Storms in China traps tourists, kill 69

AT least 100 tourists have been left trapped after a landslide cut off a road amid storms that have flooded rivers and triggered mudslides, killing at least 69 people in China.

The tourists became trapped on Friday night in the northwest province of Gansu after a landslide cut off traffic, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

They were en route to a nature reserve in Sichuan province, which has been hit hardest by the week-long series of storms, and road repair work was under way in an effort to free them.

Sichuan has reported at least 31 storm-related deaths.

A massive mudslide that struck a scenic resort outside the city of Dujiangyan in Sichuan killed 26 people and left 123 people missing, according to Xinhua.

An entire hillside collapsed onto clusters of holiday cottages where city dwellers escape summer heat, a survivor told the news agency.

Flooding in Sichuan was the worst in 50 years for some areas, with more than 220,000 people forced to evacuate.

Mudslides and flooding are common in China's mountainous areas, killing hundreds of people every year but in some areas the current floods are already the worst in half a century.

In the northwest province of Shaanxi, 23 people died in landslides or house collapses.

At least 12 workers were killed in the northern province of Shanxi when a violent rainstorm collapsed an unfinished coal mine workshop.

Another three people were drowned in a car in Hebei province outside Beijing.

AP j

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Two dead, 100 hurt as Soulik hits Taiwan

TYPHOON Soulik is battering Taiwan with torrential rain and powerful winds which have so far left two people dead and at least 100 injured.

Roofs have been ripped from homes, debris and fallen trees litter streets and some areas are submerged by flood waters.

One town in central Taiwan reported on Saturday widespread landslides and water levels a storey high.

Around 8000 people were evacuated from homes before the typhoon struck, with hundreds of soldiers deployed to high-risk areas and the whole island declared an "alert zone" by authorities.

In the capital Taipei, a 50-year-old police officer died after being hit by bricks loosened during the typhoon, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said.

A 54-year-old woman from central Miaoli county died after falling from the roof of her home.

In Taichung city, a man was missing after falling into a river.

104 people were reported injured, mostly by trees or flying debris, with the majority recorded in Taichung.

Soulik made landfall on the northeast coast around 3am local time on Saturday, packing winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

Strong winds battered the island for much of the day but by late afternoon the CWB downgraded Soulik to a tropical storm and lifted the land warning as it churned towards mainland China.

Nine people were rescued from flooded homes in the Shiangshan area of Puli, a town in central Nantou county, which was also hit by landslides.

"The water came very fast, catching residents totally unprepared - in some areas, it was one-storey deep," township official Wu Yuan-ming told AFP.

The nine were rescued by firefighters in rubber boats after the river broke its banks, Wu said.

"Flooding and landslides were widespread in the town, especially in the areas near mountains," he added, calling the effects of the typhoon "more serious than we predicted".

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Russia awaits Snowden asylum request

RUSSIA is waiting on a promised request for asylum from fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden that risks straining relations with Washington.

Snowden on Friday dramatically summoned activists to the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport where he has been marooned without a passport for three weeks after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong.

But a day after saying he would immediately request asylum from Russia, officials in Moscow say they are not aware of any approach by the former National Security Agency contractor.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov appeared on Saturday to want to distance himself from the controversy, insisting the government was "not contacting" Snowden and that he had found out about the details of his meeting with activists through the media.

"Russian laws specify a procedure for obtaining political asylum and the first step is approaching the Federal Migration Service," he added, quoted by Russian news agencies.

The United States has told Moscow Snowden must be extradited home to face justice over his leaking of sensational details about US surveillance activities, a demand President Vladimir Putin has rejected.

Snowden, 30, making his first publicised appearance since arriving in Moscow, told the activists he wanted to claim asylum in Russia until he could safely travel to Latin America for a permanent sanctuary.

He had said he would make the asylum request on Friday evening.

The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service Konstantin Romodanovsky said on Saturday "there is for the moment no application from E. Snowden".

If one was made, it would be examined "according to normal legal procedures", he added.

Curiously, Snowden had last week withdrawn a request for asylum in Russia after Putin insisted he could stay only if he stopped releasing information that harmed the United States.

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No UK public inquiry into Litvinenko death

THE British government has refused to hold a public inquiry into the poisoning of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, a coroner says, leaving the current proceedings on the verge of collapse.

Coroner Robert Owen had sought a full public inquiry to replace his lower-level inquest into the 2006 murder of the former spy in London as he is not authorised to investigate the possible involvement of the Russian state.

