UK warns of terror attack in Somalia

THE British government says it believes terrorists are in the final stages of planning attacks in Somalia and urged UK nationals to leave the country.

The Foreign Office already advises against all travel to Somalia, including Somaliland, where it says there is a specific threat to Westerners.

It said on Saturday it had revised its travel advice to reflect concerns that terrorists are in the final stages of plotting attacks in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

Britain has no diplomatic representation in Somalia and is unable to provide consular assistance in the country.

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Italian police find tonne of hashish

ITALIAN police have uncovered a tonne of hashish worth 15 million euros ($A18.7 million) in a frozen foods truck carrying potatoes and arrested its Dutch driver.

The police said they became suspicious when they noticed the truck on the outskirts of Rome as part of an anti-drug investigation and found out that it was very far from its registered delivery point.

Behind the potato boxes being shipped from the Netherlands they found "various boxes containing hashish in bars weighing around 100 grams each and wrapped in cellophane", the statement said on Saturday.

"The total quantity of drugs found was around one tonne," it added.

Police spokesman Alessandro Langello said: "The investigation is ongoing. We are trying to uncover the criminal organisation behind this shipment."

Dutch authorities in 2011 busted a large-scale operation to export homegrown cannabis from the Netherlands to countries including Italy.

Although cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands, the country in 1976 decriminalised possession and sale of less than five grammes of the drug.

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Don't bank on Korea evacuation: DFAT

Tensions in North Korea could escalate quickly, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs says. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS in South Korea shouldn't assume the government will be able to evacuate them if the threat of war on the peninsular escalates, Canberra says.

North Korea has escalated its rhetoric in recent weeks, threatening to attack the United States and South Korea.

Most recently, it warned foreign embassies in Pyongyang it couldn't assure the safety of diplomats and suggested they should evacuate.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says it has consular crisis contingency plans for South Korea, as it does for all countries in which Australia has official representation.

"It is important that Australians living and visiting South Korea make their own decisions regarding their safety based on their personal circumstances," a DFAT spokeswoman said.

"Such decisions should not assume that the Australian government will evacuate citizens if the situation deteriorates - this may not always be possible."

There are many thousands of Australians in South Korea but the DFAT spokeswoman said there were no immediate plans to get them out.

Current travel advice warns of tensions between the north and south but remains at the lowest level, advising travellers only to exercise normal safety precautions.

The spokeswoman said travel advice on the smartraveller.gov.au website remained the definitive source of information from the Australian government for Australians travelling and living overseas.

Advice on the website is updated as relevant and credible information is received.

"Australians should monitor developments closely, particularly through South Korean media, because of the risk that tensions on the Korean Peninsula could escalate quickly," she said.

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Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

Poaching has recently risen in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Source: AAP

KENYA plans to bolster lenient sentences for convicted wildlife poachers or ivory smugglers in a bid to stamp out a spike in elephant killings, the government says.

Poaching has recently risen sharply in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Rhinos have also been targeted.

Last year poachers slaughtered 384 elephants in Kenya, up from 289 in 2011, according to official figures, from a total population of around 35,000. This year, poachers have already shot dead 74.

"We intend to fight poachers at all levels to save our elephants," government spokesman Muthui Kariuki said in a statement on Saturday.

A major obstacle to this is that Kenyan courts are limited in their powers to jail or fine those convicted of wildlife crimes, he said.

"One of the major setbacks are lenient penalties and sentencing for wildlife crime by the courts," he said.

"The government is concerned about this and has facilitated the process of reviewing the wildlife law and policy with a view to having more deterrent penalties and jail terms."

Passing tougher wildlife laws will be made a priority for Kenya's parliament, elected last month but which has yet to begin business.

"We look forward to... parliament giving priority to passing of a new wildlife law and policy," Kariuki added.

Kenya's wildlife act caps punishment for the most serious wildlife crimes at a maximum fine of 40,000 Kenyan shillings ($A450), and a possible jail term of up to 10 years.

Last month, a Chinese smuggler caught in Kenya with a haul of ivory was fined less than a dollar a piece.

The smuggler, who was arrested carrying 439 pieces of worked ivory while in transit in Nairobi as he travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Hong Kong, was fined $US350 ($A337) and was then set free.

Such fines pose little if any deterrence, with experts suggesting a kilogram of ivory has an estimated black market value of some $A2406.

The illegal ivory trade is mostly fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns are used to make ornaments and in traditional medicine.

Africa is now home to an estimated 472,000 elephants, whose survival is threatened by poaching as well as a rising human population that is encroaching on their habitat.

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Ballet star Polunin walks out of show

ONE of the ballet's world's brightest but most volatile stars has vanished, again.

Sergei Polunin had been due to star in a dance piece based on Billy Hayes' Turkish prison memoir Midnight Express opening next week in London.

But director Peter Schaufuss said the 23-year-old dancer did not show up for rehearsals on Wednesday.

Polunin's whereabouts could not immediately be determined on Friday.

Schaufuss told the BBC he was "hugely disappointed" the young star had left.

"Artists have good and bad days - that goes with the territory - but rehearsals were going well," he said.

The dance company said Polunin's mentor, Igor Zelensky, had also left the production.

Ukraine-born Polunin became the youngest-ever male principal dancer at Britain's Royal Ballet when he was 19, but walked out of the company last year, saying he was giving up dance.

He later said he had quit because he could no longer handle the stress of a dance career.

Polunin, who moved to Britain aged 13, had spoken in a 2011 interview about the pressure he felt to succeed.

"I would have liked to behave badly, to play football. I loved sport," he told The Guardian. "But all my family were working for me to succeed. ... There was no chance of me failing."

