Syria battles rage in Damascus, Aleppo

FIERCE battles have raged on the edges of Damascus as the army presses a major assault to crush rebels around the capital, a monitoring group and activists say.

And in the contested city of Aleppo in the country's north, rebels attempted to advance into western regime-held districts, sparking clashes with government forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

"The army is trying to take over Qaboon, Barzeh, Jubar, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and Yarmuk," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman, referring to neighbourhoods in the northern, eastern and southern outskirts of the capital.

"The army doesn't have the capacity to take over these neighbourhoods, and the rebels are fighting back. But the humanitarian situation there is catastrophic," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

An activist in Qaboon said the army's offensive on the capital's northeastern district entered its sixth day on Tuesday.

"The district is the only entrance (from the east/northeast) into the capital.... Regime troops fear the (rebel) Free Syrian Army will use Qaboon to enter into Damascus," said the activist, who identified himself as Anas.

Speaking to AFP via the internet, Anas described a critical lack of medical and food supplies in his neighbourhood.

"The humanitarian situation is so bad it would make anyone cry," he said.

Activists meanwhile said the army shelled other rebel-held areas around Damascus in its bid to drive rebel forces out of the capital.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a grassroots network of activists, reported shelling on Yarmuk Palestinian camp in southern Damascus.

And the Syrian Revolution General Commission reported that army tanks pounded rebel stronghold Daraya southwest of the capital, keeping up a months-long campaign to crush the insurgency there.

In northern Syria, meanwhile, clashes in western Aleppo raged on, days after rebels launched an offensive on regime-held neighbourhoods there.

"The rebels and the army are engaged in tit-for-tat operations ... in Rashidin and Ashrafiyeh" in the west of Aleppo, said the Observatory's Abdel Rahman.

The rebels' first major advance on Aleppo took place nearly a year ago. Though they took control of a large number of neighbourhoods during the assault, the city has been at a near-standstill for many months, with neither side making significant advances.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in Syria's 27-month war, says the UN.

Millions have been forced by the violence to flee their homes.

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Russia denies links to Snowden, slams US

RUSSIA has denied it had any involvement in the travel of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and lashed out at Washington for accusing Moscow of assisting him.

"We are in no way involved with either Mr Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor in his movements around the world," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Tuesday.

Lavrov did not confirm or deny that Snowden had landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from Hong Kong on Sunday, as previously reported. But he insisted that he had never crossed the Russian border to exit the airport.

"He chose his route on his own. We learned about it, as most of those present did, from the mass media. He did not cross the Russian border," Lavrov told reporters.

Sources quoted by Russian news agencies have said that Snowden spent at least Sunday night in a hotel located in the transit area of Sheremetyevo which would not have required Snowden to pass through passport control or have a Russian visa.

The White House had earlier called on Moscow to look at all the options available to expel Snowden back to the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed anger over Russia's apparent role.

But Lavrov slammed Washington and rubbished suggestions that Moscow was complicit in Snowden's disappearance.

Attempts to blame Russia for breaking US laws and even complicity are absolutely groundless and unacceptable, he said.

He complained the accusations were accompanied by "threats".

"There are no legal grounds for such behaviour by US officials," he added.

Lavrov is the most senior Russian official to have commented on the Snowden affair since anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks said he had travelled to Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday.

He had been expected to travel on with Aeroflot on Monday to Havana but never appeared on the flight.

Lavrov gave no indication of his whereabouts now.

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European stocks slump on China, US fears

EUROPE'S main stock markets have rebounded after the recent slump that was sparked by concern about a Chinese credit crunch fears and the withdrawal of US economic stimulus, dealers say.

Asian shares meanwhile mostly fell on Tuesday on the back of growing concerns about a liquidity crisis in China, although the Shanghai market managed to claw back some ground after sinking more than five per cent.

In late morning deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index jumped 0.98 per cent to 6,088.23 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 1.49 per cent to 7,806.80 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.43 per cent to 3,646.81.

On bond markets, yields on European and US bonds fell after recent sharp rises which reflected an increase in risk aversion because of the prospect that the Fed will curtail its easy-money measures.

European shares had tumbled on Monday, hit by concern over the emergence of a liquidity crisis in China and after the US Federal Reserve signalled last week that it would withdraw its bond-buying program known as quantitative easing.

