Iraq violence rises in November

The level of violence in Iraq has risen with 166 people killed in November. Source: AAP

THE number of people killed in attacks in Iraq rose in November compared with October, many of them dying in the last few days of the month, figures compiled by the government and AFP show.

According to figures from the health, interior and defence ministries, 166 people were killed in attacks in November - 101 civilians, 35 police and 30 soldiers, while 252 - 129 civilians, 68 police and 55 soldiers - were wounded.

An AFP tally based on information from security and medical sources meanwhile put the figure at 160 killed and 664 wounded.

Government figures for October indicated that 144 people were killed that month, while AFP's tally showed 136 people were killed.

According to the AFP figures, 82 people - more than half of those killed in the entire month - died in attacks from November 26-30.

Ali al-Haidari, an Iraqi security expert, pointed to the relaxation of tight measures put in place for major Ashura Shi'ite religious commemorations that peaked on November 25 as a possible explanation for some of the violence at the end of the month.

"What happened is that security forces were in the peak of readiness and activity during the last occasion (Ashura)," but became less so after the commemorations concluded, Haidari said.

"Security forces usually become tired after such occasions, and the enemy benefits from this directly," he added.

While the end of November saw a spate of attacks, the Ashura commemorations, during which dozens of people were killed in attacks in years past, were largely free of violence.

However, two attacks against Shi'ite pilgrims killed three people and wounded 35.

Members of Iraq's security forces and the country's Shi'ite majority are both frequently targeted in bomb attacks by Sunni insurgents.

Violence in Iraq has decreased dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007, when brutal sectarian violence swept the country, but attacks remain common.

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Egypt's Islamists rally for Morsi

Vast crowds have rallied in Cairo to protest a draft constitution seen as undermining freedoms. Source: AAP

ISLAMISTS have rallied in support of President Mohamed Morsi's new expanded powers and the drafting of a contested charter, in a clear show of Egypt's deepening polarisation.

The demonstration on Saturday in the heart of Cairo comes a day after tens of thousands of Morsi opponents converged on Tahrir Square to protest against the president's decree and the speedy adoption of the draft constitution.

The charter has taken centre stage in the country's worst political crisis since Morsi's election in June, setting largely Islamist forces against more secular opponents.

It is expected to go to a popular referendum within two weeks.

Members of the constituent assembly were due to hand Morsi at 4pm (1am AEDT Sunday) the final draft of the constitution adopted after a marathon overnight session on Thursday that was boycotted by liberals, seculars and Christians.

By mid-morning, hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Morsi ran for office, and other hardline Salafist groups gathered at Cairo University, with riot police on standby and roadblocks in place.

"The Muslim Brotherhood supports President Morsi's decisions," read a banner carried by Islamists who chanted, "The people want the implementation of God's law".

The Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters have branded the opposition as enemies of the revolution that toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Across the Nile river, hundreds of protesters camping out in Tahrir Square since Morsi issued a decree expanding his powers were expected to be joined by more demonstrators throughout the day.

The National Rescue Front a coalition of opponents, has called on Egyptians to "reject the illegitimate" decree and the "void" draft constitution, and stressed the public's right "to use any peaceful method to protest including a general strike and civil disobedience".

The crisis was sparked when Morsi issued the decree on November 22 giving himself sweeping powers and placing his decisions beyond judicial review, provoking mass protests and a judges' strike.

Amnesty International said the draft "raises concerns about Egypt's commitment to human rights treaties", specifically ignoring "the rights of women (and) restricting freedom of expression in the name of religion".

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Manila slams China's plans to board ships

THE Philippines has denounced Chinese plans to search ships sailing through what Beijing says is its territory in the South China Sea in the latest irritant between the countries.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the plans should be condemned by the international community because they violate maritime domains of countries in the region and impede freedom of navigation.

Chinese state media announced the plans, saying southern Hainan province, which Beijing says administers the South China Sea, had approved laws giving its police the right to search vessels that pass through the waters.

Last week the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and India protested against a map on a new Chinese passport that depicts disputed areas as belonging to China.

The Philippine statement said it wants Beijing to "immediately clarify its reported plans to interdict ships that enter what it considers its territory in the South China Sea".

It said Manila was concerned that ships entering waters claimed by China, which is "virtually the entire South China Sea ... can be boarded, inspected, detained, confiscated, immobilised and expelled, among other punitive actions".

China's action will be "illegal and will validate the continuous and repeated pronouncements by the Philippines that China's claim of indisputable sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea is not only an excessive claim but a threat to all countries", the statement said.

The maritime territorial disputes include the Spratly Islands over which China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have conflicting claims. The Spratlys chain is believed to sit atop rich oil and gas reserves and straddles one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

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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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Strauss-Kahn settles with US maid: reports

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has reached a settlement with a maid who accused him of sexual assault. Source: AAP

DISGRACED former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief and would-be French president Dominique Strauss-Kahn will settle out of court with a Manhattan maid who accused him of sexual assault, ending a sordid 18-month legal saga, reports say.

According to The New York Times, quoting unidentified sources "with knowledge of the matter", the 63-year-old French politician and the hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, have "quietly reached an agreement to settle" her lawsuit.

There was no word of any payments by Strauss-Kahn and "no settlement had yet been signed", the newspaper said.

NBC television also reported the possible deal, confirming that it had yet to be completed.

Judge Douglas McKeon, who is presiding over the civil case, told AFP "there may be a court session as early as next week", but declined to comment on the reports of a settlement.

Diallo's lawyers did not immediately respond to an interview request, while a spokeswoman for Strauss-Kahn's legal team declined to comment.

Strauss-Kahn, who had been widely touted as a likely challenger to then president Nicolas Sarkozy, suffered a stunning fall from grace following his arrest at a New York hotel last year on sex assault charges.

He then faced a string of separate sex-related investigations in France.

Diallo had sued Strauss-Kahn in a New York civil court after prosecutors threw out assault charges filed against the globe-trotting politician, saying the maid's sex assault case would not stand up before a jury.

Although Strauss-Kahn has since been mired in legal troubles and brought low by the repeated tarnishing of his once stellar reputation, that initial downfall at a posh Manhattan hotel in May 2011 came as a shocking surprise.

