French President Hollande in Mali push

French forces now face the daunting task of building long-term security in Mali, the US says. Source: AAP

PRESIDENT Francois Hollande arrived in Mali to push for African troops to replace French forces who led a lightning advance that drove back radical Islamists from the country's desert north.

The French leader's whirlwind tour came as troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of the radicals who seized control last year after a coup, raising fears that an area larger than France could become a safehaven for al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

Welcoming Hollande on Saturday, thousands of people gathered in the central square of the fabled desert city of Timbuktu, dancing to the beat of drums, a forbidden activity during the extremists' 10-month occupation.

"The women of Timbuktu will thank Francois Hollande forever," said 53-year-old Fanta Diarra Toure.

"We must tell him that he has cut down the tree but still has to tear up its roots," she added.

Hollande was met by French and Malian troops in Timbuktu, whose sandy streets were patrolled by armoured vehicles, after starting his trip in the central garrison town of Sevare, where he joined up with Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore.

Hollande, whose surprise decision to intervene in Mali three weeks ago has won broad support at home and made him a hero in the former French colony, is due to visit the 700-year-old mud mosque of Djingareyber and the Ahmed Baba library for ancient manuscripts.

Both sites were targeted by the Islamist occupiers, who destroyed two saints' tombs at Djingareyber that they considered heretical and burned some priceless manuscripts at the library before they fled the French-led troops who reclaimed the city Monday.

With the rebels ousted from all major towns but Kidal, France is keen to hand over its military operation to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed in the country - which the United Nations is considering turning into a formal UN peacekeeping operation.

But there are mounting warnings that Mali will need long-term help and fears that the Islamists will now wage a guerrilla campaign from the sparsely populated desert in the north.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday that French forces had rolled back the Islamist militants "much faster" than the United States had expected but now faced the daunting task of building long-term security in the region.

"The challenge now is to make sure that you can maintain that security and that you are not overstretched and that, ultimately, as you begin to pull back, that the other African nations are prepared to move in and fill the gap of providing security," Panetta told AFP.

In Kidal, a first contingent of Chadian troops has now entered the town, a Malian security source said Friday, and French soldiers are stationed at the airport, which they captured Wednesday.

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Uzi submachine gun seized during raids

POLICE have seized an Uzi submachine gun and ammunition during a series of raids in Sydney.

Officers from the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad and local police executed a search warrant at a business about 8.30am (AEDT) on Friday at Campbelltown, in the city's southwest.

They seized the 9mm Uzi, a magazine containing approximately 15 rounds, a further 40 rounds of 9mm bullets and a small amount of cannabis.

During a second raid at nearby Minto officers seized a ski boat with trailer, more cannabis and drug paraphernalia.

Police issued a 33-year-old Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang member with a court attendance notice for cannabis possession.

The Uzi will undergo ballistic and forensic examinations while inquiries continue about the ownership of the firearm.

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Death penalty for some India rape cases

INDIA'S cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape and murder in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.

A government-appointed panel recommended the changes to ministers after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later.

The case ignited nationwide demonstrations by protesters demanding better safety for women.

The changes, which must be approved by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law, include doubling the minimum sentence for gang-rape and imposing the death penalty when the victim is killed or left in a vegetative state.

"We have taken swift action and hope these steps will make women feel safer in the country," Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told reporters late on Friday.

"This is a progressive piece of legislation and is consistent with the felt sensitivities of the nation in the aftermath of the outrageous gang-rape," he added.

On Saturday, the gang-rape victim's brother praised the cabinet's decision to make sentences tougher for attackers, calling it a "positive initiative", according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The changes to the rape laws were expected to be approved by Mukherjee as early as this weekend but must be ratified by parliament or they will lapse.

Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang-rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years from 10 and can be extended to life without parole.

Under the current law, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years.

The cabinet has also created a new set of offences such as voyeurism and stalking that will be included in the new law.

Five men are being tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi on charges of murder, kidnapping and rape in connection with the death of the student, who died from her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she had been sent for further treatment.

A sixth suspect faces trial in a juvenile court.

The physiotherapy student was assaulted on a bus she had boarded with a male companion as they returned home from watching a film in an upmarket shopping mall.

India says it only imposes the death penalty in the "rarest of rare cases".

Three months ago, it hanged the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks - the country's first execution in eight years.

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Defiant Iran showcases defence advances

IRAN has trumpeted military, space and nuclear advances in a series of announcements coinciding with a new bid by world powers to revive stalled talks with Tehran over its atomic ambitions.

In an unveiling ceremony inside a hangar on Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled a futuristic-looking fighter jet he said ranks among the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, media reports said.

Code-named the Qaher (Conqueror) F-313 and shaped similar to stealth bombers, the grey warplane was designed and built domestically, Ahmadinejad told an audience of defence ministry top brass.

It "is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world," he said while insisting the F-313 was "a deterrent" meant to send a "message of peace" - despite its aggressive name.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted in media as saying the plane boasted a very low radar signature, and that "advanced materials" were used to build it.

The unveiling comes as Iran marks the 34th anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which replaced the US-backed shah with an Islamic regime.

It traditionally uses the anniversary period to showcase military, space and nuclear advances, against a backdrop of international sanctions.

