Turkish journalist freed in Syria

A TURKISH journalist who went missing in Syria in August and was believed to have been held by government troops has been freed and handed to Turkish MPs touring the country.

"I am very happy, I am doing well," Cuneyt Unal was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying by telephone from Syria on Saturday.

One of the MPs, Hasan Akgol of Turkey's main CHP opposition party, told the agency that the cameraman was in good health.

The journalist and MPs were due to return to Turkey later in the day, Akgol said.

Cameraman Unal and his Jordanian colleague Bashar Fahmi, who were working for US broadcaster Al-Hurra, disappeared in the northern city of Aleppo on August 20.

The Anatolia report had no immediate information on Fahmi's whereabouts or fate.

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Afghan govt, Taliban urge inmate releases

THE Afghan government and Taliban said they wanted to see more of the latter's inmates released from Pakistani jails, in a move seen as a step to bring militants to the negotiating table before NATO's 2014 withdrawal.

An agreement was reached this week at a meeting between Pakistani government officials and Afghanistan's High Peace Council (HPC) in Islamabad that resulted in the release of a group of Taliban in Pakistan.

"We hope the releasing of Taliban prisoners from Pakistani jails continues and more Taliban who are willing for talks are released," the chief of Afghanistan's HPC, Salahuddin Rabbani, told reporters on Saturday in Kabul.

Afghan officials have pressed for the release of senior Taliban leaders held in Pakistan, believing they could help to bring militants to the negotiating table, to end over a decade of war ahead of the 2014 pull-out of US-led NATO troops.

Rabbani said nine members of the Taliban were released but the group did not include its former deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was captured in Pakistan in 2010.

"Those who were released were also important members and they can help us in peace and negotiations," he said.

The Taliban - whose government was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2001, leading to an 11-year insurgency to regain power - welcomed the move, calling it a "positive step" to "increase trust between two neighbouring nations and people".

They also "requested the rest of the prisoners ... to be released", in a statement posted on one of their websites.

The militants have always publicly refused to negotiate directly with Kabul, calling the government of President Hamid Karzai a US puppet.

Preliminary contacts between the US and the Taliban in Doha were broken off in March when the militants failed to secure the release of five of their comrades held at the Guantanamo Bay prison on the US base in Cuba.

Support from Pakistan, which backed the Taliban regime that held power in Kabul from 1996 to 2001, is seen as crucial to peace in Afghanistan.

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Indian Hindu leader Bal Thacker dies

INDIAN firebrand nationalist politician Bal Thackeray, who founded the right-wing Hindu party Shiv Sena, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Thackeray, 86, has "breathed his last", his physician Jalil Parkar told a huge crowd assembled outside the veteran politician's house in India's financial hub of Mumbai.

Thackeray is one of the best known and most controversial figures in the western state of Maharashtra and its capital, which his party renamed from Bombay to Mumbai.

Shiv Sena's main goals have been keep people who are not from Maharashtra out of the state and stem the spread of Islam and western values.

Thackeray's Sena held power in Mumbai from 1995 to 2000.

Sena became synonymous with deadly communal violence during its campaign to protect local Marathi-speaking people from migrant workers.

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Thousands rally against Slovenia austerity

THOUSANDS of people are protesting against salary cuts and other austerity measures in Slovenia, a struggling eurozone member that is in danger of needing an international bailout.

Saturday's rally in Ljubljana was organised by several workers unions who say government's austerity package would not end the downturn but only deepen the poverty.

Union leader Dusan Semolic says "workers' salaries did not cause this crisis." A huge banner reads: "No to Destructive Policies."

The rally appeared peaceful unlike similar gatherings in several European cities last week that erupted in street battles with police.

Slovenia has faced recession linked to the crisis in the 17-member zone using the euro.

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Buddhist monk self-immolates in France

A BRITISH monk died in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in France after he poured petrol over his clothes and set himself alight, police said Friday.

The 38-year-old Briton, whom police did not name, had been living at Nalanda monastery near the southwestern village of Labastide-Saint-Georges for the past five years.

He carried out the act on Thursday in the garden of the monastery, which is home to 25 monks and 20 lay people and which on its website describes itself as "a unique monastery for Western monks in the Tibetan Geluk tradition".

Police were seeking to establish whether the victim had been depressive or if he might have committed suicide in an act of solidarity with Tibetans in China.

More than 30 people have set themselves on fire in China's Tibetan-inhabited regions since March 2011 in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

Tibetans have long chafed under China's rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, accusing Beijing of curbing religious freedoms and eroding their culture and language.

The tensions have intensified over the past year, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China's economic expansion.

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Fast worker took office on road

TEXTING while driving is nothing. German police say they nabbed a driver who had wired his Ford station wagon with an entire mobile office.

Saarland state police said Friday the 35-year-old man was pulled over for doing 130 km/h in a 100 km/h zone while passing a truck.

Built on a wooden frame on his passenger seat they found a laptop on a docking station tilted for easy driver access, a printer, router, wireless internet stick, WLAN antenna, and an inverter to power it all.

A navigation system and mobile phone mounted to the windshield completed the array.

Since there was no evidence he used the office while moving, he got away with a 120 euro ($A149.61) speeding ticket and a possible fine for having unsecured items in his car.