But he told a hearing at London's Royal Courts of Justice on Friday the British government had only about an hour earlier denied his request for a judge-led inquiry into the killing.

Litvinenko, 43, was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 while drinking tea at a London hotel.

His widow Marina has claimed that her husband, a former KGB agent, was working for Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6 at the time of his slow and agonising death, and that he was killed on the orders of the Kremlin.

Her lawyer Ben Emmerson told Friday's hearing the British government had shown an "utter lack of professionalism" in the way it handled the request for a public inquiry.

"The repeated catalogue of broken promises is a sign of something gone awry," Emmerson told the court.

The current inquest into Litvinenko's death was thrown into doubt in May when Owen ruled that he could not hear evidence concerning Russia's alleged role, following an application by the British foreign ministry to keep it secret.

Owen had said he would be failing in his duty "to undertake a full, fair and fearless inquiry into the circumstances of Mr Litvinenko's death" if he was forced to disregard the evidence for national security reasons.

He suggested the death could instead be considered in a public inquiry in which the evidence alleging Russian state involvement "could be taken into account".

Under English law, evidence cannot be heard in secret as part of an inquest, but could be presented behind closed doors as part of a public inquiry.

Inquests, which are held to examine sudden or unexplained deaths, set out to determine the place and time of death as well as how the deceased came by their death, but they do not apportion blame.

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Suicides hit all-time high in Singapore

SUICIDES in Singapore hit an all-time high of 487 in 2012 as more young people bogged down by stress and relationship woes took their own lives, a charity group says.

The tally, a 29 per cent increase from the 2011 total, was boosted by an 80 per cent rise in the 20-29 age bracket, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) said in a statement.

"Common problems presented by this group of people involved stressful life events, and interpersonal relationship issues," said SOS, which aims to prevent suicides by providing emotional support through private counselling and a 24-hour telephone hotline.

"These include unemployment, stress with studies or work, financial worries, family life, and struggles with social interactions and feelings of loneliness."

Christine Wong, executive director of SOS, said young people under stress "tend to hide their pain behind a facade, not knowing where, how or who they can approach for help".

"People around them may not be aware of their distress and are hence unable to provide the support needed," she said in the statement.

Wong added the community should play an important role in "destigmatising" suicide by encouraging those under stress to talk about their struggles and suicidal feelings.

SOS received 39,994 calls on its telephone hotline in 2012, down from 40,025 in 2011.

Suicides cases have consistently hovered around two per cent of total deaths in Singapore, an affluent city-state of 5.3 million residents known for its pressure-laden school system.

Despite a virtually full employment rate, Singapore also has a highly competitive work environment.

Suicide is an offence in the compact island-state, and anyone who survives an attempt faces a jail term of up to a year, a fine or both.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last year said one million people commit suicide every year worldwide, accounting for more deaths than wars and murders put together.

The number of suicide attempts is five times higher, WHO said, with five per cent of the people in the world having tried to kill themselves at least once during their lifetime.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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Broadcaster Alan Whicker dies at 87

BROADCASTER Alan Whicker, whose distinguished TV career stretched nearly 60 years, has died at the age of 87 after suffering from bronchial pneumonia, his spokeswoman says.

Whicker was best known for his Whicker's World TV series and his global travels during a distinguished TV career.

The presenter and reporter died in the early hours of Friday at his home in Jersey.

The star, who had been with partner Valerie Kleeman for more than 40 years, regularly presented Whicker's World for a little over three decades.

The documentary programs famously brought a glimpse of the exotic jetset lifestyles of the rich and famous into UK homes.

In 2009, he returned to some of the locations and people who featured over the years for a BBC series, Alan Whicker's Journey Of A Lifetime.

His distinctive voice and delivery led to him regularly being parodied by, among others, the Monty Python team, and a jokey rap delivered Whicker-style, called Wikka Wrap, even made the top 20 in 1981. He once entered a Whicker soundalike contest and managed to finish in third place.

Egypt-born Whicker had also been a war correspondent and, during his own service in World War II, he was among the first group of Allied forces to enter Milan and he filmed footage of the body of Mussolini.

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Thousands evacuated as typhoon nears

THOUSANDS of people have been evacuated in Taiwan and the entire island declared an "alert zone" as Typhoon Soulik edges nearer.