Tehran is locked in a showdown with the UN Security Council over its disputed nuclear activities, including sensitive uranium enrichment which the West suspects is part of a military programme, despite Iranian denials.

The resumption of talks between Iran and world powers aimed at resolving international concerns over its activities have stalled for months.

Iranian pronouncements of achievements have increased in recent years, as Tehran desperately aims to prove the West's embargo on its military, technology and economy have failed to dent its determination.

On January 28, Iran said it sent a monkey into space to an altitude of 120km for a sub-orbital flight, challenging Security Council sanctions against the development of its ballistic programme.

But Iran considers its space programme as strategic and non-negotiable, echoing its stance on its nuclear activities.

The US cautiously reacted to the news, saying it could confirm it. But it said that if true, the launch violated UN resolutions.

On January 23, Iran had informed the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency of intentions to install more modern enrichment equipment at Natanz, one of its main nuclear sites.

Two new Iranian space projects are expected to be announced later on Saturday.

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Blast outside US embassy in Ankara

TWO security guards were killed and several others were wounded on Friday in an explosion outside the US embassy in Ankara that damaged nearby buildings, a police officer says.

Police cordoned off the street in the Cankaya neighbourhood where many other state institutions and embassies are also located.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

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Newborn twin cancer op 'UK first'

A PIONEERING operation to save the life of a tiny twin as she was born with a tumour on her neck the size of an orange is a UK first, doctors have said.

A team in Sheffield said it was a "race against time" to secure an airway for Isabel Roberts as the cancerous growth was so big it was crushing her throat.

Isabel's tumour weighed 0.6lb (0.27 kgs) - a sixth of her 3lb 9oz weight when she was born.

The team found it was pressing down so hard on her airway she would not have been able to breathe if she had been born in the normal way.

"It was definitely the most stressful few minutes of my career," one of the doctors said.

Maureen Roberts first gave birth to Isabel's twin sister Alexandra.

Doctors said this was by caesarean section and did not cause any problems.

But the surgical team from Sheffield Children's Hospital and Sheffield's Jessops maternity hospital were faced with a much more complex situation with Isabel.

They had to free her head from the uterus, allowing her to continue getting oxygen from the umbilical cord as they fitted a tube down her constricted throat to enable her to start breathing normally.

Dr Ayman Eissa, the consultant anaesthetist at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust who found and secured Isabel's airway during the "exit procedure", said: "As soon as the baby's head was out of the uterus it was a race against time.

"We estimate the placenta will continue to supply oxygen through the cord for up to five minutes, but you can never be sure, it could break off at any time.

"The baby was so small and the tumour so big, it was a very difficult job to secure the airway. The relief when I secured the tube was unimaginable. It was definitely the most stressful few minutes of my career."

The Children's Hospital believes Isabel, who is now 16 weeks old, is the first twin baby to undergo this rare procedure in the UK.

Her tumour was removed 10 days after she was born and specialists believe she has every chance of making a full recovery.

Mrs Roberts, 35, and her husband Simon, 29, from Hoyland, Barnsley, are now back home in Hoyland, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, with their twin daughters.

The couple have two other daughters - Sarah, 16, and Olivia, 11.

They said they found out Isabel had an abnormal mass at an ultrasound scan 33 weeks into the pregnancy.

Mrs Roberts said: "The few weeks leading up to and after the twins' arrival were a blur, it's crazy to think just how much has happened to my baby. I can remember walking into the operating theatre to have the caesarean and not knowing what was going to have happened when I woke up."

Neil Bateman, the consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon, who removed Isabel's tumour said: "The tumour was sitting right on the trachea and was very close to her major arteries.

"It was tricky to remove, but I managed to get it all.

"When we weighed the tumour it accounted for one sixth of her entire body weight. It is very rare for a baby to develop a tumour of this size in the womb."

Tests showed the tumour was cancerous and Isabel was put on a course of chemotherapy at the Children's Hospital after her birth, which is continuing.

Mr Roberts said: "Isabel looked so much better after Mr Bateman removed the tumour. Her head was not forced back anymore, she looked like a normal baby.

"Then we found out she had cancer, it was unbelievable."

But Dr Anna Jenkins, who is treating Isabel, said she should recover fully.

She said: "It is very rare for a baby to be born with such a large cancerous tumour.

"She is coping well with treatment. The cancer hasn't spread and we are expecting her to make a full recovery."

Mrs Roberts said: "I was really nervous going home for the first time without the support of the nurses, but it was also such a relief and meant Isabel was getting better and we could be a family.

"We only have to go to the hospital every three weeks for chemotherapy at the moment, and she's getting stronger every day."

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Former NYC mayor Ed Koch dies

FORMER New York Mayor Ed Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during three City Hall terms, has died at age 88.

Spokesman George Arzt says Koch died on Friday morning of congestive heart failure.

In City Hall, Koch embodied New York for the rest of the world. He won a national reputation with his feisty style and his trademark question, "How'm I doing?"

During his years as mayor, from 1978 to 1989, his tight fiscal policies pulled the city out of severe financial difficulties.

But homelessness and racial tensions soared and critics charged that City Hall's responses were ineffective.

His mark on the city was set in steel when the Queensboro Bridge, connecting Manhattan to Queens, was renamed in Koch's honour in 2011.