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Royals wave goodbye to New Zealand

Prince Charles (L) and wife Camilla will tour Christchurch on the final day of their tour of NZ. Source: AAP

PRINCE Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have waved goodbye to New Zealand and are winging their way back home to Britain.

The royals departed Christchurch Airport late on Friday night, having spent six days in the country on the last leg of their Diamond Jubilee tour representing the Queen.

The final day of the tour was spent in quake-ravaged Christchurch, where the couple checked out work being done to rebuild the city.

There were blue skies overhead as the couple arrived at the 150th Canterbury A&P show for their final public engagement on Friday afternoon.

After presenting the award for supreme animal in show, the prince and duchess wandered around some of the stalls, picking up a bottle of Lone Goat wine along the way.

Camilla also sampled some cheese at the Neudorf Dairy stall, which she said was "delicious".

Earlier, the duchess was taken for a twirl on a makeshift dance floor in the Christchurch central business district by the founder of the student volunteer army, Sam Johnson.

Mr Johnson asked Camilla for a dance at the dance-o-mat, a temporary space created in response to the loss of many dance studios and performance spaces around the city as a result of the quakes.

Not to be overshadowed, Prince Charles swayed on to the mat, followed by Christchurch mayor Bob Parker and his wife, Jo Nicholls Parker.

The youthful army was formed in response to the need for volunteer help in the wake of the February 2011 quake which killed 185 people and destroyed the centre of Christchurch.

The demolition work didn't stop for the visit, with concrete tumbling from one of the nearby buildings carefully being pulled down in the CBD red zone and dust lingered in the air as the royals wandered through Cashel Mall.

Thousands of Cantabrians lined the mall hoping to catch a glimpse of the prince and duchess.

On her visit to the shipping container mall, Camilla picked up some items from one store, Hapa, including a merino scarf, a jumper, and five kiwi toys which she said were for her grandchildren.

Her press secretary tried to pay for the items, but the shop owner refused the money.

The royals had arrived in the city about midday and were welcomed at Christchurch City Council by the mayor, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) chief executive Roger Sutton.

The couple then met privately with 20 people seriously injured in the 2011 quake and their caregivers.

The tour has also included visits to Auckland, Wellington and Feilding.

It was Camilla's first trip to New Zealand, while Prince Charles was last there in 2005.

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Uganda records rise in gorilla numbers

THE population of Uganda's mountain gorillas has grown to 400, up from 302 in 2006, according to a census conducted last year.

This brings the total number of mountain gorillas in Africa to 880, giving hope to conservationists trying to save the critically endangered species.

Uganda is now home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorillas remaining in the wild, a source of confidence for a country that has come to depend heavily on the popular apes for substantial tourism revenue.

The rest of the surviving mountain gorillas - the species Gorilla beringei beringei - are in Congo and Rwanda.

"The increase in the population of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is testimony to the sound natural resource management policies that are being implemented in the protected areas," Uganda's Ministry of Tourism said in a statement on Friday.

"This result confirms beyond reasonable doubt that Uganda's conservation efforts are paying off."

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a network of forested jungle deep in the country's southwestern frontier, is recognised by UNESCO as a heritage site of world value.

A permit to track gorillas there costs at least $US500 ($A485) and the World Wildlife Fund estimates that each gorilla brings in up to $US1 million in revenue each year for the East African country.

The census shows a stunning recovery for a species that once faced a real threat of extinction.

Mountain gorillas in the wild still face threats ranging from habitat loss to poaching, especially in Congo, where lawlessness in the country's vast eastern territory has allowed illegal hunters to prosper.

Mountain gorillas are hunted for their meat in Congo, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Even a common cold can kill a mountain gorilla, as the species is particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases usually associated with humans.

The conservation group Gorilla Doctors said the population growth was partly due to "extreme conservation" methods such as daily ranger monitoring in the forest.

Ugandan wildlife officials have been able to build successful partnerships with local communities in part by pouring some of the revenue into local projects, converting previously hostile groups into friendly advocates for the gorillas' survival.

"The mountain gorilla is the only non-human great ape that is actually growing in number," said Mike Cranfield of Gorilla Doctors.

"The growth of the mountain gorilla population can be attributed to the intensive conservation and collaboration between multiple conservation groups and government authorities."

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ASEAN rights pact on track despite protest

SOUTHEAST Asian nations are on course to endorse a human rights declaration despite complaints from rights groups and the UN that it falls below global standards, Cambodia says.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations "will adopt the declaration" when they gather for an annual summit in Phnom Penh from Sunday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters on Thursday.

United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay and leading rights groups have called for the proposed declaration, which has yet to be officially published, to be postponed amid fears it undermines universal human rights agreements.

Campaigners have also slammed the lack of transparency and the absence of consultation with civil society groups during the drafting.

"Of course, this declaration will not totally satisfy some civil society groups," said Hor Namhong.

"This is the first step," he said, adding that the bloc might consult with civil society groups in the future to improve the text.

More than 60 rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, issued a statement on Thursday urging ASEAN to revise the draft declaration.

In its current form, the pact was "a betrayal of the hopes of the people of Southeast Asia", HRW's deputy Asia director Phil Robertson told AFP.

"As written, the declaration provides giant loopholes for ASEAN governments to justify abusing rights in the name of national security or local context," he said.

Pillay voiced similar worries last week, urging the bloc "to take the necessary time to develop a declaration that fully conforms with international human rights standards".

