lula's ex-chief of staff

BRAZIL'S supreme court has capped the country's biggest ever political corruption trial by sentencing former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ex-chief of staff to nearly 11 years in prison for his role in a vote-buying scheme.

Jose Dirceu, who was the chief of staff from 2003-05 and a top leader of the ruling Workers' Party (PT), was found guilty in October of running the operation to bribe MPs during Lula's first term.

On Monday, the court sentenced the 66-year-old lawyer and ex-guerrilla fighter to 10 years and 10 months in prison for corruption and conspiracy, and fined him $US350,000 ($A337,040).

Lula, Brazil's popular president from 2003 through 2010, has steadfastly denied being aware of the vote-buying scheme and was not prosecuted.

"The responsibility of the accused is extremely high," said Justice Joaquim Barbosa, speaking for the court.

"He used his positions of leadership and prominence, both in the Workers' Party and the federal government," to engage in corruption, Barbosa said.

Dirceu -- one of the main defendants in the massive corruption trial that has seen 25 people convicted -- allegedly diverted public funds to pay MPs in the ruling coalition to vote in favour of government initiatives.

The vote-buying scandal nearly cost Lula his re-election in 2006. But the founder and leader of the leftist PT, now 67, was cleared.

Lula handed over power to his protegee and fellow PT member Dilma Rousseff at the end of his second four-year term. He later underwent successful treatment for cancer.

Dirceu, who has not yet been detained, denied all the charges.

The sentence "only aggravates the outrage and ignominy of the whole process," which "openly violated our constitution and the democratic rule of law," Dirceu wrote in a blog post.

Last week, six opposition MPs urged prosecutors to probe Lula over his alleged role in the congressional vote-buying scheme.

Roberto Freire, head of the Socialist People's Party, said he led the call for a probe after the weekly Veja published statements by convicted businessman Marco Valerio linking the popular Lula to the plot.

In late October, Valerio was sentenced to 40 years in prison for corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and other charges. He also was slapped with a $1.4 million fine.

Jose Genoino, who headed the ruling Workers' Party at the time, and party treasurer Delubio Soares have also been convicted.

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Arabs back Syria opposition, battle rages

Gulf nations have recognised a newly formed opposition bloc as the Syrian people's representative. Source: AAP

DEADLY fighting is raging near Damascus and in Syria's northeast, as the Arab League urges more groups to join a newly formed opposition bloc that won swift recognition from the Gulf states.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said its six members recognised the National Coalition as "the Syrian people's legitimate representative", and the Arab League also gave its backing, although it stopped short of granting it full recognition.

The GCC members - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - on Monday became the first to recognise the umbrella group.

And foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League said at talks in Cairo that they recognised the coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition".

They called on "the rest of the opposition to join" the bloc, and urged "regional and international groups to recognise (it) as a legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people".

The hard-won coalition deal reached on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, calls for the opposition to create a supreme military council to take overall command of rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The bloc's newly appointed leader, moderate Muslim cleric Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, said the coalition already had promises of weapons, without specifying from whom.

The United States swiftly declared its backing for the National Coalition following Sunday's deal that brought together a broad spectrum of regime opponents.

"We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course towards the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve," said the State Department.

Traditional Damascus ally Moscow gave a cooler response, urging the opposition to drop its refusal to negotiate with the Assad regime.

France said on Tuesday it would support the new opposition bloc, but also fell short of granting it full recognition.

"Now they are united, it's very important ... France will support them," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a meeting of European and Arab foreign ministers at the League's Cairo headquarters.

EU Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who addressed the opening session at the League, welcomed the Doha agreement but warned of a spillover of the conflict.

"I want to welcome the work done in Doha to build and bring together the opposition, to be inclusive of the people in Syria to be determined in the offer they make to the people," said Ashton.

"But the tragedy of Syria is a tragedy that affects not just that country but the whole region," she added.

Outgunned rebel fighters have been battling to secure a buffer zone along the border with Turkey for the past few months.

And regime warplanes carried out a new wave of bombing raids on Tuesday on the strategic town of Ras al-Ain, on the northeastern border, a day after deadly air strikes and shelling, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network said dozens of military vehicles were headed towards Ras al-Ain, while the Observatory reported heavy shelling.