Polunin later returned to performing under Zelensky at Moscow's Stanislavsky Ballet and has made guest appearances with the Royal Ballet.

When his role in Midnight Express was announced late last year, Polunin said it was "exactly the kind of work I want to be making, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."

The Peter Schaufuss ballet company said understudy Johan Christensen would take over the main role in Midnight Express, which opens on Tuesday.

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US, Philippine troops start war games

THOUSANDS of US and Filipino troops have begun annual military exercises that the Philippines say are vital to building its defence capabilities to face the rising threat of China.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario used the launch of the 12-day Balikatan manoeuvres on Friday to accuse China of destabilising Asia with aggressive and illegal actions in the South China Sea.

"For our region, excessive and exaggerated maritime and territorial claims have not only created uncertainty, but have undermined the rule of law," del Rosario said in a speech at the nation's military headquarters in Manila.

"Regional peace and stability have been placed at serious risk."

Del Rosario later said he was referring specifically to China.

China claims most of the South China Sea, including waters and tiny rock outcrops near the coasts of smaller neighbours such as the Philippines.

Tensions have escalated in recent years as China has sought to stamp its authority over the region.

The Philippines has accused China of occupying a shoal close to its main island, and appealed to the United Nations to rule on the validity of Chinese claims to the resource-rich sea.

And last month China's navy began patrolling disputed waters, sending vessels to within 80 kilometres of the Malaysian coast and at one point firing "warning signal shells" at a Vietnamese boat.

Amid the rising tensions, the Philippines has sought closer diplomatic and military ties with the United States, its former colonial ruler.

The two countries share a 61-year-old mutual defence pact, which requires the United States to come to the aid of the Philippines if it is attacked.

Del Rosario said the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises were a very important part of the Philippines' efforts to secure US support.

"For my country we need to secure our borders and protect our territorial integrity more vigorously than we have before," he said.

"Balikatan... is an important contribution in not only preparing both our armed forces to work together but also in building my country's own capacity to defend itself."

The manoeuvres involve more than 8,000 US and Filipino troops, 30 military aircraft including a dozen US F/A-18 Hornets and three naval vessels, the two countries said.

Friday's launch only involved speeches from military and political leaders from the two sides.

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China closes markets as flu toll rises

Shanghai authorities are culling poultry at a market as the H7N9 bird flu virus was detected there. Source: AAP

SHANGHAI has ordered all live poultry markets in the city closed after culling more than 20,000 birds to curb the spread of the H7N9 flu virus, which has killed six people in China.

The latest fatality was a 64-year-old farmer who died in Huzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, local officials said on Friday, according to the state Xinhua news agency.

He is thought to be among 14 previously confirmed human cases of H7N9, and is the second person from Zhejiang province to die from the new bird flu strain, with the other four fatalities in Shanghai, China's commercial hub.

Shanghai has a population of 23 million people and city government spokesman Xu Wei said its live poultry markets were being shuttered temporarily for "public safety" purposes, and all trade in live poultry banned.

The moves came after the virus was found in pigeon samples from the Huhuai market in Shanghai, where Xinhua said a total of 20,536 chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons had been slaughtered.

Images posted on the Sina Weibo microblog by a local television reporter showed men in protective clothing and face masks entering the market in the city's western suburbs during the night, and dozens of empty birdcages.

On Friday, the entrance to the poultry section was concealed with wooden boards and sealed off with plastic tape, with a police car parked nearby and white disinfectant powder sprinkled in the street.

Two staff members at the market told AFP the slaughter was completed overnight, but one of them added: "Of course, I'm worried."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has played down fears over the H7N9 strain, saying there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission, but that it was crucial to find out how the virus infects humans.

Like the H5N1 variant which typically spreads from birds to humans through direct contact, experts fear such viruses could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

Shanghai city health official Wu Fan also said on Friday there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. One person who had been in close contact with a victim had shown flu-like symptoms, but tested negative for H7N9, she said.

"There is no possibility of spreading the infection overseas," Wu told a press conference.

The first two deaths from the virus, which had not been seen before in humans, occurred in February but were not reported by authorities until late March. Officials said the delay in announcing the results was because it took time to determine the cause of the illness.

The state-run China Daily on Friday quoted the ministry of health in Beijing as pledging "open and transparent exchanges with the WHO and other countries and regions".

In 2003, Chinese officials were accused of trying to cover up the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed about 800 people across the world.

US health authorities said on Thursday they were liaising with domestic and international partners to develop a vaccine for the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a US federal agency, said it was "gathering more information to make a knowledgeable public health risk assessment, and developing a candidate vaccine virus".

According to the WHO, the animal source of the infection and its mode of transmission are not yet clear.

"We do not yet know enough about these infections to determine whether there is a significant risk of community spread," the UN's health agency said in an online H7N9 update.

Experts are concerned that the virus appears to have spread across a wide geographical area, with people sickened not only in Shanghai, but also the nearby provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.

"I am cautiously worried," virologist John Oxford of the Queen Mary University of London told AFP.

"If there were four cases in Shanghai, I would be much less concerned, but because it is so geographically widespread I think it is trying to tell us something."

State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Friday that health ministry officials were meeting with agricultural personnel to draw up an action plan aimed at "preventing the spreading of the disease".

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India building collapse kills 38: police

A building that was being constructed illegally in Mumbai has collapsed, killing at least 27 people. Source: AAP

AT least 38 people have been crushed to death on the outskirts of Mumbai after an unauthorised partly-built apartment block collapsed, police say, highlighting the dangers of India's illegal housing boom.

The seven-storey building collapsed on Thursday evening into a mangled heap of steel and concrete of about eight metres high that rescuers and local residents struggled to cut through, officials said.