At the time, Strauss-Kahn was jetting between world capitals as head of the IMF and was expected to announce what would have been a formidable candidacy for the French presidency.

Diallo, a maid at the Sofitel hotel, shattered that trajectory when she alleged the powerful politician had leapt on her in his room, naked, and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

Strauss-Kahn was arrested as he was about to fly back to Europe. He later conceded that there had been a sexual encounter in the hotel room with the cleaner, but insisted that it had been consensual.

The subsequent court proceedings and a brief spell in New York's tough Rikers Island detention centre publicly humiliated Strauss-Kahn.

After Diallo was caught lying over several points, the charges were dropped and Strauss-Kahn left hurriedly for France.

His lawyers have repeatedly said they would not agree to a deal to pay off Diallo, branding her a gold digger. Her lawyers have insisted they only want their day in court to confront Strauss-Kahn.

After leaving the US, Strauss-Kahn tried to get off the hook by claiming diplomatic immunity in the civil case but a judge rejected that move in May.

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Eurozone unemployment hits record high

THE recession in the economy of the 17 euro countries has pushed unemployment in the region up to a record 11.7 per cent in October.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, said on Friday that 18.7 million people were out of work across the 17 EU countries that use the euro.

The increase from the previous month's 11.6 per cent was anticipated in light of the eurozone's return to recession in the third quarter.

Spain and Greece have the region's highest unemployment rates - both over 25 per cent, with youth unemployment levels heading towards 60 per cent.

Eurostat also says that inflation in the eurozone fell by more than anticipated to 2.2 per cent in November. However, it is still above the European Central Bank's target of keeping price rises at just below 2 per cent.

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Clive James given special award

IT has been quite a year for indigenous artists and writers.

And the latest winner is Kim Scott, the West Australian Aboriginal writer, who on Friday won a combined $50,000 for two NSW Premier's Literary awards for his novel, That Deadman Dance.

He received $40,000 for the Christina Stead Prize and $10,000 for Book of the Year.

Set on the WA coast at the start of the 19th century, That Deadman Dance is a story of early encounters between Noongar people and European settlers.

The judges said the book is "peopled with a broad cast of compelling, complex characters" and a "work of astounding beauty".

Thirty-three judges read hundreds of nominations for the nine literary awards and five history awards, with a collective value of about $360,000 in prize money.

Expat writer, journalist and commentator Clive James CBE AM was awarded the Special Award worth $10,000.

This award, given under exceptional circumstances, isn't open to entry and can't be awarded to a work that has been submitted to the awards.

James, 73, who has leukaemia, was a member of the Aussie "Push" who went to London in the early 1960s and included feminist Germaine Greer.

He was Britain's leading TV critic, for The Observer from 1972 to 1982, and later became well known for programs including Clive James on Television and The Clive James Show, as well as documentaries.

The first volume of his autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, is his best known book.

In June, James said he was "getting near the end" after several years of illness.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said recognising James's achievements in this way was a "fitting tribute to a great Australian writer and a great son of Sydney".

He said James had had an "extraordinarily prolific and successful career" and has "pioneered and championed the idea of an internationalised Australian culture through his poetry, novels, memoirs, works of literary criticism and scriptwriting".

Writer Gail Jones was awarded the People's Choice Award for Five Bells, a novel set in Circular Quay, Sydney, one sparkling summer's day.

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Catholic council set for abuse commission

The Catholic Church will establish a council to work with the royal commission into child sex abuse. Source: AAP

A COUNCIL of religious and lay people being set up to work with the royal commission into child sex abuse will help the Catholic Church "face the truth", Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart says.

The Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday announced it had established a group of representatives from the conference and religious orders to establish and oversee the new 10-member council.

In a statement, the conference said the royal commission's inquiry would be "painful and difficult" for the church, but that was nothing compared to the hurt of those who had suffered sexual abuse.

"Once again, we renew our heartfelt apology to those whose lives have been so grievously harmed by the evil perpetrated upon them by some priests, religious and church personnel."

Archbishop Hart, who is conference president, said the new council would help the church engage closely with the commission and the community.

Expert lay people, including those with expertise in the care of sex abuse victims, would be on the council, he told AAP.

"We need broad-based expertise so that the church together can face the truth, can provide a better response to the care of victims and also make Australia a safer place for our children."

Archbishop Hart said the church had 30 bishops in their dioceses and 129 different religious orders, so a unified council was considered best to liaise with the royal commission.

It was still important for the royal commission to be able to approach individual church officials and members, the archbishop said.

He has already come out in support of mandatory reporting of child sex abuse for priests in line with doctors, nurses and social workers.

There have been calls for the sanctity of the confessional to be reviewed in relation to child sex abuse.

But Archbishop Hart said it was unlikely child sex offenders within the church would use the confessional.

"Leaving things as they are has very positive value and it is part of the religious freedom that we enjoy under the constitution," he said.

Chris MacIsaac from Broken Rites Australia, a victim support group, said the church's proposed committee was an attempt to shield church leaders from the scrutiny of the royal commission.

"The royal commission must be able to question any bishop or church leader individually," he said in a statement.

"The proposed committee members will not know how each church leader concealed a crime from the police, or how an offender was transferred to new locations and new victims."

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Congo rebels begin frontline withdrawal

M23 rebels are pulling out of the Congolese city of Goma, as the UN considers sanctions. Source: AAP

REBEL fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say they are moving out of frontline positions, in line with a deal aimed at halting the deadly unrest in the volatile resource-rich area.

The M23 rebels could be seen on Thursday pulling back equipment from the areas that they seized last week in a lightning advance that prompted international condemnation and calls for withdrawal.

"We have gathered our troops and will move towards Sake," said M23 Colonel Antoine Manzi, a senior commander of the army mutineers, referring to a town some 20km west of Goma, which the insurgents have agreed to leave by Friday.

"We will start leaving Goma tomorrow ... we cannot leave Goma before we have left the other areas," he told AFP on Thursday, adding that he expected the M23 would hand over control to United Nations peacekeepers there.

Residents have reported seeing dozens of trucks trundling through the lush green and rolling hills on the shores of Lake Kivu towards Goma.

Uganda's army chief Aronda Nyakairima said earlier this week a deal had been struck with the rebels to pull out of the lakeshore city by Thursday, although M23 military leader Sultani Makenga said the deadline was Friday.