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Aussie DJs won't be charged over hoax call

BRITISH prosecutors said they would not bring charges over a hoax call by two Australian radio DJs to the hospital where Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine was being treated.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday there was no evidence to support a charge of manslaughter, despite the fact that Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46, apparently committed suicide after answering the call.

It added that while there was some evidence of possible offences under data protection laws "no further investigation is required because any potential prosecution would not be in the public interest".

Malcolm McHaffie, Deputy Head of Special Crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, said police had handed them a file in December and asked advice about whether a prosecution should be brought.

He added: "It is not possible to extradite individuals from Australia in respect of the potential offences in question.

"However misguided, the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank."

"The consequences in this case were very sad. We send our sincere condolences to Jacintha Saldanha's family."

Radio hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian have since been taken off air by the Austereo network following the call, which resulted in details of Catherine's recovery from severe morning sickness being revealed on air.

The pair also received death threats over the call, in which they posed as Queen Elizabeth II, William's father Prince Charles, and one of the queen's corgi dogs.

An inquest heard that Saldanha, a mother of two, was found hanged in staff accommodation at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in central London and there were no suspicious circumstances over her death.

She also had marks on her wrist.

Saldanha left three notes, one of which reportedly criticised colleagues over her treatment at the hospital.

Australia's media watchdog has opened an investigation into the call.

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Bushfire threatens Vic ski infrastructure

AN out-of-control bushfire burning near the Victorian ski fields has prompted resort staff to use snow machines to protect infrastructure.

Authorities issued an emergency warning to residents of Mount Hotham, Hotham Heights and Dinner Plain on Thursday afternoon (AEDT) as a 5000-hectare bushfire that began near Harrietville on January 21 flared close to the towns.

Residents were told it was too late to leave the town, and parts of the Great Alpine Road were closed.

Mt Hotham ski resort management board chief executive Jim Atteridge said embers from the Harrietville fire sparked one spot fire in the village below the Hotham police station and two fires on the ski fields.

Mr Atteridge estimated there were 40 or 50 people in the village, including a full complement of resort administration staff.

A CFA spokeswoman said an additional 120 firefighters were being sent to the area.

Fire crews and resort staff were using snow machines to fight the spot fires, she said.

"We're not expecting properties to be affected, but some ski infrastructure could be damaged," the spokeswoman told AAP on Thursday night.

A staff member at the Dinner Plain Hotel said the bushfire threat had forced most people out of town.

"Summers up here are usually great, but it's a ghost town at the moment," he told AAP.

"These fires have been a bit of a kick in the arse."

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Briton finds valuable, rare 'whale vomit'

A BRITISH man has been offered 50,000 euros ($A65,625) for a strange-smelling rock his dog found on a beach, which may be a rare form of whale vomit used in perfumes, the BBC reports.

Ken Wilman was walking his dog Madge in the coastal town of Morecambe in northwest England when she began "poking at a rather large stone" with a waxy texture and yellowish colour.

At first he left it on the beach but later retrieved the object, which he believes is a piece of ambergris, a substance found in the digestive systems of sperm whales.

Whales sometimes spew up ambergris, which floats on water and has been highly prized for centuries.

It is used in perfume-making for the musky fragrance it acquires as it ages - but newer ambergris is foul-smelling.

"When I picked it up and smelled it I put it back down again and I thought 'urgh'," Wilman told the BBC on Thursday.

"It has a musky smell but the more you smell it the nicer the smell becomes."

He is waiting for tests to confirm his find is ambergris, known as "floating gold", but says he has been offered 50,000 euros for it by a French dealer.

"It's worth so much because of its particular properties," Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrates at the National Museum of Scotland, told the BBC.

"It's a very important base for perfumes and it's hard to find any artificial substitute for it."

The substance gets a mention in the classic 1851 whaling novel Moby Dick.

Author Herman Melville wrote: "Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is."

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Royal Dutch Shell posts mixed earnings

ENERGY giant Royal Dutch Shell says its net profits sank 14 per cent last year despite an upbeat final quarter, as the group battled headwinds including volatile oil and gas prices.

Earnings after tax dropped to $US26.59 billion ($A25.67 billion) in 2012, compared with $US30.92 billion in the previous year, the Anglo-Dutch company revealed on Thursday in its annual results statement.

Net profits though rose 3.0 per cent to $US6.7 billion in the three months to December, from $US6.5 billion last time around. Production also grew by 3.0 per cent to 3.41 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter on an annual basis.

Adjusted net profits - stripping out gains or losses from fluctuations in the value of inventories - jumped 13 per cent to $US7.29 billion in the fourth quarter, as higher refining margins offset increased costs in exploration and production.

Total revenues meanwhile increased by 2.0 per cent to $US118.05 billion in the last three months of 2012.

And the group also lifted its fourth-quarter shareholder dividend by 2.4 per cent to 43 US cents per share.

"Shell is on track for plans we set out in early 2012, despite headwinds last year," chief executive Peter Voser said in the earnings release.

"Shell is competitive and innovative. We are delivering a strategy that others can't easily repeat, with unique skills in technology and integration and a worldwide set of opportunities for new investment."

The London-listed energy major added that it would make $US33 billion in net capital investment this year, with new projects lined up for Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Iraq and the Arctic, as part of its ongoing investment plans.