Rescue efforts continued into Friday, with diggers and steel cutters employed to reach victims who were carried away on makeshift stretchers.

Limbs protruding from the wreckage were a grisly sight in some areas.

As emergency workers combed the rubble for survivors in front of a huge crowd of onlookers, two toddlers were pulled out alive late Thursday to cries of "Allahu akbar" (God is greater) and cheers and clapping, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

"The death toll is now 38 and 69 are injured," said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for the local municipal administration in Thane, where the building collapsed about 35 kilometres from the centre of Mumbai.

Among the dead were at least seven women and nine children.

Local police commissioner KP Raghuvanshi said his force had registered a case of causing death by negligence against developers.

"There are two builders and we are looking for them," he told reporters at the scene.

Building collapses are a common occurrence in India, where a booming economy and rising real estate prices has led often unauthorised multi-storey structures to mushroom on the outskirts of cities and towns.

Many of Thursday's victims were migrant labourers who had come to Mumbai to find work on building sites, typically earning as little as two to four dollars a day. They often bring their wives and children who live on-site.

Others had already moved into homes in the block, including schoolgirl Hasina Shaikh and her family, who were living on the fifth floor.

"I had just returned from school and was changing my clothes when the building started shaking and came down on us. When I regained consciousness later, I was in the hospital," she told the DNA newspaper.

Shaikh said she did not know the whereabouts of her relatives.

Mohammed Anwar, 36, witnessed the accident while his father-in-law, a carpenter, was working inside the structure. "I saw the building collapse like a pack of cards," Anwar told the Mumbai-based paper.

The local civic administration said it was probing the incident and would check other new structures built recently in the vicinity, a middle-class commuter area with modern-style residential blocks.

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Howards End screenwriter Jhabvala dies

Oscar-winning screenwriter and award-winning novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has died aged 85. Source: AAP

OSCAR-WINNING screenwriter and award-winning novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has died. She was 85.

Firoza Jhabvala said on Wednesday that her mother died in New York after a long illness.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was a longtime member of Merchant Ivory Productions, writing 22 films over four decades.

She won two Academy Awards for her adaptations of the EM Forster novels Howards End and A Room With a View. She also was nominated for the screenplay for 1993's The Remains of the Day.

Jhabvala was also recognised for her fiction, receiving Britain's highest literary honour for her 1975 novel, Heat and Dust.

Jhabvala is survived by Firoza Jhabvala and two other daughters, her husband Cyrus Jhabvala, and six grandchildren.

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England keeps interest rate at record low

THE Bank of England has voted to leave its main lending rate at a record-low level of 0.50 per cent and refrained from pumping out more new cash to help stimulate Britain's recession-threatened economy.

"The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5 per cent," the BoE said in a brief statement at the conclusion of its regular monthly meeting on Thursday.

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Asian markets mostly down, Tokyo surges on

TOKYO shares have bounced and the yen's tumbled with Japan unveiling more aggressive monetary easing.

However, other Asian markets slipped on Thursday, with Seoul hit by growing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The yen sank against the dollar and the euro after the Bank of Japan (BoJ), in its first meeting under a new governor, announced a raft of measures aimed at ending decades of deflation and dragging the economy out of years of insipid growth.

Tokyo jumped 2.20 per cent, or 272.34 points, to 12,634.45. The Nikkei index had slumped as much as 2.3 per cent in the morning, with dealers concerned new BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda would fall short on promises to boost the economy.

Seoul fell 1.20 per cent, or 23.77 points, to 1,959.45 after North Korea blocked access to its Kaesong joint industrial zone with South Korea for the second day running. There were also reports Pyongyang has moved a medium-range missile to its east coast.

Sydney fell 0.89 per cent, or 44.2 points, to close at 4,913.5.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were closed for a public holiday.

After a two-day meeting the BoJ said it would embark on an aggressive spending program, boosting asset purchases including Japanese government bonds, while pledging to meet a two per cent inflation target within two years.

It also pointed to an uptick in Japan's economy, which has suffered a mixed bag of data lately without any clear sign of a firm recovery.

Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo, called the news a "positive surprise" for markets.

The appointment of Kuroda has sent the yen tumbling this year as he vowed big measures to achieve a two per cent inflation goal to kick-start the economy.

However, investors began moving back into the unit recently amid fears the new governor would not deliver the aggressive policy he had promised.

In afternoon forex trade, the dollar surged as high as 95.46 yen on the announcement, after sitting around 92.71 earlier in the day. The euro also jumped to 122.11 yen from 119.39 yen but it fell to $1.2800 from $1.2845 after weak German services data.

Wall Street provided a soft lead to Asian markets, with the Dow losing 0.76 per cent and the S&P 500 down 1.05 per cent a day after they both struck fresh record highs.

The Nasdaq gave up 1.11 per cent.

US traders sold up after disappointing private sector jobs data and weak service sector growth figures.

Oil prices were mixed, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, down one cent at $94.44 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for May adding 27 cents to $107.38.

Gold was at $1,544.90 an ounce at 1030 GMT (2130 AEDT) compared with $1,570.09 late on Wednesday.

In other markets:

- Singapore fell 0.42 per cent, or 13.97 points, to close at 3,307.80.

United Overseas Bank shed 1.49 per cent to Sg$20.46 and Singapore Airlines eased 0.64 per cent to Sg$10.85.

- Manila closed 0.46 per cent lower, shedding 31.58 points to 6,783.72.

SM Investments fell 0.26 per cent to 1,136 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone was off 0.48 per cent at 2,896 pesos, while Alliance Global Group eased 0.24 per cent to 21 pesos.