Under the deal struck in Uganda between rebels and regional military commanders - who are due to visit Goma on Friday to monitor progress of the promised withdrawal - a company of 100 M23 gunmen will stay at Goma's airport.

Decades of civil war between multiple militia forces have ravaged the region, which holds vast mineral wealth, including copper, diamonds, gold and the key mobile phone component coltan.

Civilians are suffering as aid agencies struggle to cope with newly displaced, with some 285,000 people abandoning their homes since the rebels began their uprising in April.

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UN court clears Kosovo ex-PM of war crimes

THE UN Yugoslav war crimes court has acquitted Kosovo's ex-prime minister Ramush Haradinaj and two aides in a retrial on charges of murder and torture during the 1990s war of independence from Belgrade.

"The chamber finds you not guilty on all counts in the indictment," Judge Bakone Justice Moloto told the Hague-based court on Thursday, ordering the men released in a decision that is certain to enrage Belgrade.

The court's public gallery erupted in cries of joy as the acquittals were announced.

Haradinaj, 44 and Idriz Balaj, 41, were being retried on six war-crime charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for allegedly murdering and torturing Serbs and non-Albanians during the 1998-99 war.

The third accused, Lahi Brahimaj, 42, faced four counts for his role in the fight between independence-seeking ethnic Albanian guerrillas and the Belgrade forces of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

The proceedings were broadcast live on a giant screen in the Kosovo capital Pristina, where the news was met by celebration. Haradinaj is considered a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority who had high hopes of an acquittal.

Prosecutors accused the three men of murdering and torturing Serbs and suspected collaborators against the separatist KLA and had demanded at least 20 years prison for all three men.

But judges found that the accused had not taken part in a "joint criminal enterprise" to cleanse the area of ethnic Serbs, and that some witness testimony was unreliable.

Moloto said that one witness may not have been in the Jablanica detention camp where alleged abuses took place and "may have told what he heard from others."

Following one incident of abuse "a KLA soldier apologised for the incident and blamed it on extremist groups within the KLA," the judge said.

"There is no credible evidence that Haradinaj was even aware of the crimes committed at Jablanica," Moloto said.

An acquittal is almost certain to be perceived by Serbia as a new slap in the face after the court earlier this month acquitted Croatian General Ante Gotovina of war crimes against Serbs.

The most senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commanders to be tried, Haradinaj as well as Balaj, his lieutenant and commander of the feared "Black Eagles" unit, were acquitted in April 2008 on 37 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Brahimaj was convicted of torture and sentenced to six years in jail.

Judges however ordered the court's first-ever partial retrial for all three after UN prosecutors appealed the acquittal and Brahimaj's sentence.

Appeals judges said the ICTY's trial chamber "seriously erred in failing to take adequate measures to secure the testimony of certain witnesses" during the original 10-month trial.

Haradinaj is now likely to continue his political career in Kosovo and is expected to run again for prime minister.

However, he is still considered a war criminal by Belgrade and an arrest warrant has been issued against him by Serbia's war crimes prosecutor for his alleged crimes.

In one of the most brutal episodes of the Balkans conflicts in the 1990s, more than 10,000 people died in the fighting.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade fiercely opposes its international recognition.

In Pristina, Kosovo erupted in joy on Thursday as hundreds of ethnic Albanians celebrated the acquittal of former prime minister and rebel chief Ramush Haradinaj of charges of war crimes during the 1990s conflict.

Fireworks erupted throughout the capital Pristina as the verdict was announced in The Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal.

"Kosovo has expected such a decision, Kosovo needs him," said economist Maria Haradinaj, not related to the former prime minister.

Said Shpetim Felmanaj, a former rebel fighter: "We are awaiting his return with joy to lead Kosovo".

Belgrade slammed the verdict - which came after the court in The Hague two weeks ago acquitted Croatian General Ante Gotovina of war crimes against Serbs - as legalising "Mafia rule" because of the alleged witness intimidation.

"The Hague tribunal has legalised Mafia rule in Kosovo, above all, the omerta, the law of silence which still prevails and is stronger than any crime," government spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic told AFP.

Senior Serbian officials had warned that should Haradinaj walk, EU-sponsored talks between Pristina and Belgrade - which still considers Kosovo to be part of Serbia - could be jeopardised.

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Lindsay Lohan arrested on assault charge

ACTRESS Lindsay Lohan is under arrest after police say she hit a woman during an argument at a New York City nightclub.

New York City police say Lohan was placed under arrest at 4am (8pm AEDT) on Thursday and charged with third-degree assault.

They say she got into the argument with another woman at Club Avenue in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

Police allege Lohan struck the woman in face with her hand. The victim did not require medical attention.

Her publicist didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The actress has had frequent brushes with law enforcement.

She was involved in a New York City police investigation in September. She alleged a man had assaulted her in a New York hotel, but charges against the man were later dropped.

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Downton Abbey drives demand for butlers

A SPIKE in demand for household butlers has been attributed to popular British period television drama Downton Abbey.

Recruitment agencies have seen a sharp rise in requests for domestic staff from rich families trying to live like on-screen characters Lord and Lady Grantham, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports.

"There is a trend for the super-rich to want a piece of the lifestyle they see in movies and on programs like Downton Abbey," said Sara Vestin Rahmani, a spokeswoman for London training agency Bespoke Bureau.

"We train butlers and place them with clients, and we have never seen demand like we have seen this year."

The agency has in 2012 found jobs for 430 butlers, which is already double the number placed in 2011 and more than four times the number in 2010.

Requests for British-trained butlers come from as far away as China, Ms Vestin Rahmani said.

However, the services of highly-trained domestic staff do not come cheap, with experienced individuals earning up to STG150,000 ($A230,720).

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Coulson wins legal costs appeal

FORMER News of the World editor Andy Coulson has won his appeal against a High Court ruling that News Group Newspapers (NGN) does not have to pay his legal costs arising from the phone-hacking affair.

Coulson, 44, who resigned in February 2007, sued NGN over the construction of a clause within a severance agreement.

He went to court seeking a declaration that the company, which stopped reimbursement in August last year, "must pay the professional costs and expenses properly incurred" by him "in defending allegations of criminal conduct" during his tenure.