"Shell will continue the strategic drive to grow its upstream businesses, with ongoing selective investment in downstream," it said.

The group also noted that the global energy demand outlook was solid, despite the challenging economic backdrop.

"Although the economic outlook remains uncertain for some of Shell's key markets ... the prospects for long-term growth in global energy demand remained unchanged, driven by rising world population and improving standards of living in developing countries," the company said.

Voser added: "Meeting this demand growth with clean and affordable energy is a formidable challenge for our industry and it is a major opportunity for Shell."

In reaction to the mixed results, Shell saw its 'A' share price drop 1.3 per cent to 26.48 pence in late morning deals on London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies, which was 0.42 per cent lower.

"Today's numbers have failed to inspire against the backdrop of a generally lacklustre market," noted Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

Shell's main British rival BP will unveil its annual earnings on Tuesday.

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Syria opposition to meet in Cairo

SYRIA'S main opposition National Coalition is to meet in Cairo, a day after its chief unexpectedly said he was willing to hold talks with regime officials.

"This meeting was organised well before the Syrian National Coalition leader, Moaz al-Khatib, made his statement," Samir Nashar, a member of the opposition bloc, told AFP on Thursday.

The original agenda was to discuss financial aid from Qatar but "obviously this will change now", said Nashar.

On Wednesday, Khatib announced on Facebook he was "ready for direct discussions with representatives of the Syrian regime in Cairo, Tunis or Istanbul".

His conditions included the release of "160,000 detainees" and for passports of exiled citizens to be renewed in embassies abroad.

Khatib's statement drew a mixed reaction from the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Syrian National Council, a key opposition group within the Coalition, rejected Khatib's proposal outright.

Its leader George Sabra "was not scheduled to come to this meeting (in Egypt) because of other engagements but he has changed his plans and has arrived in Cairo," said Nashar.

The Syrian opposition's "ambassador" to Paris, Monzer Makhous, said Khatib had "softened" his stance because "he feels a special responsibility to try to resolve" the escalating conflict.

Such talks would exclude Assad and his entourage, whom Makhous described as "war criminals".

In Damascus, Al-Watan newspaper said Khatib's statement unmasked "the exiled Syrian opposition's divisions" and that the opposition was "unable to adopt a common stance on the crisis and on ways to resolve it".

The daily also said the opposition's differences are a sign a new group "will emerge, one that is more realistic and has more intelligent goals than just asking for money from the West and the Arabs, to build a democratic, pluralist society, where there will be no room for political and military fundamentalism".

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H&M net profit rises 6.6% to $2.59bn

SWEDISH clothing retailer H&M says its net profit rose by 6.6 per cent to 16.9 billion kronor ($A2.59 billion) in 2012 and it increased its market share despite a difficult operating environment.

Gross sales by the world's No.2 clothing retailer rose by 9.4 per cent to 141 billion kronor in the financial year that ended November 30, but net sales measured at constant exchange rates gained only one per cent, the company said.

"H&M continues to stand strong in a challenging clothing market which in many countries has been even more challenging in 2012 compared to 2011," chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement.

The company said its earnings were hit by the costs of its long-term investments as well as negative currency exchange effects.

It proposed holding the dividend steady at 9.5 kronor per share.

H&M said its expansion was faster than expected in 2012, with 304 new stores, primarily in China and the United States.

The company which makes and sells inexpensive clothes currently has 2,800 stores in 48 markets and more than 104,000 employees.

It plans to open 325 stores in this financial year, including in Chile and in Indonesia via a franchise.

H&M said its new fashion brand & Other Stories, targeted at women, will open its first stores in the coming months in seven European countries.

Persson said despite not yet generating revenue the company believed its long-term investments "to be both necessary and wise as they aim to secure future expansion and profits and thereby further strengthen H&M's position."

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Asian markets rise on Dow lead

ASIAN markets have climbed, with Japan's Nikkei leading the way, fuelled by continuing weakness in the yen and a powerful performance on Wall Street, where the Dow closed near its record high.

Traders are keeping a close eye on the United States, where the Federal Reserve is due to end a two-day policy meeting, with analysts expecting it to carry on with its loose monetary policy.

Tokyo on Wednesday jumped 2.28 per cent, or 247.23 points, to 11,113.95, its highest finish since April 2010, and Sydney rose up 0.16 per cent, or 7.7 points, to 4,896.7. Seoul closed up 0.43 per cent, or 8.47 points, at 1,964.43.

Hong Kong stocks ended 0.71 per cent higher, adding 166.89 points to 23,822.06 and Shanghai gained 1.00 per cent, or 23.50 points, to 2,382.48.

The euro and dollar extended their gains against the yen in response to the Bank of Japan's pledge of unlimited easing last week and its target of two per cent inflation.

Investors took on board a comment from Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso, who, defending the country's easing policies against criticism from abroad, said the yen's "excessive strength is in correction".

A senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo said: "The comment is nothing new so it can't push up the pair like a rocket anymore, but it still has some power left."

In afternoon Tokyo trade, the US dollar gained to Y91.12, from Y90.72 in New York on Tuesday, while the euro fetched Y123.05, from Y122.42.

The single currency also bought $US1.3505 against $US1.3493.