More than 8000 people have been moved from their homes, many from southern areas prone to landslides, the Central Emergency Operation Centre says as the typhoon is expected to pound the country with powerful winds and heavy rain over the weekend.

"The whole country is now considered an alert zone," an official from the National Fire Agency told AFP.

Around 5000 of those who have been evacuated were from the landslide zones in the south - 3000 were moved out of Kaohsiung city and 2000 others from Pingtung county.

They have been taken to local government buildings which have been turned into shelters.

Offices and schools closed in Taipei and eight other cities, with residents advised to stay indoors as the typhoon churns towards the island.

Packing winds of up to 209km/h, Soulik is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast around 3am on Saturday (0500 AEST), the Central Weather Bureau said.

The bureau downgraded Soulik from a super typhoon to a moderate typhoon but warned residents across the island to prepare for "extreme torrential rain" - classified as 350mm within 24 hours - and rough seas.

In the north, more than 600 residents were evacuated from six low-lying riverside villages on Friday morning.

In Wuchieh, a township in the northeastern Yilan county - which is forecast to bear the brunt of Soulik - over 2000 sandbags were snatched up by residents and two amphibious military vehicles deployed for rescue.

Waves as high as 1.5 metres hit the shore in Yilan on Friday afternoon as coastguards patrolled the beach to warn visitors to stay away while hundreds of fishing boats sought shelter.

"Many farmers have harvested rice, fruits and vegetables early as the typhoon is expected to impact our area," said Huang Hai-tao, an official in Jiaosi, a popular tourist destination in Yilan.

"The typhoon has also caused some damage to tourism as more than 90 per cent bookings for this weekend have been cancelled."

President Ma Ying-jeou urged government units and the public "not to let their guards down" in a statement, after inspecting the central government's disaster response centre.

A coastal highway in Yilan where 20 Chinese tourists were killed by landslides caused by Typhoon Megi in 2010 was also closed.

More than 2000 tourists had already been evacuated from the remote Green Island, southeast of Taiwan, on Thursday.

The storm has disrupted air travel to and from Taiwan with 65 flights cancelled according to the transport authorities.

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China plans to further restrict car use

CHINA is planning to up the number of cities that restrict vehicle purchases, in a bid to fight pollution and congestion.

Four cities including Beijing and Shanghai already curb the purchase of vehicles for private use, for example by restricting sales to 20,000 per year through a lottery system.

On Thursday, state media quoted the deputy secretary general of the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers as saying eight more cities are likely to announce similar policies.

The eight include port city Tianjin, near Beijing, metropolis Chongqing in the southwest and industrial powerhouse Shenzhen, not far from Hong Kong.

With more than 13 million cars sold in China last year, motor vehicles and their emissions have emerged as the chief culprit for air pollution in large cities.

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Navy inducts new helicopter into fleet

THE Navy has officially welcomed its new helicopters, which have been described as the most advanced tactical troop transport helicopters of the 21st century.

The first of 46 MRH-90s, also known as Taipans, were formally commissioned in a ceremony attended by the Navy's top brass and the former heads of the squadron which has been re-inducted to fly them.

The Taipan was formally commissioned into the fleet at HMAS Albatross navy base.

808 Squadron, first formed in 1950 and whose personnel fought during the Korean War but were decommissioned in 1958, will fly the new craft.

Australian Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Tim Barrett said the Navy would use the new aircraft in the maritime support role previously performed by now retired Sea King helicopter.

In Army service, the Taipan will replace Black Hawks as a battlefield and special operations support helicopter.

"The commissioning of 808 Squadron is a significant milestone for the Navy," Rear Admiral Barrett said in a statement.

The European-designed helicopter is capable of transporting up to 30 personnel.

But it has encountered problems, with a number of performance shortfalls which are now being addressed. The Taipan was listed as a project of concern in 2011.

Rear Admiral Barrett said bringing a technologically advanced, new generation aircraft into service was no simple task.

"There are several nations around the world introducing variants of the MRH-90 Helicopter but 808 Squadron is leading the world in the level of capability being achieved with this new aircraft, particularly in its operations at sea."

The 808 Squadron will be based at HMAS Albatross and its helicopters will operate from support ships such as HMAS Success, HMAS Tobruk and HMAS Choules.

The Taipan will also operate from the new landing helicopter dock amphibious ships Canberra and Adelaide.

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China accuses GSK staff of corruption

Senior managers of drug firm GlaxoSmithKline in China are facing investigation for corruption. Source: AAP

SENIOR managers of British drug firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China have confessed to bribery, "serious" business offences and tax crimes, police say.