ASEAN is comprised of 10 countries with disparate political systems and different levels of economic development, ranging from freewheeling democracies like the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to the authoritarian regimes of Vietnam and Laos.

Human rights has been a sensitive issue for some ASEAN members, with the grouping's policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs often preventing the issue from being discussed thoroughly at annual meetings.

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US hits Asia markets, weak yen lifts Tokyo

MOST Asian markets have closed lower after Barack Obama challenged Republicans to accept tax hikes for the rich as part of a deal to avert a fiscal cliff.

Japan's Nikkei surged on Thursday thanks to a weakening yen after the leader of the country's opposition vowed unlimited monetary easing to kickstart the economy if, as expected, he wins a general election slated for next month.

A close eye was also being kept on Beijing, where China unveiled its leaders for the next 10 years, with investors hoping for some clarity on future policy in the world's number two economy.

Sydney shed 0.89 per cent, or 39.2 points, to 4,349.2, and Seoul slumped 1.23 per cent, or 23.32 points, to 1,870.72.

But Tokyo climbed 1.9 per cent, or 164.99 points, to 8,829.72.

Hong Kong fell 1.55 per cent, or 333.06 points, to 21,108.93, while Shanghai lost 1.22 per cent, or 25.13 points, at 2,030.29, as investors bet the new-look Chinese leadership unveiled earlier in the day was unlikely to embark on any economy-boosting measures any time soon.

Obama, in his first news conference since re-election, on Wednesday laid out his terms for a deal on avoiding the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts that are due on January 1 and could tip the US back into recession.

He said he wanted to extend tax cuts for 98 per cent of Americans but insisted any agreement could not include breaks for the wealthiest two per cent, a position most Republicans have rejected.

Wall Street reacted negatively on fears the president's position could spell out a long battle between the bitterly divided Republicans and Democrats that could end with no compromise.

The Dow tumbled 1.45 per cent to its lowest close since June 26, while the S&P 500 lost 1.39 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 1.29 per cent.

However, dealers welcomed confirmation by the ruling party of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of a national poll on December 16, bringing an end to months of speculation.

The election is expected to be won by the Liberal Democratic Party, whose leader Shinzo Abe - a former prime minister - on Thursday said he would seek more control of the central bank and push for unlimited monetary easing to spur the economy and lift inflation to two to three per cent.

"Only by implementing unlimited easing to achieve this target will the market show reaction," Abe said.

An equity trading director at a foreign brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires: "A potential LDP return to power may bode well for a slew of industries, including nuclear power, consumer finance and others, in light of business-friendly comments already made regarding taxes and regulations."

On forex markets the dollar and euro added to gains made in New York on Wednesday.

In the afternoon the euro was at Y102.94 and the dollar bought Y80.78, compared with Y102.19 and Y80.23 in New York. They are both well up from Y101.11 and Y79.50 earlier on Wednesday in Asia.

The European single currency traded at $1.2743 on Thursday, compared with $1.2734 late in New York.

In China there were few surprises as Xi Jinping was unveiled as the new head of the Communist Party and the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the country's top decision-making body.

"The major good thing about (the change in leadership) is that it takes away at least one of the major uncertainties about China," said David Chang, regional head (Greater China) at Franklin Templeton Investments in Hong Kong.

Investors are now hoping for some clarity on future policy for the world's number two economy.

But BOC International analyst Shen Jun told AFP: "It's unlikely the new leaders will introduce fresh macroeconomic policies and market-moving measures in the short term."

Eurozone fears remained in place as anti-austerity strikes kicked off around the continent, hitting Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

Adding to worries was another steep fall in gross domestic product for Athens and Lisbon, while dealers nervously await data for Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the eurozone later in the day.

In Tokyo Sony slumped almost nine per cent to more than 30-year lows on the Nikkei after it said it would issue bonds worth Y150 billion ($A1.81 billion) to raise cash for investment and repay debts, fuelling fears of stock dilution.

Oil was slightly higher. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December gained eight cents to $US86.36 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for December delivery added 27 cents to $US109.88.

Gold was at $1,723.86 by 1050 GMT (2150 AEDT) compared with $US1,725.78 late on Wednesday.

In other markets:

- Taipei fell 0.22 per cent, or 15.91 points, to 7,143.84.

Smartphone maker HTC rose 1.5 per cent to Tw$237.50 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was 0.33 per cent lower at Tw$90.20.

- Wellington fell 0.1 per cent, or 4.06 points, to 3,951.50.

Air New Zealand fell 0.8 per cent to NZ$1.235, and Contact Energy was off 1.52 per cent at NZ$5.19.

- Manila closed 0.66 per cent lower, shedding 36.27 points to 5,414.82.

Metropolitan Bank fell 1.04 per cent to 95.05 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone dropped 1.88 per cent to 2,502 pesos.

- Bangkok lost 0.41 per cent, or 5.27 points, to close at 1,274.02.

PTT dropped 0.63 per cent to 314.00 baht, while Advanced Info Service gained 3.17 per cent to 195.00 baht.

- Singapore closed down 1.08 per cent, or 32.11 points to 2,945.92.

United Overseas Bank sank 1.21 per cent to Sg$18.03, and Jardine Cycle and Carriage fell 2.26 per cent to Sg$45.94.

- Mumbai slid 0.79 per cent, or 147.5 points, at 18,471.37 points.