On Wall Street, the Dow rose 0.52 per cent to finish just 1.5 per cent below its all-time closing high seen in October 2007, despite a lack of buying incentives and a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.51 per cent and the Nasdaq was flat.

US dealers are awaiting the outcome of the Fed's policy meeting later in the day, looking for new clues to the state of the world's biggest economy. That will be followed on Friday by data on job creation.

Oil prices were mixed. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose 11 US cents to $US97.68 a barrel in the afternoon, while Brent North Sea crude for March delivery gained 10 US cents to $US114.46.

Gold was at $US1,667.16 at 1910 AEDT, compared with $US1,661.10 late on Tuesday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 0.40 per cent, or 30.98 points, to 7,832.98.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.50 per cent higher at $Tw101.5 while leading smartphone maker HTC added 1.93 per cent to $Tw290.0.

- Manila added 0.59 per cent, or 36.50 points, to 6,271.23.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co added 1.4 per cent to close at 2,844 pesos and Metro Pacific Investments rose 4.0 per cent to 5.22 pesos.

- Wellington rose 1.13 per cent, or 47.26 points, to close at a five-year high 4,247.55.

Telecom added 1.91 per cent to $NZ2.359 and Fletcher Building gained 1.40 per cent to end at $NZ9.39.

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British couple find backyard treasure

A BACKYARD stone trough used by a British couple to grow flowers for more 30 years has been identified as an ancient Roman sarcophagus with a six-figure value.

Left behind by previous property owners, the two-metre coffin is covered with elaborate carvings of mythical creatures.

It wasn't until the couple, who have asked to remain anonymous, saw a photo of a similar object in a newspaper that they realised it might be something significant, British newspaper The Times reported.

Specialists have since identified the planter box as the sarcophagus of a wealthy Roman woman, carved from a single piece of Carrara marble and dating back to the first or second century AD.

Initial estimates value the casket at more than STG100,000 ($A151,607)

The owners plan to remove the shrubs and soil before sending the item to auction on February 14.

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US man kills bus driver, kidnaps child

A GUNMAN has boarded a school bus in the US state of Alabama, shot dead the driver and kidnapped a six-year-old, whom he is now holding in an underground bunker, local media are reporting.

WSFA television said the man boarded the bus at around 3.40pm on Tuesday, shot the bus driver and took one of the children to an underground shelter, where police are currently communicating with him through a PVC pipe.

Police could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sergeant Rachel David of the Dothan Police Department confirmed to WSFA that an adult male had been shot during the incident and that the suspect was "not in custody".

"We are at the very beginning of this investigation," she said.

WSFA, a CNN affiliate, said area roads had been closed and three local school systems had cancelled classes on Wednesday over the hostage situation.

County coroner Woodrow Hilboldt told The Associated Press the overnight standoff continued today with tactical units, negotiators and other officers at the scene near a church. He said the suspect was believed to be in an underground shelter on his property.

"That's what has been described to me as an underground bunker. Someplace to get out of the way of a tornado," Mr Hilboldt said.

Michael Creel, who lives on the road where the shooting happened, said he went outside after his sister heard gunshots.

"Me and her started running down the road," Creel told the Dothan Eagle. "That's when I realised the bus had its siren going off. Kids were filing out, running down the hill toward the church."

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Beijing hit by thick smog

Pollution levels in Beijing have risen above index limits as a dense haze shrouds parts of China. Source: AAP

THICK smog is covering eastern China for the second time in about two weeks, forcing airlines to cancel flights and prompting Beijing to temporarily shut factories and curtail fleets of government cars.

Pedestrians donned face masks to protect themselves from the caustic air as the capital was shrouded in a white haze where only the outlines of buildings and street lamps could be seen.

The flight cancellations stranded passengers during the first week of the country's peak six-week period for travel around the Chinese New Year on February 10.

The US Embassy reported an hourly peak level of PM2.5 - tiny particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs - at 526 micrograms per cubic metre.

That's "beyond index" and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organisation safety levels over a 24-hour period.

Liu Peng, an employee at a financial institution in Beijing, says he'll keep his newborn baby indoors.

"It's really bad for your health, obviously," Liu said.

"I bike to work every day and always wear a mask. The pollution in recent years is probably due to the increase in private cars and government cars."

Visibility was less than 100 metres in some areas of eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

More than 100 flights were cancelled in the eastern city of Zhengzhou, 33 in Beijing, 20 in Qingdao and 13 in Jinan.

Every year, China's transport system bursts at the seams as tens of millions of people travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, in the world's largest seasonal migration of people.

Ren Haiqiang, a bank worker in his early 30s, said he had booked tickets to fly out of Beijing on Thursday to visit family in the coastal city of Dalian but was now worried about flight cancellations.

"Travelling over the holiday is already a huge hassle, along with all the gift-giving and family visits.

"We thought flying would be the best way to avoid the crush but if the weather continues like this we'll be in real trouble," Ren said as he waited in line at a bakery in downtown Beijing.

Beijing's city government ordered 103 heavily polluting factories to suspend production and told government departments and state-owned enterprises to reduce their use of cars by a third, Xinhua said. The measures last until Thursday.