Lord Justice Laws, Lord Justice Sullivan and Lord Justice McCombe, sitting at the Court of Appeal in London, allowed his appeal on Wednesday.

Coulson, who has always denied any wrongdoing, resigned from his position as Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications in January last year, saying that coverage of the scandal was making it too difficult for him to do his job.

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Asian shares slip on US fiscal cliff fears

ASIAN markets fell on Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street, as traders fret US politicians will not agree a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Forex dealers also ran for cover after the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said "little progress" had been made in cross-party talks on the looming tax hikes and spending cuts due to come in on January 1 that would tip the US into recession.

Tokyo slumped 1.22 per cent, or 114.95 points, to close at 9,308.35, Seoul ended 0.65 per cent, or 12.42 points, lower at 1,912.78 while Sydney shed 0.21 per cent, or 9.5 points, to finish at 4,447.3.

Hong Kong was down 0.62 per cent, or 135.05 points, at 21,708.98 and Shanghai closed down 0.89 per cent, or 17.64 points, at 1,973.52.

Reid's comments raised the spectre of another long battle between Republicans and Democrats, similar to last year's row over raising the country's borrowing cap, which led to the United States losing its AAA credit rating.

"The difficulties with solving the US 'fiscal cliff' are coming to a head again and may present a good selling opportunity for investors," said Kenichi Hirano, market analyst at Tachibana Securities.

The news hit Wall Street shares. The Dow ended 0.69 per cent lower, the S&P 500 lost 0.52 per cent and the Nasdaq slid 0.30 per cent.

The losses came despite data showing US consumer confidence rose in November to its highest level since February 2008, while a separate report said home prices increased in September, a fresh sign of recovery in the crucial housing market.

Also Tuesday the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned that failure to reach a deal would likely see the world's number one economy fall back into recession, which would have a global knock-on effect.

And Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said a temporary fix with no clarity on tax and regulatory policy could have destructive effects.

Currency traders have also been spooked, with euro and dollar falling against the yen after enjoying a recent rally on hopes for a US deal, while the Greek bailout success had also been priced in.

The euro bought $US1.2922 and Y105.78 in Asian trade, compared with $US1.2938 and 106.30 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar was at 81.86 yen against Y82.16.

The yen has seen selling pressure in recent weeks after the man expected to become prime minister following next month's election vowed to press for more aggressive monetary easing to lift the economy.

Focus has moved to Washington as Greece debt concerns abate after the country was eventually given long-frozen bailout cash on Tuesday.

After marathon talks in Brussels, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros ($A54.58 billion) in loans and on the need to grant significant debt relief for decades to come.

Greece must still meet a series of agreed conditions but "the decision will certainly reduce the uncertainty and strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece," said European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

On oil markets New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, was down 18 cents to $US87.00 a barrel in the afternoon, and Brent North Sea crude for January was down seven cents at $US109.80 in volatile trade.

Gold was at $US1,740.80 at 1010 GMT compared with $US1,746.42 late Tuesday.

In other markets:

-- Taipei was almost unchanged, edging up 4.73 points to 7,434.93.

Hon Hai Precision added 0.54 per cent to Tw$93.3 while TSMC was 0.42 per cent lower at Tw$95.9.

-- Manila rose 0.85 per cent, or 47.27 points, to 5,633.72.

Dealers welcomed news that the economy grew 7.1 per cent year on year in the three months to September, making it the best performer in Southeast Asia.

Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. gained 1.41 per cent to 2,586 pesos while SM Investments Corp. rose 0.12 per cent to 842.50 pesos.

-- Wellington ended flat, edging up 2.55 points to 4,012.16.

Air New Zealand added 2.0 per cent to NZ$1.27 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare climbed 2.4 per cent to NZ$2.59.

-- Jakarta ended down 0.75 per cent, or 32.69 points, at 4,304.823.

Car maker Astra International dropped 5.13 per cent to 7,400 rupiah while tin miner Timah fell 2.19 per cent to 1,340 rupiah.

-- Singapore closed flat, slipping 0.14 points at 3,011.77.

Commodities supplier Olam International tumbled 3.85 per cent to Sg$1.50 after issuing a 45-page rebuttal to a report by a US research firm that it was in danger of collapsing.

-- Bangkok gained 0.22 per cent, or 2.91 points, to 1,299.94.

Electricity firm EGCO lost 0.39 per cent to 127.50 baht, while oil company PTT added 0.64 per cent to 316.00 baht.

-- Kuala Lumpur shares rose 0.52 per cent, or 8.35 points, to end at 1,606.52.

Plantations giant Sime Darby ended 2.7 per cent lower at 9.00 ringgit while Malaysian Airlines fell 16.8 per cent to 0.84 ringgit.

-- Mumbai was closed for a public holiday.

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Clashes as Egypt sinks into crisis

EGYPT plunged deeper into its worst political crisis since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi took office in June, with massive opposition rallies nationwide signalling a new "revolution" nearly two years after Hosni Mubarak was toppled.

Police fired tear gas into Cairo's Tahrir Square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce Mr Morsi's power grab.

Clashes that have been erupting on streets just off Tahrir near the US embassy spilled into the square, with canisters falling into the crowd forcing protesters to run and sending clouds of tear gas over the tents housing the demonstrators.

The outskirts of the square have seen sporadic clashes now entering their ninth day, in what started as an anniversary protest to mark one year since deadly confrontations with police in the same area.

Clashes also raged through the night between supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla and the canal city of Port Said.

In Mahalla, 132 people were injured while 27 were hurt in Port Said, medical sources said. According to a security official, calm in both towns had been restored by morning.

Tuesday's huge turnout for a protest rally in the iconic square in the heart of Cairo, as well as in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and most of Egypt's 27 provinces, marked the largest mobilisation yet against the president.

"The revolution returns to the square," headlined the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar.

"Revolution to save the revolution," said the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm in a bold front-page headline.

Protesters are furious at the decree that Mr Morsi announced last Thursday allowing him to "issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal", which effectively placed him beyond judicial oversight.

The move helped consolidate the long-divided opposition, with leading dissidents former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei and ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa uniting with former presidential candidates in the face of Morsi and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Mr Morsi ran for office.