United Breweries fell 10.39 per cent to 783.8 rupees, and Tata Motors also plunged 2.66 per cent to 375.75 rupees.

- Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were closed for public holidays.

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Qld Aussie of The Year finalist announced

LEADING skin cancer researcher Adele Green has been named as the Queensland finalist in the Australian of the Year awards.

Professor Green says winning Australian of the Year would mean a big step forward for skin cancer research in Australia.

"It would be an amazing honour and a terrific opportunity to spread the word so we can prevent a lot of needless suffering," she told AAP after Thursday's announcement.

Prof Green has been at the front line of melanoma research for 20 years.

Like many professional women, she has had a struggle to balance her career with family life.

"I've had a few challenges along the way, as have all professional women who are also mothers and members of families.

"I would like to continue to inspire young women so they know they can do it."

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Business council to build long-term vision

THE Business Council of Australia (BCA) will mark its 30th anniversary next year by developing a long-term vision for Australia.

BCA president Tony Shepherd has told the council's annual dinner in Sydney on Thursday such a vision needs to resonate with the broader community and the nine million Australians employed by companies and businesses.

"We want Australia to see that influential people ... share a vision and that we can work together to achieve it," Mr Shepherd said in his prepared address.

"We may have different ideas on the detail and that's healthy. But our members want this project to capture the priorities of all the groups in this room and all Australians."

He said business, government, opposition, the union movement and groups that represent the broader community should not be seen as combatants.

He said in the days of the Accord, which kicked off in 1983 under the Hawke government, different sectors were able to agree on a common purpose and a plan to foster productivity, competitiveness and growth.

"In fact, prime minister (Bob) Hawke encouraged the formation of the Business Council of Australia to deal with the matters arising from the Economic Summit and the Accord," Mr Shepherd said.

"There is no reason we cannot do this again."

He said in the past year, the BCA - representing the nation's top 100 chief executives - focused on productivity and competitiveness to lock in economic growth for the benefit of all Australians.

"We've looked at continued growth as the only way of keeping Australia ahead of the very real risks coming our way through global volatility and shifting economic sands," he said.

"We are not hypochondriacs at the BCA but we are strong believers that prevention is always better than a cure."

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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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Syria regime bombards rebels

The leader of Syria's National Coalition is urging world powers to arm the rebels with weapons. Source: AAP

SYRIA'S regime has unleashed tanks and warplanes against rebels as battles rage, after France recognised the newly united political opposition and raised the prospect of arming its fighters.

Tanks on Wednesday shelled two refugee camps in southern Damascus, where fighting has intensified since the army put down a rebel assault in the southern belt of the capital city where anti-regime sentiment runs strong, a watchdog said.

Fighter jets bombed Maaret al-Numan, a northwestern town rebels captured last month in a major blow to the regime's ability to reinforce troops under attack in second city Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A day after France became the first Western nation to recognise the opposition National Coalition, the United States unveiled $US30 million ($A28.9 million) in extra humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict as it endorsed the newly formed bloc.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev criticised countries siding with the opposition and insisted Moscow was staying neutral.

"We don't support anybody in this conflict, neither President Assad nor the rebels ... but unfortunately, the point of view of some states is more one-sided," Medvedev told Finnish broadsheet Helsingin Sanomat.

President Francois Hollande said Paris recognised the coalition as "the sole representative of the Syrian people and thus as the future provisional government of a democratic Syria, allowing an end to the Bashar al-Assad regime".

The question of arming the rebels would now "have to be necessarily reviewed not only in France but in all countries which will recognise this government," said Hollande.

National Coalition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has called on world powers to arm Assad's foes, saying they desperately needed "specialised weapons" in order to "cut short the suffering of the Syrians and their bloodshed".

The United States said on Tuesday that the coalition was "a legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, but stopped short of recognising it as the sole representative.

Britain said it wanted to see more evidence the grouping had strong support inside Syria before formally recognising it.

Announcing the latest US aid package on a visit to Australia on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the coalition's formation was "a good beginning".

"We have long called for this kind of organisation," Clinton said, but added Washington wanted to see the momentum maintained from the hard-won unity agreement reached in Doha, Qatar.

"Specifically we urge them to finalise the organisational arrangements to support the commitments that they made in Doha and to begin influencing events on the ground in Syria."

The French move came 24 hours after the coalition was recognised by the members of the Gulf Co-operation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Arab League stopped short of granting the bloc full recognition, only saying it saw the alliance as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition".

The opposition agreed on Sunday to unify their fighting forces under a military council and to set up a judicial commission for rebel-held areas. They plan to form a provisional government.

On the ground, tanks moved on the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp and the neighbouring Damascus district of Tadamum following battles between the army and rebels in the area late on Tuesday.

Shells were fired into a second refugee camp east of Yarmuk on Wednesday morning, said the Observatory, though it did not specify whether they had been fired by the army or by rebels.

Elsewhere, fighter jets bombarded the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan in the northwestern province of Idlib.

"The air force has carried out two air strikes on the town of Maaret al-Numan," said the Observatory.

Rebels seized Maaret al-Numan on October 9, and the army has since waged an unrelenting, but unsuccessful, offensive to take back the town strategically located on the highway linking Damascus and second city Aleppo.

The jihadist Al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility, meanwhile, for a November 5 suicide car bomb attack on a military post in the central province of Hama that it said killed at least 200 pro-regime fighters.