Beijing's official readings for PM2.5 were lower than the embassy's - 433 micrograms per cubic metre at one point in the afternoon - but even that level is considered "severe" and prompted the city government to advise residents to stay indoors as much as possible.

Because there was no wind, the smog probably would not dissipate quickly, the government said.

Patients seeking treatment for respiratory ailments rose by about 30 per cent over the past month at the Jiangong Hospital in downtown Beijing, Emergency Department chief Cui Qifeng said.

"People tend to catch colds or suffer from lung infections during the days with heavily polluted air," he said.

Air pollution has long been a problem in Beijing, but the country has been more open about releasing statistics on PM2.5 - considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other pollutants - only since early last year.

The city hit its highest readings on January 12, when US Embassy readings of PM2.5 reached as high as 886 micrograms per cubic metre.

Celebrity real estate developer Pan Shiyi, who has previously pushed for cities to publish more detailed air quality data and who is a delegate to Beijing's legislature, is calling for a Clean Air Act. By late Tuesday afternoon his online poll had received more than 29,000 votes, with 99 per cent in favour.

On Monday, Wang Anshun was elected Beijing's mayor after telling lawmakers the municipal government should make more efforts to fight air pollution, according to Xinhua.

Last week, he announced plans to remove 180,000 older vehicles from the city's roads and promote government cars and heating systems that use clean energy.

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Pyjamas deemed inappropriate for school

BRITISH teenagers have been banned from wearing onesie pyjamas to school after they donned the giant jumpsuits when temperatures plummeted.

Chailey School in East Sussex last week told students they could wear warmer clothes to cope with the freezing weather gripping the United Kingdom.

But teachers were dismayed when students started turning up to class in the all-in-one pyjamas, local newspaper The Argus reported.

In a letter to parents the school clarified: "It is not appropriate or acceptable - as has occurred in a few cases - for students to wear onesies."

The school said warm clothes such as jumpers, jackets, hats and gloves were much more acceptable.

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Jordan's last king-appointed PM resigns

JORDAN'S last prime minister appointed by the king has resigned, making way for a successor who will be elected by the country's new parliament.

The palace says King Abdullah II on Tuesday asked outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to stay on as caretaker until the 150-member legislature elected last Wednesday picks the next premier.

The king is expected to gradually surrender more powers to the parliament, giving it a freer hand in legislation and in monitoring the cabinet.

The process is part of reforms Abdullah initiated two years ago under pressure from street protests demanding less royal authority and more power to MPs.

Jordan's fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood - the country's largest opposition group - boycotted the polls to protest against an election law it says favours the king's supporters.

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Huge numbers of Syrians flee fighting

MORE than 700,000 Syrian refugees have registered or are awaiting registration in neighbouring countries as the conflict in their war-torn country spirals out of control, the UN's refugee agency says.

"We've had a huge push in the last few weeks. The needs are enormous," UNHCR spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes told AFP on Tuesday.

She said a colleague on the ground had complained that "we cannot get to everyone fast enough".

The number of Syrians registered as refugees or awaiting processing in the surrounding countries had reached 703,314 by late Monday, she said.

Of that number, more than 581,000 were registered and aid workers were doing their best to scale up the registration process "to clear the backlog."

Wilkes said at this time last year the UN agency was registering only a few hundred Syrian refugees each month in Lebanon.

"Now, the aim is to register 45,000 a month," she said, adding that the current average stands at about 32,000.

In Jordan, which has seen a massive influx in recent weeks, "the plan is for the month of February alone to try to register 50,000 people," Wilkes said.

About four million Syrians rely on international assistance to cope with the fallout from the 22-month old conflict in which the UN estimates more than 60,000 people have died.

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US police probe Chris Brown assault claim

GRAMMY-WINNING singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Monday.

Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear, but were told by witnesses that there had been a brief fight over a parking space.

"The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim," the department said in a statement released early on Monday morning.

The "victim" wasn't identified but the celebrity website TMZ - which first reported the fight outside the Westlake Recording Studio - said it also involved Frank Ocean, one of the top nominees at Grammy Awards next month.

In a Twitter posting later, Ocean said he "got jumped by (Brown) and a couple guys" and suffered a finger cut.

No arrests were made. Brown was gone by the time deputies arrived but the department said the investigation is continuing and Brown would be contacted.

Email messages to Ocean's publicist and Brown's lawyer were not immediately returned. A man answering the phone at the recording studio declined to comment.

It wasn't Brown's first problem in the run-up to the Grammys. His attack on singer Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 awards event overshadowed the show.

Last June, he was injured in a brawl with members of hip-hop star Drake's entourage at a New York nightclub.

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Southern Qld towns prepare for floods

RESIDENTS of the regional Queensland town of Warwick are anxiously watching the rising Condamine River, with 30 homes already flooded and more expected to go under.

The swollen Condamine has cut Warwick in two and about 180 people have gathered in two evacuation centres, Southern Downs Mayor Peter Blundell says.

The river is expected to peak at eight metres at about 8pm (AEST) on Monday, about the same level as December 2010.

If the peak is reached, 92 houses and 17 businesses will be affected by water.

The only road into town that hasn't flooded is the New England Highway to the south.

Mr Blundell says an influx of people trying to get home from the Tamworth Music Festival are stuck in the town and sheltering in their caravans on the side of the road.