"It does look as if we've seen an end to the selling for now, perhaps the shock of last week's Fed and the Chinese tightening news has lost its edge," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp told AFP.

"That said, any move to the upside is probably going to be fairly short-lived.

"The change in Fed policy will take longer than a week to really sink in, and there will be some expectation that Bernanke will change course once he realises what havoc he has wrought. I think the volatility will persist throughout the summer."

In foreign exchange deals on Tuesday, the European single currency firmed to $US1.3131 from $US1.3122 in New York late on Monday.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold eased to $US1,286.08 an ounce from $US1,286.75.

The focus in Asia was on China, where investors have been spooked by a cash crunch in the financial system that has raised fears banks will cut back on loans, which could in turn drag on the nation's powerhouse economy.

The central People's Bank of China (PBoC) added to those worries on Monday when it ruled out providing any fresh money to bolster markets and ordered lenders to get their own houses in order.

In response, Tokyo stocks fell 0.72 per cent, Seoul lost 1.02 per cent and Sydney slipped 0.28 per cent in value.

And Shanghai finished 0.19 per cent lower, with bargain-hunting helping it bounce from a second successive fall of more than five per cent earlier in the day.

"We have had a decent turnaround in European share markets on Tuesday, pulled up by a late recovery in Asian markets after the Chinese central bank attempted to assuage recent market fears about the soaring cost of funding Chinese banks," added ETX Capital strategist Ishaq Siddiqi in London.

"The Shanghai index fell over five per cent during overnight trade but pared losses ... as investors demonstrated their fears that a lack of intervention by the PBoC will keep tensions in the Chinese interbank money market leading to a liquidity squeeze which will hamper the country's growth prospects.

"China's central bank responded by saying liquidity is ample, under supervision and volatility is temporary, buoying the market," added Siddiqi.

Hong Kong stocks added 0.21 per cent, reversing earlier losses.

Wall Street provided a negative lead on Monday, with the three main indices ending well down, hit also by concerns about the Chinese economy, but losses were capped as US Treasury yields retreated.

The Dow fell 0.94 per cent, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.21 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 1.09 per cent Europe's main stock markets have slumped further, hit by concern over the emergence of a liquidity crisis in China and the withdrawal of US Federal Reserve stimulus, dealers said.

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More needed to protect cruise passengers

AS more Australians take holiday cruises both the government and cruise operators need to do more to protect passengers, a parliamentary committee says.

In a report tabled in parliament on Monday, the standing committee on social policy and legal affairs said the industry was growing with 700,000 Australians taking a cruise last year, a fivefold increase in a decade.

The committee said most passengers would expect the cruising environment to reflect Australian social and legal standards, as cruise operators run Australian companies and sail from Australian ports.

But when it comes to crimes committed at sea and regulation of cruise liners, complex questions of jurisdiction underlie almost every aspect of the cruising industry, it said.

Many cruise liners sail under flags of convenience from nations such as Bermuda, Panama, Malta and the Bahamas.

Because of the complexity of the international law, the committee sought its own legal advice which made clear the significant limits on Australia's ability to legislate for the cruising industry.

The problems were highlighted by the case of Dianne Brimble who died of a drug overdose aboard a P&O cruise liner in September 2002. There were many questions raised about the ship's party culture, preservation of the crime scene, the investigation process and the support to Mrs Brimble's family.

The committee said the government should consider how it might better protect people on cruises.

It must do more to ensure passengers understand that cruising is international travel and they should exercise the same precautions they would take on any international journey.

It should press the International Maritime Organisation for more measures to improve passenger safety including real time monitoring of closed circuit TV, installation of man-overboard alarms and a code for responsible service of alcohol.

The government should also conduct a comprehensive review of cruise operator liability for tickets purchased in Australia.

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Homelessness definition broadened

THE definition of homelessness will be broadened under draft laws passed by parliament's lower house.

People staying in crisis accommodation will be regarded as homeless under bills that passed the House of Representatives on Monday.

The new definition also stipulates that safety must be recognised as a vital element in how people live.

Some people may be homeless because they have no safe place to live, even if they have a usual address.