"As a big multinational pharmaceutical company, GSK China in recent years rampantly bribed some government officials, a number of pharmaceutical industry groups and funds, hospitals and doctors," the ministry of public security said in a statement.

The firm did so in order to sell products or raise prices, it said, adding that benefits were provided "via travel agencies and other channels in the form of direct bribery or sponsorship".

GSK China also committed tax-related crimes, the statement said, following police investigations in the financial hub Shanghai and the central cities of Changsha and Zhengzhou.

"The case involves a large number of people, a long period of time, a huge value and its circumstances are vile," it added.

Some senior managers have confessed their wrongdoings in preliminary interrogation, the statement said, without specifying the suspects' nationalities.

The inquiry was continuing.

It is common practice in China for pharmaceutical firms to offer doctors and hospitals bribes to have their products used, industry insiders say.

GSK is one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies in China with total investment of more than $US500 million ($A544.72 million), according to its website.

Officials at GSK said they could not immediately comment when contacted by AFP.

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Russia finds dead lawyer guilty of fraud

A Moscow court has found the late Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax fraud. Source: AAP

A MOSCOW court has convicted dead Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky of tax evasion, provoking outrage over the posthumous prosecution of a man whose death in pre-trial detention led to a major diplomatic row with Washington.

Magnitsky was convicted along with his former boss, the US-born British citizen William Browder, the head of the Hermitage Capital investment fund, who was sentenced in absentia to nine years in a prison colony.

However the case against Magnitsky ended with his verdict and a refusal to exonerate him, as the authorities cannot take a case against a dead man any further.

The trial of a deceased person is almost unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia, and has raised concerns that the judicial authorities under President Vladimir Putin continued to persecute Magnitsky because of the political furore over his death.

Journalists packed the tiny courtroom of the Tverskoy District Court in central Moscow where the judge read the verdict so quietly that it could only be heard through headphones of television crews with microphones.

Browder, who is based in London, has overseen for several years a campaign to bring to justice officials who were implicated in Magnitsky's death. He vowed to continue his efforts despite the conviction.

"Today's verdict will go down in history as one of the most shameful moments for Russia since the days of Joseph Stalin," he said in an emailed statement.

President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, which had assumed the presidency of European Union this month, said the ruling was "symbolic and should be assessed negatively."

Magnitsky had accused interior ministry officials of organising a $US235 million ($A256 million) tax scam against Browder's investment company Hermitage Capital, but was then charged with the very crimes he claimed to have uncovered.

He was placed under pre-trial detention in 2008 and died of untreated illnesses less than a year later at the age of 37.

Browder and many Russian rights campaigners have said that Magnitsky was tortured to death with beatings and the refusal of proper medical care.

However after Putin said late last year that Magnitsky died of a heart attack, Russia dropped the probe into his death citing "lack of evidence" and acquitted an official of Moscow's Butyrka prison where the man was held.

Magnitsky's death led to one of the biggest Washington-Moscow rows in years with the US late last year passing the "Sergei Magnitsky Act" which imposed a visa ban and froze the assets of Russian officials implicated in the lawyer's death.

The move infuriated Moscow, which in retaliation passed legislation prohibiting Americans from adopting Russian children.

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Teen becomes 5th death from Turkey unrest

A 19-YEAR-OLD university student who was hurt during anti-government protests that rocked Turkey last month has died from his injuries, bringing the death toll in the unrest to five.

Ali Ismail Korkmaz, who joined the demos on June 2 in the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir, suffered a brain haemorrhage when unidentified assailants attacked him while he was fleeing from tear gas, the Dogan News Agency reported.

The Turkish Medical Association told AFP it could not confirm the latest casualty.

The deadly wave of protests presented Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government with the most serious challenge to its rule since it came to power more than a decade ago.

The unrest flared when police cracked down on a peaceful sit-in against plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park on May 31, which then snowballed into nationwide protests that saw some 2.5 million take to the streets.

The government's heavy-handed response during nearly three weeks of protests left nearly 8000 injured and earned Turkey a strong rebuke from the United States and its Western allies.

The violence eased after police evicted protesters from Gezi Park on June 15, but police again fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday to prevent demonstrators from entering the park after it was re-opened to the public.

On Saturday, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner Nils Muiznieks urged an investigation into the use of excessive police force.