"We do have a lot of water in catchments that's been there for a long time, longer than we've seen previously, so it will be slightly new ground to work out how long this one takes to subside," he told AAP.

Upstream at Dalby, houses have so far escaped floodwaters but Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown says if the Myall Creek reaches the expected peak of three metres that will change.

He said the level is well short of the 3.74m level reached in 2010-2011 but residents are still on edge.

"You tell that someone that got flooded that it's less water (than before); they don't care. When you're wet you're wet," Mr Brown told AAP.

Eight businesses in Chinchilla, northwest of Dalby, have been inundated and three families in the town have fled their homes.

Mr Brown said five families had evacuated homes around the rural township of Moonie, southwest of Dalby.

The township of Tara, population 1200, has been isolated.

Meanwhile, the town of Condamine, west of Chinchilla, is facing a significant flood event with a peak of 12 metres expected on Thursday or Friday.

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Bracing for Brisbane commuter chaos

BRISBANE is facing commuter chaos on Tuesday with central rail lines damaged in severe storms not expected to be repaired until Wednesday.

As the city prepares for flooding which could affect thousands of homes and businesses on Tuesday, the state government has warned that no train services will operate to the central Brisbane stations of Central, Fortitude Valley or Bowen Hills before Wednesday.

Up to 40,000 passengers use the stations during peak times and passengers are being advised to avoid travelling during peak times, use alternative transport, or allow for delays.

"Passengers planning to use trains to the CBD tomorrow should carefully consider their options," Transport Minister Scott Emerson said in a statement on Monday.

"There are unlikely to be sufficient buses available in Brisbane to handle the load if all regular train commuters make the journey to the city at the same time tomorrow."

Scaffolding from a building site in Fortitude Valley has damaged the line between Fortitude Valley and Bowen Hills stations.

Services to the city will terminate at either Roma Street or Albion.

Mr Emerson said crews were working around the clock to repair the damage but they won't finish before Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday just two of the four tracks on the central line will be open.

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Man dies in Cairo protests: report

Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has imposed curfews in three provinces hit by deadly rioting. Source: AAP

RIOT police have fired tear gas and birdshot at rock-throwing protesters in Cairo, reportedly killing one person a day after Egypt's president declared a state of emergency in three provinces.

The eruption of violence, which began around Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that toppled ruler Hosni Mubarak, has plunged Egypt into political turmoil and exposed the deep fault lines running through the country.

More than 50 people have been killed in the unrest, which is fuelled by anger over the policies of the country's new Islamist leader and the slow pace of change.

Police said the unidentified man who died on Monday was killed by birdshot that hit his head.

The incident occurred in a clash with police on a bridge and in an underpass leading to Tahrir Square.

President Mohammed Morsi, who has struggled to solve the country's social and economic problems since taking power in June, declared in a televised speech late Sunday a 30-day state of emergency in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez and their surrounding provinces in an attempt to quell the unrest.

The military was deployed in Suez on Friday and in Port Said the next day. The two cities have been hit hardest by the violence.

Protesters in all three cities poured into the streets after Morsi's speech to reject both him and his state of emergency, which includes a curfew from 9pm to 6am.

In Port Said, where 44 people were killed in rioting over the weekend, at least 2000 protesters chanted against the Egyptian president and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group he is linked with.

The unrest in Port Said was sparked by a court conviction and death sentence for 21 defendants involved in a soccer riot in the city's main stadium on February 1, 2012 that led to 74 deaths.

Most of those sentenced to death were local soccer fans from Port Said, deepening a sense of persecution that Port Said's residents have felt since the stadium disaster, the worst soccer violence ever in Egypt.

At least another 11, most of them in Suez, died in clashes on Friday elsewhere in the country during rallies marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak nearly two years ago.

In his televised address, Morsi also warned that he would not hesitate to take more action to stem the violence.

Angry and at times screaming and wagging his finger, the Egyptian leader also invited the nation's political forces for talks to resolve the nation's crisis, saying "a dialogue between the sons of the nation is indispensable and is the only way to shepherd Egypt to security and stability".

Among those invited to Monday's talks is pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei and other leaders of the National Salvation Front, an umbrella group of opposition parties.

The invitation was met with little enthusiasm from the opposition leaders.

Salvation Front leaders are meeting later on Monday, when they are expected to decide whether to participate in the dialogue.

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Mali crisis to dominate African summit

EFFORTS to end conflict across Africa, especially in Mali, dominated the African Union summit opening on Sunday, with the 54-member bloc's chief saying greater efforts are needed to build peace.

"Much still needs to be done to resolve ongoing, renewed, and new conflict situations in a number of countries," AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in her opening speech.

"We cannot overemphasise the need for peace and security -- without peace and security no country or region can expect to achieve prosperity for all its citizens," she told the bi-annual summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The 20th ordinary summit, which continues on Monday, opened with a minute's silence in memory of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, who died last year.

The meeting is expected to focus on the war against Islamist militants in northern Mali, including the scaling-up of African troops to support the weak Malian army.

Mali's army, boosted by the recent French military intervention, is battling Islamist insurgents, who seized swathes of Mali's desert north following a coup last year.