- Wellington rose 0.39 per cent, or 17.32 points, to 4,430.17.

Telecom added 0.82 per cent to NZ$2.47, Fletcher Building rose 1.78 per cent to NZ$8.60 and Contact Energy gained 1.11 per cent to close at NZ$5.45.

- Jakarta fell 1.18 per cent, or 58.86 points, to 4,922.61.

Car maker Astra International fell 3.14 per cent to 7,700 rupiah, while cement maker Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa rose 3.23 per cent to 24,000 rupiah.

- Kuala Lumpur added 0.18 per cent, or 3.06 points, to 1,688.46.

- Bangkok added 0.52 per cent or 7.94 points to 1,528.46.

- Mumbai fell 1.55 per cent or 291.94 points at 18,509.7 points, a near-five-month-low and its second straight day of losses.

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China reports fourth H7N9 bird flu death

State media says a man in the Chinese province of Zhejiang has died of the H7N9 strain of bird flu. Source: AAP

A MAN has died in China's business capital of Shanghai of a new strain of bird flu, bringing the total number of deaths from the H7N9 virus to four.

The 48-year-old poultry worker, from the eastern province of Jiangsu, was the eleventh person known to have been infected with H7N9 since the first human cases were reported earlier this year, according to China's CCTV on Thursday.

He was the third person to die in Shanghai, while another died in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a pandemic because the disease is not thought to be transmitted from human to human, unlike the more common H5N1 strain.

Shanghai health authorities said none of the eight people with whom the man had close contact showed signs of the illness.

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WWII bomb found near Berlin's main station

A 100 kilogram World War II bomb has been found at a building site near Berlin's main train station. Source: AAP

A WORLD War II bomb has been found at a building site near Berlin's main train station, with travellers being warned to expect disruptions.

Police say the 100kg bomb was found during construction work on Tuesday evening.

Experts were to decide on Wednesday morning how to dispose of the bomb. It wasn't clear how large an area might need to be sealed off for them to defuse it.

Germany's national railway said travellers should expect some delays and diversions. A line carrying trains north from the station may be affected.

Allied planes dropped huge quantities of ordnance on Germany during World War II in efforts to cripple the Nazi war machine.

Tens of thousands of unexploded bombs are believed still to be in the ground.

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66 Tibet landslide bodies recovered

CHINESE rescue crews have recovered 66 bodies in the aftermath of a huge landslide in Tibet that buried more than 80 mine workers.

State media said on Wednesday 83 people were buried on Friday when a vast volume of rock crashed down a mountainside east of the Tibetan capital Lhasa, burying a mineworkers' camp.

The latest number of recovered bodies, reported by China's official news agency Xinhua, would mean 17 are still missing.

Rescue operations resumed on Tuesday morning after being suspended a day before due to fears of more landslides in the area.

The chances of finding any survivors are regarded as slim, state media has reported.

Experts from the ministry of land and resources were investigating the cause of the landslide.

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Asian markets mostly lower, Tokyo jumps

TOKYO stocks have jumped with the yen weakening as the Bank of Japan starts a key two-day policy meeting, while shares in other major Asian markets have mostly fallen despite Wall Street's surging to a record high.

Tokyo jumped 2.99 per cent, or 358.77 points on Wednesday, to 12,362.20. Sydney ended 0.56 per cent or 27.8 points weaker at 4,957.7 and Seoul lost 0.15 per cent or 2.93 points to 1,983.22.

Shanghai slipped 0.11 per cent or 2.44 points to 2,225.30 and Hong Kong fell 0.14 per cent or 30.33 points to 22,337.49.

Investors eagerly await the outcome of the first Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy meeting under new leadership to see if fresh easing measures aimed at boosting the world's third biggest economy meet market expectations.

The new BoJ head Haruhiko Kuroda has vowed "bold" monetary easing, while the bank in January set a two per cent inflation target aimed at pulling the troubled economy out of its damaging deflationary spiral.

"Given near-constant chatter about the need for bold policy action to achieve their 2.0 per cent inflation target, any underwhelming policy response, something they're notorious for, will see the yen strengthen to the detriment of the Nikkei," David Scutt, Treasury dealer at Arab Bank, wrote in a note to clients.

"At the very least, markets will want to see unlimited easing involving a variety of asset classes with a focus of achieving the inflation target in the near-to-medium term," he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

US stocks reached fresh highs on Tuesday on solid manufacturing orders data and strong results from US automakers, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at a record 14,662.01, up 89.16 or 0.61 per cent.

In afternoon Tokyo trading, the dollar strengthened to 93.54 yen against 93.39 yen in New York late on Tuesday.

The euro remained weak following the release on Tuesday of poor manufacturing and jobs data for the eurozone, buying $1.2817 and 119.66 yen against $1.2813 and 119.70 yen in US trade.

On a positive note, Cyprus has been given two more years, until 2018, to meet the conditions of a 10 billion euro ($A12.36 billion) bailout under a final agreement with eurozone lenders which gives the island nation a little more breathing room.

Oil was down in Asia. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in May, shed 54 cents to $96.65 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for May delivery dropped 39 cents to $110.30 in afternoon trade.

Gold was at $1,570.09 an ounce at 1045 GMT (2145 AEDT) compared with $1,597.83 late on Tuesday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 0.37 per cent, or 29.17 points, to 7,942.35.

MediaTek gained 2.30 per cent to Tw$356.0. while SinoPac Financial Holding rose 2.80 per cent at Tw$14.70.

- Wellington rose 0.03 per cent, or 1.44 points, to 4,412.84.

Telecom Corp. was up 3.59 per cent at NZ$2.45 while Contact Energy was down 2.18 per cent at NZ$5.39.