"All instances of excessive use of force by the police must be fully investigated and adequately punished," he said during a visit to the Turkish capital Ankara.

He deplored the fact that only three police officers had been suspended, despite numerous accusations of rights abuses.

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Federal election leaves Gen Y cold

21-YEAR-OLD Dominique Erichsen isn't alone in feeling alienated by politics.

"If it was about me it probably wouldn't be about anything important. But sure, if it was about me I'd be more interested," she says.

The trainee florist from Sydney is enrolled to vote but like many of her generation, doesn't know who her local member is.

It's not that she doesn't care.

"I just have no idea where to start."

A national survey by The Australia Institute conducted in May and released on Wednesday reveals 30 per cent of people aged 17-25 are 'not really interested' in the upcoming federal election.

About 15 per cent are 'disinterested' and 68 per cent don't know who's representing them in parliament.

Executive Director of the Institute, Dr Richard Denniss, said the confusion and disinterest among the country's future leaders is "baffling".

"But I think for the most part it's not their fault. It's up to the politicians to engage them and win them over with policy," Dr Denniss said.

The survey of 806 people also found a significant 47 per cent believe no party best represents the needs of young people.

Associate professor at Sydney University and expert in political participation, Ariadne Vromen, agreed the onus is on politicians to engage with young people in the right spaces.

"So using social media to talk to them. Ninety-five per cent of under-25s are on Facebook so it's the kind of thing you'd think about'," she told AAP.

"I'm a bit disillusioned with this concept of 'let's blame the young people'. A lot of older people are disengaged with politics."

Professor Vromen described a flawed tendency to "homogenise people".

"Young people are talked about as being the same, when they have different social backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds," she said.

She said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull had mastered the art of using Twitter to engage a younger audience because they interacted and showed a bit of their humanity - something politician don't often do.

"They tell you what they're doing on the weekend or when they're going to the movies, which people can relate to."

Dominique says she would relish the chance to be more engaged with policies that matter to her, such as the environment, the NDIS and education reforms.

"Those policies certainly aren't about me but they are good policies."

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Aust expects Japan to accept ICJ rule

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been presenting Australia's case against Japan's whaling program. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA expects Japan to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean if the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds against it, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says.

Should the court rule for Japan, Australia would accept the decision but continue to work for an end to whaling through the International Whaling Commission, he says.

Mr Dreyfus, an experienced Queen's Counsel, has been presenting Australia's case against Japan's whaling program before the ICJ in The Hague, arguing that it is commercial whaling dressed up as science.

He says Japan is a good international citizen and will accept the final ICJ ruling.

"We expect that Japan will comply with any ruling of the ICJ just as Australia would comply with any ruling of the ICJ," he told ABC television's 7.30 Report on Wednesday.

"There are enforcement arrangements. I don't think it would come to that."

Mr Dreyfus said Australia would accept a decision for Japan.

"If the ICJ rules against us, that the whaling convention does permit Japan to do what it has been doing for many years, we will keep arguing in the whaling commission with other nations," he said.

"More than 30 other nations directly support the point we are making here in the ICJ."

Mr Dreyfus said Japan's whaling program in the Southern Ocean had killed more than 10,000 whales since the 1988 moratorium.

He said Japan simply continued whaling following the moratorium, using the same whaling company and doing pretty much as they had before.

"They were doing commercial whaling up to the introduction of the moratorium in the Southern Ocean. After the moratorium, they simply re-badged it as a scientific program," he said.

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Carr meets with Myanmar president

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has met Myanmar's (Burma's) reformist leaders on a visit aimed at boosting relations with the former junta-ruled nation in reward for sweeping political changes.

Senator Carr discussed investment and aid with President Thein Sein and "offered Australian support" in efforts to end long-running ethnic rebellions during Wednesday's talks with senior officials in the capital Naypyidaw.

"Both parties agreed that there was more to be done in the reconciliation process," Senator Carr's media advisor Patrick Low told AFP.

He said talks with Thein Sein focused on raising living standards in the impoverished nation.

Canberra is increasing its development aid for Myanmar to $A100 million by 2015 - more than double its 2012 level - as it looks to support education in the country.

Australia was one of the first countries to roll back sanctions against the former pariah state last year. The removal of most Western embargoes has resulted in a slew of firms eyeing the resource-rich country.

"There are numerous Australian companies interested in investing, particularly in the resource sector. That's something that we encourage," Low told AFP, adding that Woodside, Australia's biggest energy firm, had already entered the country.