Dlamini-Zuma told leaders that the AU "must remain firm on its stance of no unconstitutional change" of leadership and that it must boost its "capacity to defend democratically-elected governments."

Following a security meeting on Friday, the AU resolved to bolster the strength of the African-led force in Mali, or AFISMA, and gave member states one week to commit troops to the mission.

"The force size will have to be significantly augmented," AU peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told reporters after the security meeting.

Lamamra said AFISMA's strength should be increased "to better respond to the needs on the ground," but declined to give numbers.

The AU will also seek urgent "temporary" logistical support from the United Nations to enable the AFISMA force to "speedily deploy and effectively implement its mandate," according to an AU statement.

The logistical support should include transportation, medicine and field hospitals.

Also high on the summit agenda is the slow progress between the rival leaders of Sudan and South Sudan to implement stalled oil, security and border deals.

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At least 90 dead in nightclub fire in Brazil

AT least 90 people died today in a fire that erupted at a nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, local media reported.

"We have just taken the fire under control," Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local fire department was quoted by the G1 website as saying. "Now we are removing the bodies."

Local media reported that as many as 2000 people were in the nightclub when the fire started, and that police were still counting the dead.

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Nightclub fire kills at least 90

A FIRE in a nightclub in southern Brazil killed at least 90 people early Sunday, police and firefighters said.

Sandro Meinerz, spokesman for the police in the city of Santa Maria, told local media that the fire broke out at the Kiss club while a band was performing. He said at least 200 people were injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, officials said. The total number of victims is still unknown and there may be hundreds injured, Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha.

He told the radio a truck carrying 70 bodies had arrived at the Municipal Sports Centre, which was being used as an improvised morgue. Police believe there are about 20 bodies still inside the club.

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Qld cities brace for floods - again

A sixth tornado has hit Queensland's Bundaberg region and forecasters say more could develop. Source: AAP

RESIDENTS of Brisbane and Ipswich are again preparing for floods, two years after the 2011 deluge that inundated thousands of homes and caused millions of dollars in damage.

But the floods won't be as bad this time, authorities say.

About 4850 homes and businesses in Brisbane and 50 in Ipswich to the west are expected to be affected when the Brisbane and Bremer rivers peak about midnight on Monday.

A second flood peak is expected at noon on Wednesday, the Queensland premier said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

Torrential rain from the low pressure system that was tropical cyclone Oswald has caused minor flooding in the Lockyer Creek and the Bremer River which feed into the Brisbane River.

Scientific modelling shows Brisbane can expect a 2.6m flood peak, nearly half of the 4.46m peak in 2011.

The Ipswich peak is expected to be five metres less than the 19.4m peak two years ago.

"There will be flooding but the flooding is much much lower than what we saw in 2011," Premier Campbell Newman told reporters.

The west Brisbane suburb of Moggill will be hit first, and other affected suburbs include: Bundamba, Wacol, Riverhills, Wolston Creek, Pinjara Hills, Kenmore, Hemmant, Wynnum, Tingalpa, Cannon Hills, Murarrie, Newmarket, Herston, Windsor, Bowen Hills, Albion and Newstead.

The Brisbane CBD is not expected to be affected.

In January 2011, 22,000 homes and 7600 businesses were flooded in Brisbane and 3000 homes and businesses in Ipswich.

The damage bill for Brisbane's infrastructure was $400 million.

The premier urged people to check flood maps on the Brisbane City Council website and prepare if they were in an area that may flood.

Standing alongside Mr Newman, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the message to residents was to stay calm.

"The time to act is now. The time to prepare is now," he said.

An emergency alert has gone out to residents in the Lockyer Valley as floodwaters rise in the area, which was the main disaster zone in the 2011 floods.

Central Queensland has already born the brunt of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald, with torrential rain and destructive winds bringing floods, tornados and destructive winds to the east coast and inland.

An elderly man was killed, more than a dozen people were injured and 250 homes were damaged when a serious of tornados ripped through the coastal towns of Burnett Heads, Bargara, Burrum Heads and Coonarr near Bundaberg on Saturday afternoon and evening.

The man's body was recovered from the water at Burnett Heads on Sunday morning after he fell overboard from a yacht that had been ripped from its moorings.

Meanwhile hundreds of people have been pouring into evacuation centres at Maryborough, Bundaberg and Gympie with flood peaks in central Queensland expected to exceed 2010-2011 levels on Sunday night and Monday.

The Burnett River at Bundaberg is expected to peak at 8.5m from 8.30pm (AEST), with 400 homes and businesses tipped to flood.

The Mary River is forecast to peak over 9m at Maryborough early on Monday, and 21m at Gympie at 7am (AEST) on Monday.

There were fears for three families stuck on the roofs of their homes at Widgee near Gympie on Sunday evening and a 27-year-old man who went missing after he tried to cross a swollen creek in the Gympie area.

There were also grave concerns for a young woman last seen driving into floodwaters at Pacific Haven near Maryborough on Sunday and a fisherman who has been missing off Port Alma near Rockhampton since Thursday night.

Meanwhile the Gladstone region has experienced severe flooding which has prompted the evacuation of 900 homes.

The areas of Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, south of Gladstone, and Baffle Creek, between Gladstone and Bundaberg, were the worst affected.

Around Queensland, 125,000 homes were without power on Sunday night.

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