The Brotherhood and the secular-leaning opposition had stood side by side in Cairo's Tahrir Square in 2011 as they fought to bring down Mubarak and his regime.

But since the strongman's downfall in February last year, the Islamist movement has been accused of monopolising politics after dominating parliament - following vows not field candidates for a majority of the seats-- and backtracking on a promise not to nominate a presidential candidate.

The movement went on to dominate a committee tasked with drafting the country's new constitution, prompting a string of walkouts by liberals, leftists and churches who say the panel fails to represent all Egyptians.

Mr Morsi's decree also bans any judicial body from dissolving the controversial panel, putting him on a collision course with the judiciary. Several courts have suspended work in protest.

The decree is temporary, valid only until a new constitution is in place, and Mr Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party says the measures are aimed at speeding up a seemingly endless transition.

US officials said Washington was closely following the drama unfolding in Egypt, with a warning that Cairo could put vast amounts of international aid at stake if it veers off the democratic course.

The situation was evolving, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"I think we don't yet know what the outcome of those are going to be. But that's a far cry from an autocrat just saying, my way or the highway," she said.

Ms Nuland stressed that "we want to see Egypt continuing on a reform path to ensure that any money forthcoming from the IMF truly supports a stabilisation and a revitalisation of a dynamic economy based on market principles."

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said Egypt can still get its $US4.8 billion ($4.6 billion) loan, agreed last week, despite the turmoil as long as there is "no major change" in its reform commitments.

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Gunmen kills Saudi official in Yemen

YEMENI security officials say gunmen have killed a member of a Saudi Arabian military delegation in the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi military official was traveling by car to his embassy on Wednesday morning when he was shot by gunmen in another car.

The officials say the gunmen were wearing army uniforms. No further details were immediately available.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

The incident is the latest attack on security forces in the country, though previous killings have targeted Yemeni officials.

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OECD confirms Australia's resilience: Swan

TREASURER Wayne Swan says the Australian economy is set to grow at twice the average pace of the 34 economies that make up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mr Swan says the OECD's latest economic outlook released on Tuesday confirms the resilience of the local economy in the face of challenging global conditions.

"We recognise that not everyone is on easy street, and some sectors of the economy face big challenges," he said in a statement.

"This report from the OECD confirms our economy remains very resilient in the face of global headwinds, unlike most other advanced economies."

While the Paris-based institution has slashed its 2013 prediction for Australian growth to three per cent, from 3.7 per cent six months ago, its compares with the OECD average of just 1.4 per cent expected for the same year.

The OECD expects Australia will have grown by 3.7 per cent in 2012, while it is forecasting 3.2 per cent in 2014.

Mr Swan said the latest forecasts were consistent with the government's own projections contained in the mid-year budget review.

"The Australian economy has now completed 21 years of economic growth, more than twice as long as any other advanced economy," Mr Swan said.

"While some sectors continue to face headwinds from a strong dollar and weak global demand, the OECD expects that Australia's economic growth will be underpinned by strong investment, solid consumption and a lift in export volumes."

The report also highlights significant downside risks to the global outlook, particularly from the euro area crisis and the looming US 'fiscal cliff'.

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Police probe fatal German workshop fire

INVESTIGATORS are combing through the charred debris of a workshop for the disabled in Germany, where a fire claimed 14 lives.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that those killed by smoke inhalation were 13 disabled adults and one staff member of the Catholic charity-run facility in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany.

Germany was shocked by the tragedy on Monday, which started with an explosion in a storage room and saw people flee in panic from the woodwork and metalcraft workshop in the city of Titisee-Neustadt.

A patient protection group demanded tougher fire safety rules in disabled care facilities, with one group calling current standards "unbearable", as it emerged the facility had no sprinkler system.

Police cautioned that "there is no information yet on the cause of the accident as a meticulous investigation has yet to be completed".

They were to give a press conference later to identify the dead.

The blaze claimed the lives of 13 people with disabilities - 10 women aged from 28 to 68 and three men aged 45 to 68 - and killed a female caregiver aged 50. Nine people were seriously injured.

Survivors and relatives of the dead were still receiving counselling, and the city of Titisee-Neustadt was planning a memorial service for those killed, said its mayor Armin Hinterseh.

The facility for people with mental or multiple disabilities is run by the Catholic charity Caritas, with the aim of integrating handicapped people and giving them a meaningful occupation.

Caritas president Peter Neher told German broadcaster ZDF that emergency drills were regularly held at the site, but that fire safety regulations would be reviewed.

"Of course, after a catastrophe like this ... all operational plans, all emergency measures need to be reviewed," he said.

Patient protection group the German Hospice Foundation demanded that all such facilities be fitted with sprinkler systems within four years, in comments in the daily Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.

"What applies to German airports must also apply to disabled care facilities," said its board member Eugen Brysch, urging speedy government action and asking facilities to move even quickly.

"They should take safety into their own hands," he said, labelling current conditions "unbearable" and pointing out that fires were a regular occurrence in disabled facilities that could be prevented.

The government expert on such care facilities, Willi Zylajew, denied there were systemic problems, saying: "Fire regulations for care and disabled facilities are extremely high and perfectly adequate and are usually followed correctly."

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Syrian planes bomb olive press factory

Syrian rebels have cut off the regime's supply lines to Aleppo from neighbouring Raqa province. Source: AAP

SYRIAN warplanes have bombed an olive press factory in the country's north, killing and wounding dozens of people, including farmers who were waiting to convert their olives to oil, activists say.

Two activist groups - the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees (LCC) - say the factory is west of the city of Idlib.

The LCC says at least 20 people were killed and many others wounded in the raid, while the Observatory said "tens were killed or wounded."

Both groups depend on a network of activists on the ground around the country.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been launching intense air raids on rebels in recent months, mostly in Idlib, the nearby province of Aleppo, Deir el-Zour to the east and suburbs of the capital Damascus.

The most recent air raids have killed hundreds of people, including eight children on Sunday in the village of Deir al-Asafir near the capital Damascus.

Olive oil is a main staple in Syria. Tens of thousands of tons are produced annually.

Fadi al-Yassin, an activist based in Idlib, told The Associated Press by telephone that dozens of people had gathered to have their olives pressed when the warplanes struck, causing a large number of casualties.