At the time, the Britain-based Observatory put the toll from the blast at more than 50 dead

The Observatory - which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and medics - said nationwide violence killed 189 people on Tuesday, including 90 civilians, 50 rebels and 49 soldiers.

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Obama to address Petraeus sex scandal

PRESIDENT Barack Obama is set to address the sex scandal that brought down CIA chief David Petraeus and snared a top US general when he gives his first post-election press conference on Wednesday.

The widening probe into Petraeus's extramarital affair has raised questions about the US commander in Afghanistan, distracting from talks over a looming budget crisis and efforts to fill high-level positions in Obama's second term.

The White House on Tuesday expressed confidence in John Allen after the four-star general was linked to the scandal, which saw Petraeus resign in disgrace after a sterling career just three days after Obama's re-election.

Allen was placed under investigation after FBI agents probing email threats sent by Petraeus' mistress stumbled upon a vast trove of messages Allen sent to another married woman at the heart of the scandal.

According to a senior Pentagon official, the married general denies any sexual liaison with 37-year-old Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, but the "sheer volume" of correspondence could amount to "conduct unbecoming an officer."

Due to face politicians this week for a hearing to confirm his promotion to the post of NATO's supreme commander in Europe, Allen will now return to Kabul and remain in charge of allied forces in Afghanistan until the probe is over.

"The president thinks very highly of General Allen and of his service to his country, as well as the job he has done in Afghanistan," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

"He has faith in General Allen," Carney said, adding that the White House had known about the Allen strand to the investigation since Friday.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, currently on an official visit to Australia, on Wednesday urged against jumping to any conclusions about Allen and said the general has his "continued confidence."

Petraeus resigned last week when it became clear that his affair with 40-year-old military reservist Paula Broadwell, who wrote a fawning biography of him, would become public.

FBI agents stumbled on the liaison after a complaint from Kelley - a close friend of both Petraeus and Allen - who told a federal agent that she had received threatening emails, which investigators later traced to Broadwell.

The threatening emails she had sent to Kelley - who told investigators she did not know Broadwell - suggest the biographer was jealous of the socialite's rapport with the generals at US Central Command in Florida.

The Wall Street Journal cited an official as saying Broadwell had sent a series of critical emails about Kelley to senior generals under the pseudonym KelleyPatrol, including one to Allen in which she called Kelley a "seductress."

The Pentagon is meanwhile investigating Allen after FBI agents found 20,000 to 30,000 pages of his correspondence, including hundreds of emails to Kelley.

A Pentagon official said some of the emails were seen as "flirtatious" but that only an investigation could determine if Allen, who is married, had broken the law or violated military regulations.

Petraeus and Broadwell were interviewed by investigators and both admitted to the affair, which the retired four-star general told friends he ended about four months ago.

Petraeus had been due to testify to Congress this week on the September 11 assault in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans, including US ambassador Chris Stevens and two former Navy SEALs working for the CIA.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein told CNN she expected Petraeus would still agree to testify at a later date, adding that she had seen nothing to link the sex scandal to Benghazi.

Petraeus took command of the CIA 14 months ago, retiring from the military after a storied career in which he commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The general, who presided over the 2007 troop "surge" in Iraq, is widely credited with turning the tide of the US war there, though his efforts have been less successful in Afghanistan.

Broadwell has hired renowned Washington power lawyer Robert Muse to represent her. No criminal charges have been filed, but FBI agents searched her North Carolina home earlier this week and seized several boxes and pictures.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also come under scrutiny.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI agent Kelley contacted about the threatening emails, a personal acquaintance of hers, brought the matter to the attention of Republican politicians.

The agent apparently believed the bureau was not moving aggressively enough with the investigation, suspecting that his superiors were keen to protect the Democratic president from the fallout.

FBI supervisors had earlier thrown the agent off the case after he became "obsessed" with the matter, the Journal said.

It quoted one official as saying the agent had sent shirtless photos to Kelley and was currently under internal investigation.

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EU pushes for more women on boards

The European Commission wants more women in the boardrooms of large European companies, saying it's a matter not only of fairness but good business.

Commission Vice President Viviane Reding says the target is to have women comprise at least 40 per cent of the boards of publicly traded European companies by 2020, and by 2018 for state-owned companies.

As of 2016, she says, companies where women make up less than 40 per cent will have to choose qualified women to fill vacancies or face penalties. Individual EU countries will set the penalties, possibly including fines or the annulment of the appointment of a male board member.

At present, women make up 15 per cent of the board membership of Europe's largest companies. "This is a waste of talent," Reding said Wednesday.

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Hundreds mark Whitlam's 1972 poll speech

IN the age of 10-second sound bites and Twitter, rousing political speeches like the one Gough Whitlam gave at his 1972 election campaign launch may seem like a thing of the past.

But in celebrating the speech's 40th anniversary Labor senator John Faulkner says it serves as an important reminder that politicians must focus on the message, not the medium.

Forty years after the former prime minister delivered his policy speech, hundreds gathered in the same hall in Blacktown in Sydney's west on Tuesday night to celebrate the address which they said changed a nation.

Speaking at the event, organised by the Whitlam Institute, former Labor leader Bob Hawke said Mr Whitlam's speech on November 13 marked the "light at the end of the tunnel" after 23 years in opposition.

"Really it's impossible to convey ... The sense of what was almost a feverish excitement and anticipation."