- Manila rose 0.99 per cent, or 66.87 points, to 6,815.30.

SM Investments Corp. rose 0.79 per cent to 1,139 pesos while Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. gained 0.83 per cent to 2,910 pesos.

- Singapore rose 0.13 per cent, or 4.18 points, to close at 3,321.77.

Real estate company City Developments gained 0.90 per cent to Sg$11.26 while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation dropped 0.19 per cent to Sg$10.67.

- Kuala Lumpur ended flat to close at 1,685.40.

Hong Leong Financial Group added 1.2 per cent to 15.18 ringgit, while CIMB Group Holdings rose 1.2 per cent to 7.74.

- Jakarta ended up 0.49 per cent, or 24.22 points, at 4,981.47.

Miner Aneka Tambang rose 3.60 per cent to 1,440 rupiah, while cigarette manufacturer Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna slipped 0.12 per cent to 85,000 rupiah.

- Bangkok lost 1.94 per cent, or 30.02 points, to 1,520.52.

Telecoms company Advanced Info Service fell 3.77 per cent to 230.00 baht, while Siam Cement dropped 2.92 per cent to 466.00 baht.

- Mumbai fell 1.26 per cent, or 239.31 points, to 18,801.64 points.

Bharti Airtel fell 3.95 per cent to 280.65 rupees, while Tata Motors fell 3.45 per cent to 257.6 rupees.

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Now seven UK social classes

THE British public no longer fit in to just three social classes, a major new study has discovered.

Instead, the findings suggest people are divided into seven different classes based on economic, social and cultural measures.

More than 160,000 people took part in the Great British Class Survey, the largest of its kind in the UK, according to the BBC.

The results prompted researchers to dismiss the established upper class, middle class and working class system, traditionally defined by occupation, wealth and education, as "too simplistic".

The new classes range from the privileged 'elite' to the deprived 'precariat' and are based on assessments of income, savings, house value and social capital or the number and status of people that someone knows.

The research was carried out by Mike Savage from the London School of Economics and Fiona Devine from the University of Manchester with the help of BBC Lab UK.

Professor Devine said: "It shows us there is still a top and a bottom, at the top we still have an elite of very wealthy people and at the bottom the poor, with very little social and cultural engagement."

In the middle of the two extremes are the established middle class, the second wealthiest group, followed by the technical middle class, a small, prosperous new class group which scores low for social and cultural capital.

Next down the line are the new affluent workers, a young class group which is socially and culturally active, with middling levels of economic capital, and the traditional working class, who score low on capital but are not "completely deprived".

Ahead of the poorest in society are the emergent service workers, a new, young, urban group which is relatively poor but has high social and cultural capital.

Professor Divine added: "It's what's in the middle which is really interesting and exciting, there's a much more fuzzy area between the traditional working class and traditional middle class.

"There's the emergent workers and the new affluent workers who are different groups of people who won't necessarily see themselves as working or middle class."

The findings are to be published in the Sociology Journal and presented at a conference of the British Sociological Association.

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France orders Rwandan genocide charge

A FRENCH court has for the first time ordered a Rwandan to face trial over the country's 1994 genocide, a judicial source says.

Pascal Simbikangwa, a former Rwandan army captain arrested on the French island of Mayotte in 2008, is facing charges of complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity but can still appeal the decision in an attempt to avoid the trial.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday if his lawyers would file an appeal.

Simbikangwa, a former intelligence officer under Rwanda's Hutu government, was arrested under an international arrest warrant for his alleged involvement in the genocide, which killed some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, over three months.

France in early 2010 set up a new unit to try cases of genocide and crimes against humanity involving suspects detained in France.

Two investigating magistrates from the unit ordered the trial on Friday following a request from prosecutors in early March.

France has repeatedly refused to extradite genocide suspects to Rwanda, fearing they would be denied a fair trial, but has sent some to Tanzania to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Simbikangwa, born in 1959, is accused of being a member of the Akazu, an informal organisation of Hutu extremists believe to have planned and implemented the genocide.

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WHO plays down China bird flu fears

THE World Health Organisation is playing down fears over a strain of bird flu which has killed two people in China.

However, it says it is crucial to find out how the virus infected humans.

"It's the first time that H7N9 was found in humans," the UN health agency's spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the deadly strain of avian influenza.

"It is of concern to WHO and we will be following this with the health authorities in China to know more. But for the time being, it's only three cases and it has shown, for the time being, no human-to-human transmission," she added.

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said over the weekend two men, aged 87 and 27, died in Shanghai in early March after being infected with H7N9 avian influenza.

The presence of the virus in the victims was only confirmed on Friday.

A 35-year-old woman in the eastern province of Anhui, near Shanghai, was in critical condition with the virus, the commission said.

"To date the investigation showed no link between the three cases, but the investigation is still ongoing," said Chaib, adding that 88 individuals who had been in contact with the victims were being monitored.

"The state of knowledge as of now is limited," she underlined.

Shanghai's health bureau has ordered hospitals to strengthen surveillance of respiratory illness cases.

"They are taking the measures necessary," said Chaib.

The woman from Anhui had contact with birds, while the younger man in Shanghai worked butchering and selling meat, China's state-backed Health News said on its website on Monday, suggesting a route for transmission.

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UK artist guilty of indecency charges

AN internationally renowned artist has been convicted of sex offences against children in England.

A jury at Truro Crown Court found Graham Ovenden, 70, guilty of four charges of indecency with a child.

They cleared the pensioner, a former pupil under Sir Peter Blake and who has had work exhibited in galleries across the globe, of three charges of indecent assault on the direction of Judge Graham Cottle.