Senator Carr also met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday for discussions centred on strengthening democratic institutions, Low said.

Since Thein Sein, a former junta general, took over the presidency in 2011 hundreds of political prisoners have been released and Suu Kyi has been elected to parliament.

Tentative peace deals have been agreed with all major ethnic rebel groups, but human rights concerns remain particularly in western Rakhine state where communal unrest has killed over 200 people and left tens of thousands of mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims homeless.

President Thein Sein visited Australia in March, becoming Myanmar's first head of state to do so since 1974.

At the time Canberra announced an easing of restrictions on defence co-operation including humanitarian and disaster relief activities, as well as peacekeeping, but said its arms embargo would remain.

Carr will end his visit on Thursday in the commercial hub Yangon (Rangoon), where he will discuss efforts to preserve the city's historic colonial era architecture.

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Dispute over PM snags Egypt as rival demos

Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei is among those being considered as premier to lead Egypt. Source: AAP

THE choice of Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei as Egypt's interim premier has hit opposition within the coalition that backed Mohamed Morsi's overthrow, as supporters and opponents of the deposed Islamist president planned rival rallies Sunday.

The official MENA news agency said on Saturday that caretaker president Adly Mansour had appointed the outspoken liberal opponent of Morsi, only for his office to later deny any final decision had been taken.

Reporters had already assembled at the presidential palace for promised statements from Mansour and ElBaradei which were then abruptly called off.

Salafi Islamists, who gave their backing to Morsi's overthrow in a military coup on Wednesday, were holding out against ElBaradei's appointment, officials close to the talks told AFP.

Presidential adviser Ahmed al-Muslimani said ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, remained the "strongest candidate." "He is on top of the list of names," Muslimani told AFP.

But by Sunday morning, after another round of talks, a senior Salafi politician said his Al-Nour party would not accept ElBaradei.

"Our position is simple. There are two reasons to reject ElBaradei: We need to technocratic economic figure; and we need to end polarisation on the street," said Nader Bakkar.

"We can't talk of national reconciliation and then make Morsi's most ardent opponent prime minister," he said.

An official close to ElBaradei conceded there were fears of alienating Al-Nour, which won almost a quarter of votes in a 2011 parliamentary election, and "driving them" into Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood camp.

Meanwhile, the presidency held out an olive branch to Morsi supporters in the Brotherhood as its leaders vowed to press protests rejecting his ouster.

"We extend our hand to the Muslim Brotherhood," Muslimani told a news conference.

"I think the Muslim Brotherhood has many opportunities in the coming period, to enter elections."

The initial reports of ElBaradei's appointment had been greeted with cheers in Cairo's Tahrir Square and Ittihadiya presidential palace, where opponents of Morsi set off firecrackers, frantically waved Egyptian flags and honked car horns.

The celebrations came as the Brotherhood staged a new show of force to demand the military restore Morsi to power, after 24 hours of violence that killed 37 people and injured more than 1,400.

Tamarod, the grassroots movement which organised the mass protests against Morsi that prompted the army to intervene, called for new demonstrations on Sunday to counter the Islamists, raising fears of more unrest.

Morsi, who has been in detention since overnight on Wednesday, had issued a defiant call for his supporters to defend his "legitimacy" as Egypt's first freely elected president, in a recorded speech released shortly after his ouster.

Friday's violence erupted despite talk of peaceful protests, with Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria the hardest hit.

The bloodletting continued on Saturday with gunmen killing a Coptic Christian priest in the Sinai Peninsula.

Militants in the Sinai also blew up a gas pipeline to Jordan, for the first time in nearly a year, as soldiers and police came under attack by Islamist gunmen.

On Friday, armed Morsi supporters had stormed the North Sinai provincial headquarters in the town of El-Arish and raised the black banner of Al-Qaeda-inspired militants, an AFP correspondent reported.

Morsi's single year of turbulent rule was marked by accusations he failed the 2011 revolution by concentrating power in Brotherhood hands and letting the economy nosedive.

President Barack Obama meanwhile insisted the United States was "not aligned" with any political party or group in Egypt following Morsi's ouster.

Obama, who spoke with members of the National Security Council by conference call, "condemned the ongoing violence across Egypt and expressed concern over the continued political polarisation," according to a White House statement.

"The United States categorically rejects the false claims propagated by some in Egypt that we are working with specific political parties or movements to dictate how Egypt's transition should proceed," the statement said.