It was standing room only, he said, as more than 1500 people packed in the hall and hundreds spilled outside to hear Mr Whitlam outline his policy agenda and his vision for the Labor Party.

He said Mr Whitlam outlined a set of "gold standards" for the party, emphasising the "foundational role for government in assisting the worse off in society".

On the night, speechwriter Graham Freudenberg recalled that Mr Whitlam - who had a habit of touching him on the shoulder before a big speech - remarked "it's been a long road comrade but I think we are there".

Senator Faulkner said the speech had endured in Australia's "political and popular imagination".

"Much of what is written about the practice of political speechmaking these days is infused with an air of nostalgia even eulogy."

But he said, the advent of 24-hour news cycle and Twitter should not mean the death of political speeches, rather the internet allows speeches to reach a wider audience.

"If political campaigns are fought on the field of the 10 second sound-bite ... as they so often seem to be; if those who aspire to lead us seem to have no desire to inspire us; if the memory of the hope and belief that Gough Whitlam gave to all who heard him here forty years ago today seems only the echo of a long lost past: we must look for reasons somewhere other than the technology which carries our voices.

"Not in how we communicate but in what we communicate. Not in the medium, but in the message."

On this night in 1972 Mr Whitlam said, "I do not for a moment believe that we should set limits on what we can achieve, together, for our country, our people, our future".

Those who gathered broke out into applause as black and white archived vision of the former PM played.

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Greece raises 4.062bn euros in bond sale

GREECE has raised 4.062.5 billion euros ($A4.99 billion) to avert a messy default this week.

The fresh funds plug a financing gap left by a stalled EU-IMF loan which risks triggering default on a short-term debt settlement on Friday.

The Tuesday sale raised 2.762.5 billion euros in one-month treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.95 per cent and a further 1.3 billion euros in three-month bills at 4.2 per cent.

In the October auction of a three month debt issue, the agency had raised 1.625 billion euros at an interest rate of 4.24 per cent, but the stakes are higher now.

Greece needed the money to repay five billion euros from a prior three-month debt issue that matures on Friday.

That treasury bill had been auctioned in August to enable the country to pay state salaries and pensions in the absence of a scheduled loan payment from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Worth 31.2 billion euros overall, the loan payment was supposed to have been disbursed by July but was held back on reform delays and protracted political uncertainty after a four-month electoral campaign in Greece.

The release of these funds, which are part of Greece's second EU-IMF financial assistance package, is still pending.

Tuesday's sale is nearly a billion short of the required sum for Friday's treasury bill repayment.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras flew to Brussels on Tuesday for talks with President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

"We did our part. Now we wait for Europe to make its own move," Samaras said in off-camera comments to journalists on Monday, dailies here reported.

Eurozone finance ministers will meet on November 20 to discuss whether Athens will at last be given the urgently needed funds.

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UK terror suspect Abu Qatada out on bail

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada has won his appeal against deportation from Britain to Jordan. Source: AAP

BRITAIN has released terror suspect Abu Qatada from prison on bail after judges ruled that the man dubbed Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe should not be extradited to Jordan.

The radical Islamist preacher, who is in his early 50s, was driven out of the high-security Long Lartin prison in central England on Tuesday in a black van at high speed, television pictures showed.

Abu Qatada was expected to be taken to his home in northwest London where he will be under a curfew 16 hours a day but can leave his home between 8.00am and 4.00pm.

He will have to wear an electronic tag and who he meets will be restricted.

The heavily bearded Jordanian of Palestinian origin has been in jail in Britain for the past seven years fighting extradition, and also spent much of the time between 2002 and 2005 in detention or under house arrest.

Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 1998 for involvement in terror attacks.

The decision by senior judges on Monday to uphold his appeal against extradition to Jordan was a major blow for the British government, which has fought for seven years to deport him.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Tuesday that the government was determined to deport Abu Qatada.

"We strongly disagree with the court ruling. We are going to challenge it, we are going to take it to appeal," Clegg told ITV television.

"We are absolutely determined to see this man get on a plane and go back to Jordan, he does not belong here," Clegg said.

Home Secretary Theresa May had ordered Abu Qatada's extradition after she was given assurances by Jordan that no evidence gained through the torture of two other men would be used against him in a retrial.

But the Special Immigration Appeals Commission - a semi-secret panel of British judges that deals with decisions on national security - said that could not be guaranteed.

May told parliament after Monday's decision: "Qatada is a dangerous man, a suspected terrorist, who is accused of serious crime in his home country of Jordan."

She said she believed that the judge who made the final decision had applied the "wrong legal test" in finding in Abu Qatada's favour, adding: "It is deeply unsatisfactory that Abu Qatada has not already been deported to Jordan.

"Successive governments have tried to remove him since December 2001. He has a long-standing association with al-Qaeda. British courts have found that he 'provides a religious justification for acts of violence and terror'."

The European Court of Human Rights had ruled earlier this year that Abu Qatada could not be deported while there was a "real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him" in a possible retrial.

May then travelled to Jordan to secure guarantees from Amman that he would receive a fair trial and the European court subsequently gave the go-ahead for him to be extradited.

But the immigration tribunal ruled on Monday that statements from Abu Qatada's former co-defendants Al-Hamasher and Abu Hawsher, which were alleged to have been obtained by torture, created a risk that any trial would be unfair.