The measures also make it easier for homeless people who don't live in any particular electorate to vote.

The Homelessness Bill 2013 and the Homelessness (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2013 now go before the Senate.

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Snowden set to fly out of Russia

The United States is demanding Edward Snowden should "not be allowed to proceed further" overseas. Source: AAP

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is set to fly out of Russia to seek asylum in Ecuador, as Washington demands Moscow hand over the fugitive to face espionage charges at home.

Snowden dramatically slipped out of Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight on Sunday and is said by Russian officials to have spent the night in a Moscow airport awaiting his onward connection.

The IT contractor, the target of a US arrest warrant issued on Friday after he leaked details of massive US cyber-espionage programs to the media, was reportedly booked on a flight to Cuba on Monday from where he could travel on to South America.

He and his accompanying party, Sarah Harrison, a British national working on the WikiLeaks legal team, were checked in on the flight SU 150 to Havana due to depart on time, according to an AFP correspondent who saw the flight roster.

Russian security sources said they had no reason to arrest the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who officials described as an ordinary "transit passenger" who had not crossed the border.

The United States urged Russia to hand over the fugitive but President Vladimir Putin's spokesman declined to comment on Snowden's transit through Moscow.

"I don't have any information on Snowden," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP.

According to Russian state media, Snowden had spent the night in the distinctly unglamorous "capsule hotel" Vozdushny Express located inside the departures area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

He was not seen in public after the plane landed, prompting speculation he had been whisked away direct from the tarmac by Russian security.

Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino confirmed that the leftist Latin American country, whose embassy in London is already sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was analysing Snowden's asylum request.

"We will make a decision... we are analysing it," Patino told reporters Monday in Hanoi when asked about the high-profile asylum request. "We know he is in Moscow, we're in talks with higher authorities."

Ecuador's outspoken leftist President Rafael Correa has championed the cause of Assange and his allies to the fury of the United States.

A crowd of Russian and foreign journalists, including from AFP, were at the Moscow airport departures lounge and were set to accompany Snowden on the flight to Cuba.

An airport official said that "special procedures" would be enforced for those boarding the plane. She did not explain. Some reporters complained that airport officials had threatened to take away their phones.

State television said several Ecuadorian diplomats were seen going inside the airport hotel on Sunday evening and had stayed there about 30 minutes.

The Ecuadorean ambassador Patricio Chavez stayed in the airport until after midnight, when he left in the embassy car refusing any comment to waiting reporters.

Part of the flight to Havana will pass through oceanic airspace that is controlled by New York air traffic centre, a source told ITAR-TASS news agency, though it was not clear whether US authorities would be able to somehow ground the plane.

The US State Department has revoked Snowden's passport and asked other countries to prevent him from travelling. But a source in Russia's security agencies told Interfax that Snowden could travel without a passport.

"Ecuador authorities could supply him with refugee documents or even grant him citizenship by issuing a passport or a special note," the source said.

The New York Times quoted Assange as saying his group had arranged for Snowden to travel via a "special refugee travel document" issued by Ecuador last Monday.

Snowden abandoned his high-paying job in Hawaii and went to Hong Kong on May 20 to begin issuing a series of leaks on the NSA gathering of phone call logs and Internet data, triggering concern from governments around the world.

Hong Kong said it had informed Washington of Snowden's exit after determining that the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with Hong Kong legal requirements.

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Aust makes final bid to stop Japan whaling

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will travel to The Hague in a bid to stop Japanese whaling. Source: AAP

FEDERAL Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will head a last-ditch attempt by Australia to halt Japanese whaling in front of the International Court of Justice next week.

The hearings, set down for three weeks from June 26, mark the final stage of proceedings initiated by Australia in 2010.

Mr Dreyfus will go to The Hague to put Australia's case forward in the last week of the hearings.

"Australia's view on commercial whaling are well known," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"We want commercial whaling to stop and that includes the so-called scientific whaling program that Japan has been carrying on for many years."

Much rests on Australia's legal bid to stop whaling in the southern seas because the ICJ decision is final, Mr Dreyfus said.

"There's no appeal from the decisions of the International Court of Justice, of course we're hopeful of getting the result that we want," he said.

Mr Dreyfus would not go into the details of the case but said written submissions from Australia, Japan and New Zealand would be available later in the week.