"The future path of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people."

Washington also echoed calls by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a peaceful end to the crisis.

But Republican Senator John McCain called for a suspension of US military aid to Cairo because the army had "overturned the vote of the people".

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Solar airplane lands in New York

THE experimental Solar Impulse plane, powered by the sun, has completed a transcontinental trip across the United States, touching down in New York despite a rip in the fabric of one wing.

The giant, single-person plane landed at New York's John F Kennedy airport at 11.11pm (0311 GMT) on Saturday, ahead of its originally scheduled time due to a 2.5-metre long tear that appeared on the fabric of the lower side of the left wing.

Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was met on the tarmac by compatriot and fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard, and the two posed triumphantly for pictures.

The men had taken turns flying the spindly, long-winged plane across the country.

The Solar Impulse, which runs on four electric propellers powered by an array of solar cells mounted on the plane's 63-metre wingspan, lifted off just before dawn Saturday from Washington Dulles International Airport.

"This last leg was especially difficult due to the damage of the fabric on the left wing," Borschberg told reporters upon landing after the 18 hour, 23 minute flight.

The team looked at all possible scenarios, "including bailing out over the Atlantic," he said. "But this type of problem is inherent to every experimental endeavour."

Flying coast-to-coast "has always been a mythical milestone full of challenges for aviation pioneers," added Piccard. "During this journey, we had to find solutions for a lot of unforeseen situations, which obliged us to develop new skills and strategies."

The team also "pushed the boundaries of clean technologies and renewable energies to unprecedented levels," he said.

Piccard said they had mixed feelings about the end of their long trip. "Normally you feel a bit sad and nostalgic, but with the problem with the wing, we feel relieved," he said.

The coast-to-coast US journey began on May 3, near San Francisco, California. The plane then landed in Phoenix (Arizona), Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas), St. Louis (Missouri), Cincinnati (Ohio) and the capital, Washington.

Borschberg was forced to pass the hours Saturday by circling over the Atlantic not far from the "Big Apple," before being allowed to fly over the city in the evening, due to heavy air traffic.

The light solar plane flies at around 70km per hour, and is especially sensitive to air turbulence.

Before the final leg, Piccard and Borschberg spoke of the most memorable moments from the cross-country flight.

For Piccard, a Swiss adventurer who founded Solar Impulse over a decade ago, one of those moments was flying past the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at the very start of the journey.

Borschberg recalled one of the most dangerous moments of the trip, when wind threatened to unbalance the aircraft.

The crossing has been "more difficult than expected because of the weather: There were a lot of tornadoes, storms, causing several of our flights to be delayed or slowed down," Piccard said.

The Solar Impulse is powered by 12,000 solar cells and flies in the dark by reaching high altitudes during the day and gliding downward over long distances by night. It uses no fossil fuels.

Drawbacks include the tiny cockpit, vulnerability to turbulence and the lack of a toilet, so the pilots must relieve themselves by using an empty plastic water bottle on solo flights that can last up to 24 hours.

The current aircraft model, the HB-SIA, is soon to be phased out as the Swiss team prepares test flights next year of the second-generation aircraft, the HB-SIB.

Piccard said the next plane will be 10 percent bigger, with more power, reliability, an auto-pilot function and a toilet so that pilots can make the four to six-day long trips that will be part of its journey across the world in 2015.

The plane's American trip is just the latest in a series of groundbreaking flights across different parts of the world, including Europe and Africa.

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Deported cleric Abu Qatada lands in Jordan

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada has been deported from Britain and is on his way to Jordan. Source: AAP

ISLAMIST cleric Abu Qatada has arrived in Jordan to face terror charges after Britain deported him, ending a decade-long legal battle to be rid of a man once dubbed Osama bin Laden's right hand in Europe.

Prime Minister David Cameron led British ministers in expressing delight at Sunday's final removal from British soil of the Palestinian-born preacher who has been in and out of British prisons since 2002 even though he has never been convicted of any crime.

Abu Qatada was handed over to Jordanian prosecutors straight after his arrival at Marka military airport in east Amman in readiness for his retrial on charges that earned him a life sentence in absentia.

"They are now interrogating him ahead of his retrial," Jordanian Information Minister Mohammad Momani told the state-run Petra news agency.

"His retrial will be conducted in line with international standards, protecting his rights and ensuring justice, fairness, credibility and transparency."