It was not immediately clear why the olive press was targeted. "It was a massacre carried out by the regime." said al-Yassin.

"Now is the season to press oil," said al-Yassin, noting that since many olive press factories are not functioning in the area because of the fighting in the region. A large number of people were at the one near the city of Idlib.

"Functioning olive press factories are packed with people these days," he said.

The Observatory also reported heavy fighting on the southern edge of the strategic rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, captured from government troops last month.

The town is on the highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, a commercial centre that has been the scene of clashes between rebels and troops since July.

The Observatory and al-Yassin said air raids on Maaret al-Numan killed at least five rebels.

The sound of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades echoed throughout Damascus on Tuesday, as rebels carried out at least 10 hit-and-run attacks on army checkpoints in the Syrian capital, activists reported.

One blast targeted a key crossing in the Roukin al-Eddine neighbourhood, wounding at least three government soldiers, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"We are now focusing our attacks inside the strongholds of the tyrant regime inside Damascus," Abu Abdo, a member of the hardline group al-Nusra Front, which is fighting alongside the opposition Free Syrian Army, told dpa.

The state-run news agency SANA also reported heavy clashes between rebels and troops near Damascus airport, without giving further details.

US-based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that evidence showed government airstrikes using cluster bombs killed at least 11 children near the capital on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the newly formed opposition coalition named human rights activist Walid Safur, 62, as its "ambassador" in London, said a statement on its Facebook page.

The National Coalition of the Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces earlier appointed Mounzir Makhous, an academic, as its envoy to France.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos is due to arrive in Beirut later Tuesday to assess the situation of Syrian refugees, the UN said in a statement.

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Puppy dealer fined $34,000

A BACKYARD dog dealer has been permanently banned from keeping more than one dog and fined $34,000 after being convicted of 17 animal cruelty charges.

Fay Marie Armstrong, who kept dogs at her home in the Perth suburb of Spearwood and a rural property, was also ordered to pay court costs of $9507 after charges were brought against her by WA Consumer Protection in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The charges followed the execution of a search warrant on two properties in October 2010, which found dogs and puppies in poor health and living in appalling conditions.

The court heard seven dogs were kept in small airline travel crates in one bedroom of the Spearwood property, where there was a strong urine smell and little fresh air.

All the animals were malnourished and dehydrated and one was suffering from a serious eye injury.

At the rural property, inspectors found kennels covered in faeces and water bowls polluted with urine, faeces and dead flies.

WA consumer protection commissioner Anne Driscoll said keeping animals in such conditions was unacceptable.

"We welcome the Courts decision to ban Ms Armstrong from keeping more than one dog which curtails her dog selling activities," Ms Driscoll said.

"We would caution consumers to only deal with reputable breeders and demand to see a veterinarians report or to have pets they plan to purchase examined or certified by a veterinarian to help ensure they are healthy at the time of sale."

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Bradley Manning back in court

AN Army private charged in the biggest security breach in US history is trying to avoid trial by claiming he's already been punished by confinement conditions that a United Nations torture investigator called cruel, inhuman and degrading.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is expected to testify about his treatment during a pretrial hearing starting Tuesday at Fort Meade. The young intelligence analyst has never spoken publicly about his nearly nine months in the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia, from July 2010 to April 2011. The hearing is scheduled to run through Sunday.

Manning was confined alone in a small cell for at least 23 hours a day, according to documents filed by the defence. For several days in January 2011, all his clothes were taken from him each night until he was issued a suicide-prevention smock, military officials have said.

The Defence Department has said Manning's treatment properly conformed to his classification as a maximum-custody detainee who posed a risk of injury to himself or others. He was moved in April 2011 to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he has a medium-security classification.

Publicity about Manning's treatment helped bring worldwide attention to his case. In March, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez presented a report to the UN's Human Rights Council in which he criticised the US government for refusing his repeated requests for a private visit with Manning.

Although they never spoke, "I am persuaded that Pfc. Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture, Mendez said.

Mendez said he doesn't know if Manning's treatment amounted to torture, as Manning supporters claim.

Military judges can dismiss all charges if pretrial punishment is particularly egregious, but that rarely happens. The usual remedy is credit at sentencing for time served, said Lisa M. Windsor, a retired Army colonel and former Army judge advocate now in private practice in Washington.

"I think the likelihood of him getting any charges dropped is extremely remote," she said.

If the military judge refuses to dismiss the case, defence lawyer David Coombs has requested 10-for-1 credit for 258 days of supposedly punitive confinement. That would knock a little more than seven years off Manning's sentence if he is convicted. He faces the possibility of life imprisonment if convicted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, and 162 years on the 21 other counts. His trial is set to begin Feb. 4.

Jeff Paterson, a leader of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said the credit would be meaningless if Manning gets a lengthy sentence.

"If that credit is meaningless, then that signals that you can actually torture any personnel or detainee without any actual consequences," Paterson said.

Manning is accused of sending to the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and more than 250,000 diplomatic cables while working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010.

The 24-year-old allegedly told a confidant-turned-informant in an online chat in 2010 that he leaked the information because "I want people to see the truth."

Manning has offered to take responsibility for the leak by pleading guilty to reduced charges. The military judge hasn't yet ruled on the offer. It is not part of a plea deal, and it would not preclude prosecutors from pursuing the original charges.

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Ehud Barak: war hero, political stalwart

ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who has stunned the country by announcing his retirement from politics, is a stalwart of the Jewish state's politics and a former prime minister with a legendary military career.

A liberal leader who once headed Labour, Barak nonetheless agreed in March 2009 to lead his party into the hawkish rightwing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His sudden decision on Monday to conclude his storied career at the age of 70 came after a week-long air campaign in Gaza that the Israeli media said Barak was keen to conclude by signing up to an Egyptian-brokered truce.

Some in the government opposed that truce, and Barak has come under increasing pressure from Netanyahu's Likud party, much of which opposed his continuing position as defence minister.

"I have decided to resign from political life and not participate in the upcoming Knesset elections," Barak told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

"I will finish my duties as defence minister with the formation of the next government in three months.