The cleric, a father of five whose real name is Omar Mohammed Othman, arrived in Britain in 1993 claiming asylum and has been a thorn in the side of successive British governments.

Videos of his sermons were found in the Hamburg flat used by some of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He has also defended the killing of Jews and attacks on Americans.

A Spanish judge once branded him late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, although Abu Qatada denies ever having met bin Laden.

Britain first ordered his deportation in 2005 and his appeal against that order was rejected in 2009. May then signed a fresh deportation order and Abu Qatada appealed to the European court.

He was briefly freed on bail earlier this year but then re-arrested.

In October Britain extradited another radical Islamist preacher, Abu Hamza, and four other terror suspects to the United States.

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Charles, Camilla myths busted on website

HIS youngest son is still regularly spotted with a cigarette in hand but Prince Charles's wife gave up smoking "years ago".

Camilla's call to ditch the fags is among a range of royal snippets released on Charles's official website, aiming to dispel myths about the heir to the British throne.

While Charles, who turns 64 on Wednesday, and Camilla, 65, continue their tour of New Zealand as part of a southern hemisphere visit which has also taken in Australia and Papua New Guinea, their London-based staff on Monday released the answers to 24 "FAQs" (frequently asked questions) about the couple.

Contrary to the suggestion of a well-read British author, Charles does not demand seven boiled eggs for breakfast and eat only the one he deems to be cooked best.

"No, he doesn't and never has done, at breakfast or any other time," the website www.princeofwales.gov.uk/faqs states.

The website also tries to justify Charles's staff of 161 full-time equivalent positions.

"Of these, 134.9 support Their Royal Highnesses, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, in undertaking official duties and charitable activities, and 26.2 are personal, garden and farm staff," the site reads.

Except for the odd occasion when Charles must ride in a police-owned Bentley for security purposes, the Prince uses a range of vehicles which have been converted to use biodiesel made from used cooking oil, in keeping with his greenie beliefs.

Charles's 40-year-old Aston Martin, famously driven by Prince William on the day of his marriage to Catherine, runs on bioethanol made from waste wine, the website says.

And while Prince Harry is still regularly photographed holding a cigarette, Camilla has kicked the habit.

"The Duchess of Cornwall gave up smoking many years ago," says the site.

Since marrying Charles in 2005, Camilla has kept her own home in the English countryside.

"The Duchess likes to spend time with her children and grandchildren at their family home in Wiltshire," aids wrote.

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Syrian jet bombs area near Turkish border

A SYRIAN fighter jet has bombed a rebel-held area near the Turkish border, killing at least six people and wounding a dozen others, while a rocket propelled grenade also landed inside Turkey, officials and witnesses say.

An Associated Press video journalist saw the plane bomb an area around the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, some 10 metres from the Turkish border, on Monday. Last week the rebels overran three security compounds in the town, located in the predominantly Kurdish oil-producing northeastern province of al-Hasaka, wresting control from the regime forces.

An official at the local mayor's office said Turkish ambulances ferried 18 wounded Syrians to a hospital, across the border in the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar but six died, he added that the death toll from the attack was expected to rise.

The force of the blast from the aerial bombing shattered windows in Ceylanpinar, in southeastern Turkey, the official said. A few people were injured in Ceylanpinar, mostly from broken glass and shrapnel.

The fighting in Ras al-Ayn touched off a massive flow of refugees two days ago, and more refugees were seen coming after the blast.

Earlier, a Syrian helicopter bombed rebel positions in an area further south of Ras al-Ayn and the rebels could be heard responding with machine guns, the official said.

The violence in Syria has killed more than 36,000 people since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March 2011.

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Take him to the Tower... oh, wait

BRITISH police have launched an investigation after an intruder managed to break in and steal keys from the grounds of the Tower of London.

Officials from the famous London landmark admitted they have been forced to change some of their locks after a set of keys were stolen from a sentry box at the fortress site.

Tower chiefs insisted that the Crown Jewels were never at risk of being stolen but admitted security procedures "were not carried out to the expected standard".

The keys gave access to the Tower's drawbridges as well as conference rooms and a restaurant, according to the Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the site.

A Historic Royal Palaces spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that an incident took place in the Tower environs in the early hours of November 6 and that this is now a police matter, so we are unable to discuss details.

"We can however confirm that during this incident, keys for a restaurant and conference rooms were taken together with a key to an internal lock to the Tower drawbridges that is not accessible from the outside.

"It would not have been possible to gain access to the Tower with any of these keys. All the affected locks were immediately changed.

The Tower of London is famously guarded by the Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "An allegation of theft has been made to police, which is being investigated by Tower Hamlets CID."

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Queen criticised for light pay packets

WORKING as a cleaner for the Queen seems to be about prestige rather than pay, with the monarch forced to review salary levels after a backlash over a recent job ad.

The official British Monarchy website called for applications for a part-time cleaner at Windsor Castle, offering the successful maid STG6.67 ($A10.27) per hour, British tabloid the Daily Mirror reported on Monday.

The hourly rate is STG0.47 above Britain's minimum wage but STG0.78 below the government's recommended "living wage".

It means the cleaner - who would perform tasks including vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and changing bed linen - working from 8am to 1pm Monday to Saturday, would earn a full-time equivalent salary of STG13,000 ($A20,000) a year.