The judge told the jury of seven men and five women that he would accept majority verdicts, of which at least 10 of them were agreed, on the remaining five charges - three of indecent assault and two of indecency with a child.

Ovenden, who was not present in court having been taken ill, denied all the charges relating to four children - now all adults - between 1972 and 1985.

The incidents, involving young girls, are said to have taken place at Ovenden's former and current addresses, in London and Cornwall, respectively.

Ovenden had been described in court by prosecutor Ramsay Quaife as "a paedophile", who abused children while they modelled for him.

The charges relate to four claimants, who contacted police long after the abuse is alleged to have taken place, and only when they realised exactly what had happened to them as girls, the court heard.

But Ovenden denied the abuse ever happened.

He told the court he had taken pictures of children - including those in various states of undress - but said they were not indecent.

He also described the "witch-hunt" against those who produce work involving naked children, accusing police of "falsifying" images recovered from his home computer.

Ovenden, of Barley Splatt, near Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, denies having a sexual interest in children.

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Pirates kill 20 Bangladeshi fishermen

THE bodies of 20 Bangladesh fishermen tied up and thrown into the deep sea in an apparent pirate attack have been recovered, officials say.

The bodies were found in the Bay of Bengal, where pirates have created a reign of terror by routinely robbing, kidnapping and extorting money from fishermen working along the coastline.

"Today our boats have found 17 bodies floating about 12 kilometres west of the lighthouse of Kutubdia Island," Navy commander Mustafizur Rahman told AFP on Tuesday.

Three bodies were recovered by a fishing boat on Monday.

"All the bodies were in decomposed state. They had their hands tied up and were thrown in deep sea," Rahman added.

Deputy police chief in Cox's Bazaar town, Imran Bhuiyan, told AFP the pirates appeared to have thrown the men into the sea alive and stolen the engine, fishing nets and catch on the fishing boat.

Last August, Bangladesh authorities said they had rescued at least 60 fishermen abducted by pirates in the Bay of Bengal, but attempts by naval and air forces to crack down on criminal activity at sea have proved futile.

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Easter road toll 7 more than last year's

Eighteen people have been killed on the nation's roads during Easter, seven more than last year. Source: AAP

EIGHTEEN people have been killed on the nation's roads during the Easter break, seven more than this time last year.

Two pedestrians are among the victims, with the latest a male who died at the scene of a crash at Waterloo Corner, north of Adelaide, on Monday evening.

In Perth, a male pedestrian, 21, died after being hit by a prime mover on the Mitchell Freeway about 7.20pm (WST) on Sunday.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner and have asked witnesses to the accident, or anyone who saw a pedestrian on the freeway beforehand, to call Crime Stoppers.

The first death on WA roads in the Easter period was on Thursday, when a 66-year-old man died after his car and caravan rolled over near Albany in the state's south.

There were also two off-road crashes in WA which were not included in the official toll figures.

On Saturday afternoon, a 37-year-old man died and a 33-year-old man was injured when their motorcycles collided on a blind bend on private property about 50km north of Kalgoorlie.

The 37-year-old man, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from his bike and suffered serious head injuries.

On Friday afternoon, a 29-year-old motorcyclist from Geraldton died after crashing in sand dunes near Northampton in WA's Mid West region.

In South Australia, a 27-year-old man died when his ute rolled in Mount Gambier on Saturday night.

Three people died in two separate crashes in South Australia on Good Friday.

"South Australia has already recorded its worst Easter road toll in recent years and thousands of families are still to make the journey home today," South Australia Police said in a statement.

The official Easter road toll is now five in South Australia, two in NSW, four in Queensland, three in Victoria, two in Tasmania and two in WA.

There have been no road deaths in the ACT or the Northern Territory.

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Police struggle to find crashed plane

Police try to locate the wreckage of 2degrees boss Eric Hertz's crashed plane off the Waikato coast. Source: AAP

THE navy has been called in to find the crashed plane carrying the head of 2degrees and his wife in the sea off the Waikato coast.

The twin-engine Beechcraft Baron, owned by Eric and Kathy Hertz, ditched in the sea off Kawhia, west of Hamilton, about 12.30pm on Saturday, after reporting engine failure.

Police say the plane is likely to be in about 60 metres of water, making recovering the couple's bodies extremely challenging.

Operation head Sergeant Warren Shaw says while debris and an oil slick have been located, the actual plane has not.

"One of the major challenges we are facing is that we are dealing with an aircraft that has potentially impacted with the water at high speed and broken up," he said.

"To compound things further there is the potential for objects that come to the surface to drift up to five kilometres a day due to surface currents."

When the debris was first found, a buoy was deployed to guide searchers, and specialist police divers spent Sunday at the site beginning to map the ocean floor, but was unable to locate the plane.

"The actual location of the aircraft could be a considerable distance away and it may be some time before any wreckage is located," Sgt Shaw said.

Police divers, along with navy mine countermeasures staff and divers, will return to the site on a Coastguard boat on Monday to resume the search.

Sgt Shaw says the navy personnel will be "cruicial" for mapping the search.

"They bring with them a number of unmanned submersible devices that can assist in this and it is only when the aircraft has been pinpointed that we would consider putting any divers in the water," he said.

Sgt Shaw warned that the wreckage would be at a depth "near the edge of the operating capacity of the resources at hand".

Police will continue shoreline searches with a helicopter on Monday, and were appealing for boaties, coastal landowners and beachgoers to keep an eye out for anything unusual.

The Civil Aviation Authority will also send two staff to the crash site to begin investigating the cause of the crash.

The couple, who were American citizens with New Zealand residency, had been travelling from Ardmore in Auckland to Timaru, and planned to visit their daughter, Ari, in Christchurch.

