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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Syrian army moves to secure Damascus

Clashes have raged near Damascus airport, as members of the Friends of Syria group meet in Tokyo. Source: AAP

THE Syrian army has shelled the outskirts of Damascus in a drive to establish a secure perimeter around the capital, including the key airport road that has come under sustained rebel attack.

The 27-kilometre highway remained perilous a day after troops said they had reopened the key link to the outside world in heavy fighting that followed repeated deadly fire on a bus carrying airport staff and at least two attacks on UN convoys, a watchdog said.

The fighting on Saturday sparked mounting expressions of concern from UN officials.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the conflict had reached "appalling heights of brutality". UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Syria was in danger of becoming a "failed state" if a political settlement was not reached soon.

The army shelled both the southwestern outskirts of the capital and the town of Douma in the northeastern suburbs, human rights monitors and opposition activists said.

Douma forms part of the so-called Eastern Ghouta region where troops have gone on the offensive to secure the airport highway.

Analysts say President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been trying to establish a secure perimeter around Damascus at all costs in a bid to be in a position to negotiate a solution to the 20-month conflict.

The repeated firing on the airport road prompted the cancellation of a string of international flights.

Airport officials said flights had resumed on Friday, but a military source acknowledged more heavy fighting lay ahead to fully secure the road.

Traffic resumed after the army cleared rebels from the western side of the highway and part of the eastern side on Friday.

"But the most difficult part is yet to come," the military official said. "The army wants to take control of the eastern side, where there are thousands of terrorists and this will take several days."

Shelling and fighting between troops and rebels also rocked Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, scene of urban warfare for more than four months, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Also, clashes were reported in the central city of Homs, dubbed by activists "the capital of the revolution".

In the east, troops re-entered the Al-Omar oilfield, three days after pulling out, the Observatory said.

"Despite Thursday's pullout, rebels did not enter the oilfield for fear that it was mined," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The oilfield is one of the regime's last positions east of the city of Deir Ezzor. Rebels last week seized a huge swathe of territory stretching from the city to the Iraqi border, the largest in Syria outside government control.

Early last month, the rebels seized control of the Al-Ward oilfield, the first it had captured. The army has since also lost control of the Al-Jofra oilfield and the Conoco gas reserves, according to the Observatory.

Syria's oil and gas production is now largely for domestic consumption as a result of embargoes on its exports by its biggest pre-conflict customers. But rebel activity has also taken a mounting toll on output.

Violence nationwide killed at least 122 people on Friday, including 73 civilians and 22 fighters from neighbouring Lebanon, the Observatory said, bringing to more than 41,000 the number killed since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

UN chief Ban predicted that Syrian refugee numbers would surge to more than 700,000 by next month as more civilians fled the fighting in residential areas, up from 480,000 now.

Peace envoy Brahimi warned the intensifying conflict could see "the state and its institutions withering away, lawlessness spreading, warlordism, banditry, narcotics, arms smuggling and worst of all the ugly face of communal and sectarian strife take hold of Syria".

Google and Twitter said that they had reactivated a voice-tweet program, last used in 2011 when the internet was shut down in Egypt during its revolution, to allow Syrians affected by an internet shutdown to get messages out.

Most phones and internet networks were down for a second straight day on Friday, the Observatory said.

Syrian authorities blamed maintenance work. Washington accused Damascus of deliberately cutting communications.

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