Barak told the press conference he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The shock announcement came amid speculation that Barak - anxious to break ties with the more rightwing leaders of the ruling coalition - would announce his decision to join another party ahead of the snap January 22 elections.

His retirement also coincides with Israeli attempts to push the international community to exert more pressure on Iran over its contested nuclear program.

Israel and much of the West believes the program is an attempt to build a nuclear weapon, and Netanyahu and Barak have been among the loudest voices in Israel warning that the state could take pre-emptive military action against Tehran.

First appointed defence minister in June 2007, Barak brought Labour into Netanyahu's government after his party was drubbed in 2009 elections.

In 2011, he quit the party where he had spent his entire political career, forming the tiny Independence faction to stay in the government and his post as defence minister.

It was the second major comeback for the former chief-of-staff, who withdrew from politics altogether after his 1999-2001 premiership, having tried and failed to make peace with then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

He had offered unpopular concessions on east Jerusalem, wanted by the Palestinians as the capital of a future state, only to see Arafat spurn the offer and Israeli voters punish him with a resounding endorsement of veteran rightwing challenger Ariel Sharon.

As prime minister, Barak oversaw Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after a two-decade occupation.

In 2007, he won back Labour's leadership from Amir Peretz after the latter resigned as defence minister following Israel's disastrous war with Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah the previous year.

Barak, who is of European extraction and whose family name at birth was Brog, was born in a kibbutz that his parents helped to found.

He holds degrees in physics, mathematics and systems analysis and is known to be keen on literature, poetry and music.

His military career was legendary.

In one episode he disguised himself as a woman on a commando raid in Lebanon to assassinate three senior Palestinian militants.

He also took part in a commando assault in Tel Aviv in 1972 on a Belgian passenger plane hijacked by Palestinian guerrillas.

And he participated in the 1976 raid to free Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, that saw the death of Yonatan Netanyahu, a brother of Israel's current prime minister.

Critics say Barak never really hung up his uniform for the civilian clothes of a politician. As prime minister, he infuriated Labour colleagues by making decisions without consulting them.

Before his split with Labour, party members publicly expressed their anger over his decision to remain in the government despite the failure of peace talks.

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Asian markets mixed

ASIAN markets were mixed on Monday as investors awaited the outcome of a meeting later in the day aimed at finalising a bailout deal for Greece, amid a simmering budgetary impasse in Washington.

Tokyo rose 0.24 percent, or 22.14 points, to 9,388.94, Sydney gained 0.25 percent, or 11.2 points, to close at 4,424.2 but Seoul ended 0.15 percent, or 2.82 points, lower at 1,908.51.

Hong Kong closed down 0.24 percent, or 52.17 points, at 21,861.81 while Shanghai slid 0.49 percent, or 9.92 points, to finish at 2,017.46.

Eurozone finance ministers were to meet later Monday for their third effort to agree on unlocking a 31.2-billion-euro ($40.5-billion) slice of aid for Greece as it teeters on the verge of bankruptcy as nervous investors hope for positive news.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday offered some hope in the long-running saga to reach a deal for Athens, saying that ministers were "very close to a solution".

"I don't know if there will be an agreement tomorrow. I know it is possible and I want one," he said.

Europe's main stock markets fell at the start of trading Monday ahead of the meeting on Greece, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies down 0.26 percent at 5,803.98 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.31 percent to 7,286.69 points and in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 0.40 percent to 3,514.86.

The mixed Asian trade came after US stocks rallied Friday on signs that holiday retail sales were off to a good start, with Walmart calling it the "best ever" Black Friday, the traditional discount sales day that kicks off the holiday shopping season.

That helped boost the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.35 percent to 13,009.68.

Investors were also looking out for news of a compromise in Washington that will avert the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax hikes, which will likely send the economy into recession if it comes into effect.

Finding a new spending deal to replace the package, scheduled to come into effect on January 1, has been elusive in the bitterly-divided US Congress.

"Certainly from our perspective, we are sceptical about whether there has really been any progress in discussions regarding the US fiscal cliff," Angus Gluskie, managing director of White Funds Management in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires.

On currency markets the euro lost ground after hitting a seven-month high on the yen.

The single currency bought $1.2965 and 106.38 yen from $1.2973 and 106.90 yen in New York on Friday.

The euro had climbed above 107 yen in earlier Asian trade Monday but the unit quickly fell.

The dollar was also weaker at 82.01 yen against 82.40 yen in US trade.

However, the yen has been under pressure recently on expectations the country's central bank will unveil a new round of monetary easing next month.

Oil markets were also affected by Greek debt fears and the US fiscal cliff, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, was down four cents to $88.24 a barrel in the afternoon, and Brent North Sea crude also for January eased 26 cents to $111.12.

"Having just enjoyed an unexpectedly strong week, global markets remain on a knife edge with uncertainty over Greece and the US taking centre stage again," said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets Singapore.

Gold was at $1,747.01 at 1030 GMT compared with $1,734.47 late Friday.

In other markets:

-- Wellington rose 3.69 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,012.03, its highest close since January 2008.

Contact Energy gained 1.38 percent to NZ$5.15 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 1.63 percent to NZ$2.50.

-- Taipei was up 81.36 points, or 1.11 percent, at 7,407.37.

Leading smartphone maker HTC added 4.58 percent to Tw$251.0 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.87 percent higher at Tw$92.8.

-- Manila rose 0.49 percent, or 27.08 points, to close at a record high of 5,579.42.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.4 percent to 2,510 pesos and Philippine National Bank increased 1.9 percent to 85.90 pesos.

-- Singapore closed 0.51 percent, or 15.22 points, higher at 3,004.50.

Singapore Telecom rose 0.64 percent to finish at Sg$3.16 and property developer CapitaLand ended 0.59 percent higher at Sg$3.43.

-- Jakarta ended up 0.61 percent, or 26.361 points, at 4,375.169.

Retailer Ramayana Lestari Sentosa jumped 11.63 percent to 1,440 rupiah and tin firm Timah rose 2.94 percent to 1,400 rupiah.

-- Kuala Lumpur fell 0.40 percent, or 6.44 points, to end at 1,607.88.

Axiata Group shed 2.0 percent to 5.75 ringgit, while CIMB Group Holdings dropped 1.2 percent to 7.58.