Elsewhere, fierce clashes rocked in the east Damascus suburb of Ghuta and at Daraya to the south after rebel attacks on public buildings and a military checkpoint in the two areas, said the Observatory.

The air strikes in the northwest have sent a new wave of civilians pouring across the frontier to the Turkish side, adding to the 9000 refugees who fled late last week when rebels overran Ras al-Ain.

Violence on Syria's borders with Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, as well as across the UN-monitored ceasefire line that splits the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has stoked fears of a spillover of the 20-month conflict.

Israel fired across the ceasefire line for a second day on Monday, scoring direct hits on the source of a mortar round that struck the Israeli-occupied part of the territory.

In other violence on Tuesday, the army shelled rebel positions in the southern province of Daraa, in the central region of Homs, in Idlib in the northwest and in the northern city of Aleppo, said the Observatory.

At least 151 people were killed across Syria on Monday, including 61 civilians, said the Britain-based Observatory.

The watchdog - which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and medics for its information - has given an overall death toll of more than 37,000 since the revolt broke out in March 2011.

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13 killed in strong Burma quake

A POWERFUL earthquake has struck Burma, killing at least 13 people, injuring 40 and sparking panic in the central city of Mandalay.

The shallow 6.8-magnitude quake struck in a rural area 116 kilometres north of Mandalay and was followed by strong aftershocks, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said on Sunday.

Four labourers flung into the Irrawaddy River from a partly-built bridge near the town of Shwebo, north of Mandalay and nearer to the epicentre of the quake, were among those believed to have died, according to a situation report from Save the Children.

The collapse of a monastery in the nearby village of Kyauk Myaung killed two people and one died in Mandalay, it said. A further six were killed in Sint Ku township, including two people who died when a gold mine collapsed.

"People everywhere are very worried that another earthquake might strike," the aid organisation said.

Residents of Mandalay fled shaking buildings in terror, although no major damage was reported there.

"I ran from my bed carrying my daughter out to the street. There were many people in the road. Some were shouting and others felt dizzy," said Mandalay resident San Yu Kyaw.

A government official in the capital Naypyidaw who asked not to be named could only confirm two deaths so far.

Another official from Burma's Relief and Resettlement Department said most of those injured were workers on construction sites, with 15 people taken to Shwebo and Kyauk Myaung hospitals.

"We have sent a team to Shwebo where the earthquake was centred to assist in relief works and providing food to the victims," he said on condition of anonymity.

Save the Children, which has an office in Mandalay, said reports indicated that 25 were injured in the bridge collapse on the Irrawaddy, with 10 taken to hospital.

It said 20 people were thought to have been taken to hospital in Shwebo and a further 10 were being treated in Mandalay.

Construction standards are generally poor in Burma, one of Asia's most impoverished nations.

A large crack stretching from the second to the sixth floor of Mandalay's highest building, the 25-storey Mann Myanmar Plaza, appeared after the quake, a local resident said.

He said people were afraid to enter the structure and it remained closed.

The USGS issued a yellow alert, saying "some casualties and damage are possible" but the impact should be relatively localised.

The quake, which was initially thought to be magnitude 7.0, hit at 7.42 am (1212 AEDT) at a depth of just 10 kilometres.

It was followed by two shallow 5.0-magnitude aftershocks within 20 minutes, according to the USGS.

"The quake was quite strong. I was shopping in the market at the time and I saw women crying in fear when they felt it. We expect more quakes are coming. Everybody is afraid," said 23-year-old Win Win Nwe, a resident in Shwebo.

It comes little more than a week before US President Barack Obama is due in Burma on a historic visit, as the West begins to roll back sanctions to reward dramatic political reforms under President Thein Sein.

The quake was felt in neighbouring Thailand including in Bangkok.

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Syria planes strike near Iraq border

SYRIAN warplanes have launched air strikes on the eastern town of Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border and pounded rebel lines near Damascus and in the northern city of Aleppo.