The plane radioed Airways New Zealand to report engine failure shortly before radar contact was lost.

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Rodwell helps pursue Philippine kidnappers

FREED Australian hostage Warren Rodwell met with a Philippine prosecutor to help prepare charges against the Islamic extremists who held him in captivity for 15 months.

A gaunt, grim-looking Rodwell, who was in a wheelchair and escorted by Australian embassy personnel, filed a statement describing his ordeal before assistant prosecutor Aristotle Reyes at the Justice Department in Manila.

"This is to process the investigation of the case. The statement can be used by the PNP (Philippine National Police) to pursue a complaint," said Reyes, without disclosing details of the statement.

Armed men posing as police abducted Rodwell, 54, from his home in a coastal town of the southern Philippines in December, 2011, and demanded $US2 million ($A1.92 million) for his safe release.

The militants freed a deeply emaciated Rodwell on March 23 after a payment, reportedly of four million pesos (about $A96,000), was made.

Authorities say the Abu Sayyaf, a small group of militants based in lawless islands of the southern Philippines and designated by the US government as a terrorist organisation, was responsible for the kidnapping.

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Police accused of helping people smugglers

People smugglers in Indonesia say they are not threatened by the Australian government's policies. Source: AAP

PEOPLE smugglers operating out of Indonesia say they are not threatened by the Australian government's border protection policies, amid allegations some are even enlisting the help of police to send boats to Australia.

As leaders from across the region, including Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, assemble in Bali for talks on people smuggling, fresh evidence has emerged that efforts to stem the flow of boats to Christmas Island are being undermined by corrupt police in Jakarta.

A source close to one major operation, who cannot be identified because of concerns for his safety, told AAP he was recently involved in a venture in which uniformed police helped escort about 70 asylum seekers from an apartment in Jakarta to a waiting boat.

"We all had to pay the police $US300. But we already paid the smuggler," he said.

The money given to police was on top of $5000 to $6000 the asylum seekers had already paid to secure passage from Indonesia to Christmas Island.

The people smuggler behind the operation has been identified as an Afghan man named Nasir Ahmad, alias Haji Majeed.

It is believed Ahmad had worked as an agent for the alleged people-smuggling kingpin Sayed Abbas, who is being held at police headquarters in Jakarta while he awaits extradition to Australia.

Abbas has denied being involved in people smuggling, but confirmed that he had heard the name Haji Majeed.

"Haji Majeed has a good name as smuggler," Abbas told AAP during a recent interview.

Ahmad is believed to have sent at least five asylum-seeker boats to Australia in the past six weeks.

Other people smugglers have been successful in persuading asylum seekers not to worry about being sent to Nauru or Manus Island.

In a recorded telephone conversation provided to AAP, a long-time people smuggler identified as an Iranian man known as Abu Ali dismisses an asylum seeker's concerns that boats may be turned back to Indonesia.

Asylum seeker: "People say that the route is not safe and people say that the boat will be returned when it reaches Australian territory? Is it correct?"

Abu Ali: "No, it is wrong. These days the boat arriving there, they go directly into the camp."

Asylum seeker: "There is another country near to that and (Australia) send them there which made us worried. And they don't let into Australia."

Abu Ali: "No, that is wrong. Everyone go directly into the camp, God knows."

The details of the sales pitches employed by people smugglers came to light as officials from across the region began arriving in Bali on Monday for talks on combating people smuggling.

The two-day meeting will be co-chaired by Senator Carr and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

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Media man dies in Sydney cliff top fall

Sydney sport and media circles are in mourning over the death of PR consultant Rod "Rocket" Allen. Source: AAP

SYDNEY sport and media circles are mourning journalist-turned-PR consultant Rod "Rocket" Allen, whose body was discovered on Cockatoo Island.

It is understood Mr Allen had been camping with his wife Laila on the Sydney Harbour island on Saturday night to celebrate a former colleague's 50th birthday.

Police believe Mr Allen fell from a cliff overnight, but investigations into his death continue.

A spokeswoman could not confirm a News Ltd report he became disoriented when he was returning to his tent on the northern side of the island in the early hours of Sunday morning and fell from a viewing platform overhanging a sandstone cliff.

News Ltd reported investigations by water police would focus on whether there was adequate fencing, lighting and signage around the 20-metre drop and the pathways leading to the platform.

The man nicknamed Rocket joined the media industry more than 20 years ago, as a cadet with News Ltd, and eventually became a sports managing editor for Fairfax before going on to found the public relations firm Rocket Group in 2009.

As media manager for the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club, he watched the Wanderers win the Premiers Plate on Friday in the team's inaugural season.

Club executive chairman Lyall Gorman said football had lost a great friend.

"On this day of immense shock and sadness, we remember Rod's wonderful warm nature," Mr Gorman said.

"I am not sure that in the nine years I have known Rod that I have ever seen him happier or prouder when it came to football (than on Friday)."

As news of his death spread on Sunday evening, friends and colleagues took to Twitter to express their grief.

"Wow.. Can't believe it, Rod Allen, amazing guy, love to his family and friends. Shocked," said Socceroos captain Lucas Neill.

One colleague wrote: "Rod Allen was an inspirational sports editor and a wonderful mentor for all who worked with him,"

Another described the media man as a "master of his craft and an even better bloke", while a third remembered him as a "good guy with a ready smile".

Mr Allen had worked as head of media relations for Football Federation Australia, supporting Australia's bids for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the Socceroos' campaigns for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

FFA CEO David Gallop paid tribute to Mr Allen's professionalism.

"His no-nonsense approach to the task at hand was his trademark and many who dealt with him appreciated this dedication to getting the story, hitting deadline or managing an issue," Mr Gallop said.