-- Bangkok gained 0.71 percent, or 9.15 points, to 1,290.85.

Coal producer Banpu jumped 5.35 percent to 394.00 baht, while Siam Cement lost 0.77 percent to 387.00 baht.

-- Mumbai rose 0.16 percent, or 30.44 points, to 18,537.01.

GSK Consumer Healthcare, the local arm of GlaxoSmithKline, jumped 20 percent to 3,651.8 rupees on news that the parent firm planned to increase its stake in the local firm to 75 percent.

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Opposition again slams carbon tax

OPPOSITION senators are railing against the carbon tax and rising electricity prices in debate on legislation that dumps a $15 floor price.

The upper house is considering a package of bills tying Australia's carbon pricing mechanism to the European Union emissions trading scheme.

As well as linking the schemes, the legislation dumps a $15 floor price that would have applied once the carbon price moved to a floating market-based mechanism in 2015.

Nationals senator Ron Boswell said renewable energy targets and the carbon price were driving up electricity prices.

"Australia is in an expensive energy hole right now because ... of the carbon tax, and it is time we stop digging," Senator Boswell told the Senate.

Labor senator Lisa Singh said carbon pricing was one of the most significant changes to the Australian economy.

"It will have an important and enduring effect on the way business calculate the environmental cost of their activities," she said.

Senator Singh said Australia wasn't going alone and, from next year, 850 million people would live in places where emitters paid.

"Emissions trading is the preferred method of carbon reduction across most of the world because it is easiest for business and the most efficient and effective policy lever," she said.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he would not support the bills because they "make a bad situation worse".

"I believe it's a bad policy. I believe what the government is doing is building on an already shaky foundation," he said, adding that he had supported an alternative pricing scheme.

NSW Nationals senator John Williams said the electorate had not voted for a carbon tax.

Senator Williams said four out of 150 MPs did not have a mandate to introduce such a tax.

"They were just complicit in this government betraying the Australian people," he told the chamber on Monday.

"The Greens, Mr Wilkie, of course Mr Windsor and Mr Oakeshott.

"People will be able to square the ledger at the next election in those seats."

The NSW senator said the carbon tax would go under an elected coalition government.

"It is a $1 trillion tax, a huge amount of money, there is a $1 trillion tax on our economy while the rest of the world are doing very, very little," Senator Williams said.

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12 dead as Somalia Shebab attack town

AT least 12 people are dead after a battle in which Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab fighters briefly took control of a small town on the Kenyan border, military officials say.

Heavy fighting broke out late on Saturday afternoon in Bulohawo and lasted into the evening, with residents confirming the Shebab took full control of the town for a few hours before Somali troops were able to reinforce their positions.

"The violent elements attacked Bulohawo in late afternoon and after heavy fighting our forces defeated them and inflicted heavy losses on them," Diyad Abdi Kalil, a Somali military commander in the area, told AFP by phone on Sunday.

Casualty estimates varied but most sources agreed at least a dozen people, most of them fighters for the two sides, had been killed.

"The Shebab attacked the town from three directions and penetrated the barracks of the Somali troops after heavy fighting. They briefly took control of the town but were later forced back. Twelve people, most of them the fighters from the two sides, died," said resident Sadik Mohamed.

Another, Hussein Mahat Abdulle, confirmed he had seen bodies in government uniform as well as bodies of what looked like Shebab fighters.

Kalil said his men had killed "nearly 20" Shebab but a spokesman for the Islamists dismissed the claim and said his men had killed 15 Somali government troops.

"Today was a victorious day for the mujahedeen fighters who carried out several military operations, the main attack was against the apostate militants helping the infidels at Bulohawo," said Shebab spokesman Sheik Abdiasis Abu Mus'ab.

"The Mujahedeen fighters penetrated their defences and took control of the city for many hours. Around 15 of the apostate militia were killed," he said, referring to the Somali government troops fighting alongside regional armies to overcome the Shebab.

Bulohawo, which lies just across the border from the town of Mandera in the extreme northeast of Kenya, has been calm since, residents said.

Officials said two civilians in Mandera town had been hit by gunfire during the fighting.

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Officer's arm broken in alleged assault

A MAN is under hospital guard after allegedly assaulting a woman and injuring four police officers during a domestic violence incident at Mosman.

About 9.30am (AEDT) on Sunday police were called to a unit in Muston Street after a 31-year-old woman reported a possible broken elbow in a domestic assault.

Officers who went to the unit where the 33-year-old male suspect smashed a window.

Police say he bit, punched and spat at them.

A leading senior constable suffered a broken arm, a female officer suffered soft tissue damage to her knee and a probationary constable was bitten.

The man was charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault, two counts of malicious damage and intimidation and resist arrest.

He was refused bail and will appear at Central Local Court on Monday.

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Scientists create melt-free chocolate

British scientists have developed a new melt-proof recipe for the desirable cocoa treat, ideal to withstand a warm Aussie summer.

The heat-tolerant chocolate, developed by Cadbury engineers at a plant near Birmingham, remains solid even when exposed to temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius for more than three hours, reports British newspaper The Mail on Sunday.

The secret to keeping a solid block is in the production process, specifically a step called conching, when metal beads grind together ingredients.

Scientists have developed a way of breaking down sugar which reduces the amount of fat which attaches to the sweet particles.

"We have found that it is possible to instil temperature-tolerant properties by refining the conched chocolate after the conching step," Cadbury wrote in its patent application for the new product.

"Production of temperature-tolerant chocolate would allow production of chocolate-containing products more suitable for hot climates, particularly in less economically-developed countries where the supply chain is ill-equipped to handle temperature fluctuations."

Critics of the new melt-proof chocolate have already emerged, with some claiming the changes would not be possible without altering the flavour.

"The melting point is what makes the bar so attractive, as that is what releases the flavour. If it melts at a higher temperature, it will take longer for it to melt in the mouth," came an admission from Cadbury management firm Kraft Foods spokesman Tony Bilsborough.

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Two Gold Coast homes on fire

TWO homes are on fire on the Gold Coast.

The blaze started about 8.30pm on Sunday in a home on Eucalyptus Avenue, Varsity Lakes, and quickly spread to a neighbouring house.

Fire crews are on the scene and three people are being treated for smoke inhalation.

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