Early morning fighting, meanwhile, has raged around the northeast town of Ras al-Ain on the border with Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

The surge in violence follows another day of bloodletting across Syria on Saturday which saw 121 people killed, including 11 civilians in Daraya just outside the capital, the site of the worst massacre in Syria's 20-month conflict.

The Britain-based watchdog said in eastern Syria, two civilians were killed in air raids on the town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border while several districts of Deir Ezzor city were shelled by tanks.

The watchdog also reported clashes between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels during the night in the town of Harasta on the northeastern outskirts of Damascus.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of opposition activists on the ground, meanwhile, reported heavy shelling overnight by regime forces on rebel areas southwest of the capital and in the town of Yabrud to the north.

In the northern city of Aleppo, where fighting between rebels and government troops has raged since mid-July, mortars rained down on the rebel bastions of Shaar in the east, Sukari in the south and Halab al-Jadida in the west, according to the Observatory.

Residents said fierce clashes erupted in the northwest districts of Zahraa and Liramun, where tanks fired on rebel positions, and in the embattled Old City.

The Observatory reported army shelling on Sunday of the strategic rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, the nearby village of Maarshmisha and Idlib city in the northwest province of Idlib.

The army on Saturday retook a stretch of the Damascus-Aleppo highway in Idlib province used to send its reinforcements to main northern battlefields, but has failed to regain control of Maaret al-Numan.

According to Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and medics in civilian and military hospitals, fighting also broke out on Sunday south of Ras al-Ain, in Hasakeh province.

The mainly Kurdish province of Hasakeh has seen heavy fighting in the past few days, with 46 combatants killed as the opposition seized Ras al-Ain on Friday.

The Observatory had on Saturday reported that Kurdish residents backed by militia from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) had taken control of three towns near the border with Turkey after convincing pro-government forces to leave.

The PYD has links with Turkey's rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The watchdog said the residents had feared the same kind of violence that saw 9,000 Syrians flee to Turkey in 24 hours in the face of the fighting in Ras al-Ain.

Meanwhile, Syrian opposition groups said on Sunday they were close to an agreement on creating a new, united body against the Assad regime.

"At a meeting grouping representatives of different opposition groups and independents, more than 90 per cent of the agreement has been finalised," said Salem al-Muslat, a member of the main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council (SNC).

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Qld mill worker dies in crushing accident

A 46-YEAR-OLD worker has died in an accident at a Queensland sugar mill.

The man was crushed between two cane bins at the Proserpine Sugar Mill on Sunday morning, receiving severe injuries to his pelvis.

He was taken to Proserpine Hospital by ambulance and treated there by rescue helicopter medical staff, before being airlifted to the Mackay Base Hospital.

He was in a serious condition when he arrived at the hospital and died at 2.30pm (AEST), some two and a half hours after the accident.

A Queensland Police spokesman said because it was an industrial accident, a Workplace Health and Safety investigation would take place.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Comment was sought from mill owner Sucrogen.

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Chopper crash kills 17 soldiers

A TURKISH military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels crashed because of bad weather, killing all 17 troops onboard, officials said.

Thirteen soldiers and four military crewmembers were killed in the crash in a mountainous part of Pervari district in Siirt province, in southeastern Turkey, where the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party is fighting for self-rule.

President Abdullah Gul said the soldiers were on their way "to help their friends" in an operation against the rebels who have escalated attacks in recent months, adding the incident would not deter Turkey from its determination to fight the rebels.

The provincial governor, Ahmet Aydin, blamed the crash on heavy fog and ruled out an attack by the rebel group.

"The weather during the transportation (of troops) was bad. There was extreme rain. The helicopter crashed into rocks because of the fog," Mr Aydin said in televised statements.

"The incident was the result of a crash and any kind of an attack is out of the question."

The Kurdish rebels have been fighting since the 1980s and they seek more rights for Kurds, including autonomy in the mostly Kurdish southeast of the country. Turkey and its Western allies categorise the rebels, known by the acronym PKK, as a terrorist group.

Several days ago, Turkish media reported that Turkish soldiers were airlifted into northern Iraq for a brief operation against suspected rebels, who have bases there.

There were no reports of casualties on that mission. Turkey periodically carries out artillery and air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, but reports of cross-border incursions by troops are rare.

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