"This looks really bad. Since the Queen receives considerable support from the public purse she should pay a living wage, not just barely a minimum wage," Labour MP Grahame Morris told the newspaper.

"She's setting a bad example to other employers."

In June Windsor Castle advertised for a servant to work 40 hours a week for STG14,000 a year.

A royal spokesman told the Daily Mirror: "We are reviewing our policies regarding the living wage".

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Troika report on Greece 'positive': Junker

A LONG-AWAITED report on Greece's economic reform program by its three international creditors, the EU, ECB and IMF "troika", is "positive", Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker says.

Arriving on Monday for talks between the 17 eurozone finance ministers later in the day, Juncker said they had received the report on Sunday night and it "is positive in its fundamental tone because the Greeks really delivered. Now it is for us to deliver."

The Luxembourg premier said that a new austerity package adopted Wednesday and a cost-cutting 2013 budget agreed late Sunday were "very ambitious" and "fulfils our wishlist nearly completely."

"Greece is accomplishing step by step what we expected," he added.

Juncker said the ministers would discuss the report in detail but would make "no definitive decision today" on the release of a 31.5 billion-euro instalment from a second international bailout of Greece needed to stave off bankruptcy.

He said he believed the general feeling would be to organise the disbursement "in the best way possible" and for the ministers to agree a calendar.

Any decision to extend Greece's deadline would also require parliamentary approval in Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia.

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Two houses destroyed in SA bushfire

Fire crews in SA have issued an emergency warning about a serious scrub fire burning out of control. Source: AAP

BUSHFIRES are burning on a number of fronts in South Australia with the biggest at Tulka, near the coastal city of Port Lincoln, claiming at least two houses and a hay shed.

Crews from the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) supported by the SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) and Department for Environment, Water and Natural Resource are fighting the blaze which has burned out 2000 hectares and is threatening areas surrounding Sleaford Bay and Fishery Bay.

CFS State Coordinator Malim Watts says more than 100 firefighters and three fixed wing aircraft are battling to bring the fire under control and will remain on scene overnight and beyond.

Fresh crews from Adelaide are being flown in on Monday to help the exhausted CFS volunteers.

"Unfortunately this afternoon CFS has had confirmation of the loss of two houses, at least two sheds and a hay shed," Mr Watts said.

"CFS volunteers and other emergency services, together with the community, have done an outstanding job in very difficult and dangerous circumstances."

He said investigators from the police, CFS and MFS will be on the scene on Monday to find out how the fire started.

Police said residents living in the Port Lincoln area affected by the fire can find refuge at Port Lincoln Bowling Club.

Meanwhile, on the Eyre Peninsula lives and homes are at risk with a bushfire at Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park, north of Calca.

The CFS said the fire is heading in south towards Calca.

Crews are also fighting fires at Yalata in South Australia's southwest, near Avon north of Adelaide, and at Quorn in the southern Flinders Ranges, northeast of Port Augusta.

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Sri Lanka opposition wants prison inquiry

SRI Lanka's opposition has demanded a thorough investigation into a prison shootout that killed 27 inmates.

Tissa Attanayake, a leader of the United National Party, said on Sunday violent clashes inside prisons have become frequent in Sri Lanka and demanded that their causes be examined.

The opposition says incidents like the one which occurred on Friday damage the country's reputation internationally.

Twenty-seven prisoners were killed after a clash when police commandos tried to search the Welikada Prison facility in Colombo for narcotics.

Officials said the bloodshed erupted when prisoners attacked the search team and armed themselves by breaking into the armory.

At least two suspects died following another prison revolt in June and human rights campaigners alleged they died after being beaten by guards.

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Camilla's hairdresser on tour

PRINCE Charles and wife Camilla encountered some less-than-ideal weather conditions during their tour of Australia, so it's just as well the Duchess of Cornwall had her personal hairdresser on hand to keep any potential frizz at bay.

While the future king is paying for the services of stylist Hugh Green, the taxpayers of Australia and New Zealand will foot the bill for his accommodation and travel after he flew in to Melbourne to assist Camilla, 65, the Sunday Express newspaper reported.

Clarence House, the royal couple's London base, confirmed that "the realms" would cover Mr Green's travel expenses, the tabloid said.

The Duchess has made some high-profile appearances while in Australia, including presenting the Melbourne Cup to the winning connections of the popular race.

In Sydney and Hobart, Camilla was forced to carry a brolly to shelter from soaking rain.

Mr Green has flown on to Auckland with the royal party for a six-day visit to NZ as part of a two-week tour representing the Queen in her diamond jubilee year, which has also taken in Papua New Guinea.

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Egypt police bust baby trafficking ring

EGYPTIAN police say they have broken up a child trafficking ring that sold almost 300 babies for $US570 ($A550) each or less.

A police official said on Sunday officers had arrested five suspects, including two nurses and a doctor working at the Cairo hospital where the babies were sold for almost three years.

Police are searching for the hospital manager who escaped arrest.

The official said the network also performed caesarian operations on women who had left it too late for an abortion of an unwanted child in exchange for allowing the doctors to sell the babies, usually to couples who could not have their own children.

Adoption is illegal in Egypt, which adheres to Islamic law in some family matters.

Some couples have sought to bypass the ban by buying children.

In 2009, an American couple received a two year jail sentence after a court convicted them of buying a child from an orphanage.

Abortion is legal where it is deemed necessary for the health of the mother.

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