"On behalf of the Australian Football Community, we offer our deepest condolences to his family during this extremely sad time."

Fairfax reported friends and family left the island about 2pm (AEDT) on Sunday before gathering in Balmain to mourn.

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Pope prays for peace in Syria, Korea

POPE Francis prayed for a "political solution" in Syria and for "reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula in his first Easter Sunday message in front of a crowd in St Peter's Square.

Latin America's first pontiff also issued an appeal for hostages held by militants in Nigeria and condemned human trafficking as "the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century".

The pope delivered his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to Rome and the world from the same balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he made his first appearance after his momentous election to the papacy this month.

Speaking in front of some 250,000 people from around the world in the Vatican, Francis prayed for "dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort.

"How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before a political solution to the crisis will be found?" he said.

"On the Korean peninsula, may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow," he said, a day after North Korea declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea.

Francis also prayed for Nigeria "where great numbers of people, including children, are held hostage by terrorist groups" - an apparent reference to a French family kidnapped in Cameroon and believed held by the Nigerian group Boko Haram.

The pope also toured St Peter's Square in his open-top "popemobile" - kissing babies and waving to cheering crowds who held up flags from around the world including his native Argentina.

Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar and celebrates the belief in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. It is the culmination of weeks of intense prayer for Christians.

At an Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the first pontiff from outside Europe in nearly 1,300 years of Church history reached out to non-believers and lapsed Catholics, urging them to "step forward" to God.

"He will receive you with open arms," said the 76-year-old, formerly Buenos Aires archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, who has called for the Roman Catholic Church to be closer to ordinary people and the needy.

The Catholic Church is struggling in the face of rising secularism, particularly in Europe where attendances at Mass are falling sharply.

On Sunday, Francis prayed God's message would reach "every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons."

"How many deserts, even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the desert within, when we have no love for God or neighbour," he said.

On Holy Thursday, Francis celebrated an unprecedented Mass in a youth prison in Rome in which he washed the feet of 12 inmates including two girls and two Muslims - a ritual seen as a gesture of humility towards the 12 apostles attributed to Jesus.

Previous popes only ever performed the ritual with priests or Catholic laymen.

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Sea 'too loud' for cruise passenger

COMPLAINTS by cruise ship passengers include one by a woman who moaned about the sea being "too loud", it has been revealed.

And a couple accused a captain of being "rude" for sailing off when they had left a note saying they needed more sightseeing time in port, according to cruise travel agency bonvoyage.co.uk.

One woman, having seen that Take That star Gary Barlow had been on her ship on an earlier trip, demanded an explanation as to why the singer was not on her voyage.

Then there was the man who complained about not getting "an impressive tan" and being unable to swim in the pool each day while on a trip around ... Alaska.

A woman travelling with the company called Celebrity Cruises asked for a refund as there were "no celebrities on board", while a Yorkshire couple wanted compensation after forking out "a lot more money than planned" on staff tips due to the excellent service.

The woman who complained about the loudness of the sea said she had not been able to sleep well on her Mediterranean cruise.

She demanded cabins be "better sound-proofed against the sounds of the sea".

Another female traveller, having booked an inside cabin, then complained about not having a view of the sea and asked for a window to be installed.

Bonvoyage.co.uk cruise development manager Steph Curtin said: "From time to time we come across a few quirky complaints that we can do little to help.

"I'm afraid we can't be held responsible for the sea being too loud or the lack of celebrities on board."

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Karzai to hold talks in Qatar on Taliban

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai is set to hold discussions in Qatar about the opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf state as a prelude to possible talks on ending more than a decade of war.

Karzai previously opposed such a Qatar venue since he feared his government would be frozen out of any peace negotiations involving the Islamic extremists and the United States.

The militants refuse to have direct contact with the Afghan president, saying he is a puppet of the United States, which supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the Taliban from Kabul in 2001.

But with US-led NATO combat troops due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Karzai agreed to the proposed Taliban office in Doha and is expected to raise the plan in talks with the Emir of Qatar on Sunday.

Any future peace talks still face numerous hurdles before they begin, including confusion over who would represent the Taliban and Karzai's insistence that his appointees should be at the centre of negotiations.

"We will discuss the peace process, of course, and the opening of an office for the Taliban in Qatar," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told AFP before Karzai left Kabul on Saturday.

"If we want to have talks to bring peace to Afghanistan, the main side must be the Afghan government's representatives - the High Peace Council, which has members from all the country's ethnic and political backgrounds."

Negotiating with the hardline Taliban regime that harboured al-Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks was for many years an anathema to countries in the UN-backed coalition against the militants.

But the search for a political settlement became a priority as the insurgency raged on, with Taliban leaders able to fuel violence from safe havens across the border in Pakistan.

Kabul has repeatedly stressed it will only start talks if the militants break all links with al-Qaeda and give up violence, and Faizi said any Taliban office in Qatar must be subject to strict conditions.

"It can only be an address where the armed opposition sit and talk to the Afghanistan government," he said.

"This office cannot be used for any other purposes."

Karzai met with Qatari investors on Saturday evening and encouraged them to invest in the country as it works to secure stability before NATO-led combat forces withdraw next year.

"The future of Afghanistan is guaranteed because our relations have expanded with America and other countries such as China, India and Russia," he said according to an emailed statement.

"Afghanistan has good opportunities and resources that we can share with you."

The United Nations this week welcomed news Karzai would visit Qatar, and issued another call for the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.

But a Qatar office could mean little if the Taliban continue to refuse to negotiate with Karzai or the government-appointed High Peace Council.

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