"This is a very important decision ... that's why we've invested a lot in the research, in getting the right experts ... and in a very competent legal team that I'm going to be part of," he said.

The ICJ is expected to hand down a decision before the end of the year and the start of the next whale hunting season.

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SES crews on standby for wild weather

HUNDREDS of SES workers and volunteers are on standby across NSW to respond to expected flash flooding, gale force winds, dangerous surf and heavy downpours.

A severe weather warning is in force for Sydney as well as the midnorth coast, Hunter region, Illawarra, south coast, central tablelands, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says on its website.

A trough sitting off the coast brought widespread rain on Sunday to central and southern parts of the coast.

Currarong near Jervis Bay has recorded the most rain, with 286mm falling by 8pm (AEST) on Sunday.

The bureau is forecasting heavy rain to become more widespread into Monday morning along with gale force winds, damaging surf, and flash flooding.

An SES spokesman said the agency had only received "a trickle of jobs" on Sunday night from residents hit by bad weather in Sydney and the Illawarra.

But he said hundreds of SES staff and volunteers were ready to respond to the extreme weather due to hit around lunchtime on Monday.

"Everyone's on standby," the spokesman told AAP.

"It would be in the hundreds of people ready to go, ready to respond."

Flash flooding was the main concern heading into Monday and some coastal parts of the state could expect up to 200mm of rain, plus gale force winds, the spokesman said.

The SES expects the worst-hit areas to be Sydney and the Illawarra where the SES is ready to respond to roof damage, fallen trees and flash flooding.

It says the Hawkesbury, Georges, Wyong, Cooks and Woronora rivers are all at risk of breaking their banks.

BoM's latest weather warning update is due at 11pm (AEST).

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US charges Snowden with espionage: reports

US officials charge Edward Snowden with espionage and call for his detainment in Hong Kong. Julie Noce reports.

US officials have asked Hong Kong authorities to detain Edward Snowden, a US newspaper reports. Source: AAP

US authorities have filed espionage charges against rogue intelligence technician Edward Snowden and asked Hong Kong to detain him, a US official says.

Confirming a report in the Washington Post, the official said a sealed criminal complaint has been lodged with a federal court in the US state of Virginia and a provisional arrest warrant has been issued.

Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and "conversion of government property".

A report on NBC News said he was accused of sharing classified documents with individuals who were not cleared to received them.

The one-page criminal complaint was filed under seal on June 14 in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, and made public on Friday evening by government officials.

An accompanying affidavit in support of the charges, prepared and signed by FBI Special Agent John A Kralik Jr, remained under seal.

The criminal complaint said Snowden engaged in unauthorised communication of national defence information, wilful communication of classified communications intelligence information - both charges under the Espionage Act - and the theft of government property.

All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The 30-year-old technician fled Hawaii on May 20 and flew to Hong Kong, an autonomous Chinese territory, from where he proceeded to leak details of secret US intelligence programs to international media outlets.

The leaks embarrassed US President Barack Obama's administration, which was forced to defend US intelligence agencies' practice of gathering huge amounts of telephone and internet data from private users around the world.

Following reports of the sealed complaint, all eyes will turn to Hong Kong and Beijing to see whether China will agree to help the United States by complying with the provisional warrant and holding Snowden.

Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous territory with its own legal system and a provision for granting political asylum, but it is subordinate to China in foreign policy matters and has an extradition treaty with the US.

A US government official, speaking anonymously because the case is still under investigation, told McClatchy newspapers that officials hope the charges will be enough to satisfy authorities in Hong Kong to begin the extradition process.

That process could become bogged down if Snowden fights extradition and argues that he is being singled out and prosecuted for political reasons.

The official added that a more formal, federal grand jury indictment against Snowden likely will follow later in the northern summer.

"We're just getting under way," the US official said.

The US and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives.

However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under US law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty.

In order for Hong Kong officials to honour the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of US law.

Snowden has told Britain's Guardian newspaper that he might seek asylum in Iceland, which has strong internet freedom laws, but he is thought to still be in Hong Kong and might now find it difficult to travel.

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Justice Department move confirmed his view that the leak was "a treasonous act".

"I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the US," Nelson said.

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