Abu Qatada's father, brothers and other family members waited outside a military courthouse near the airport for his arrival, an AFP photographer reported.

"He will appear before state security court prosectors immediately and they will read the charges," said Hussein Omari, a lawyer at the Amman-based Adaleh Centre for Human Rights Studies, which is to monitor Abu Qatada's retrial.

Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman, but the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour.

In 2000, he was sentenced in his absence to 15 years for plotting to carry out terror attacks on tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations.

Under Jordanian law, he has the right to a retrial in his presence.

Britain was finally able to expel the 53-year-old father-of-five after the two governments last month ratified a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial.

"I was absolutely delighted. This is something this government said it would get done, and we have got it done," Cameron told reporters.

"It's an issue that, like the rest of the country, has made my blood boil."

Abu Qatada was taken from prison in an armoured police van to a military airfield on the outskirts of London, from which he was flown out at 0146 GMT.

Home Secretary Theresa May said his departure proved that the government's efforts to deport him had been worth the 1.7 million ($2.7 million, two million euros) legal bill and would be "welcomed by the British public."

"This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country," she said in a statement released seconds after Abu Qatada's plane took off.

Television pictures showed Abu Qatada dressed in a white robe as he boarded the aircraft at the RAF Northolt base in west London. He had earlier left high security Belmarsh jail in southeast London in a blue armoured police van flanked by three police cars.

London had been trying to deport him since 2005 but British and European courts had blocked his expulsion on the grounds that evidence might be used against him that had been obtained by torture.

But after years of legal battles his lawyers unexpectedly said in May that he would return once the fair trial treaty was ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

Abu Qatada's wife and five children are expected to remain in Britain, where he first sought asylum in 1993.

Born Omar Mahmud Mohammed Otman in Bethlehem in the now Israeli-occupied West Bank, Abu Qatada has Jordanian nationality because the town was part of Jordan at the time of his birth.

Videotapes of his sermons were allegedly found in the Hamburg flat of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta.

Top Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon once branded Abu Qatada Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, although the cleric denies ever having met the now slain Al-Qaeda leader.

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Two killed as jet crashes in San Fran

A Boeing 777 on a flight from Seoul has crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport. Source: AAP

AN Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 passenger jet crashed and burst into flames as it landed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, killing two people and injuring 182 others.

Flight 214 originated in Shanghai, and had 307 people on board - 291 passengers and 16 crew - after it stopped to pick up passengers in Seoul. The aircraft apparently struck a rocky area at the water's edge short of the airport runway on Saturday.

"It is incredible and very lucky that we have so many survivors. But there are still many that are critically injured," said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, who sent condolences to the families of those killed and hurt.

The crash sheared off the plane's landing gear and tore the tail off the fuselage.

San Francisco International Airport was immediately closed, though two runways later reopened. Some flights were diverted to Los Angeles.

Aboard the flight were 141 Chinese nationals, 77 South Koreans, 61 Americans, one Japanese, three Indians, three Canadians, one French, one Vietnamese, three others with unidentified nationality and 16 crew members, according to Asiana.

Anxious relatives swarmed the airline's headquarters in Seoul, seeking details of the crash and information on the victims.

The two people killed were Chinese passengers sitting in back seats, said Yoon Young-Doo, the CEO of the Seoul-based airline.

South Korea's transport ministry said separately they were both women, born in 1996 and 1997.

The ministry also said the plane's tail hit the runway and the aircraft veered to the left off the runway.

Yoon was remorseful as he spoke at a press conference in Seoul. "Please accept my deepest apology," the CEO said, bowing in front of TV cameras.

Yoon said his company bought the plane in 2006, and that "currently we understand that there are no engine or mechanical problems."

The plane was flown by experienced pilots, and there was no emergency warning ahead of the crash. "Our pilots strictly comply with aviation rules," Yoon said.

San Francisco General Hospital said it was treating 34 patients, five of them in critical condition. Other patients were rushed to different area hospitals.

In total, 123 people aboard the flight escaped unharmed, US officials said.

Survivor Elliott Stone told CNN that as it came in to land, it appeared the plane "sped up, like the pilot knew he was short."

"And then the back end just hit and flies up in the air and everybody's head goes up to the ceiling."

Video footage showed the jet on its belly surrounded by at least six fire engines that sprayed white foam on the wreckage. Debris was scattered on the runway and in the surrounding area.

A four-member South Korean government team was also heading to inspect the site of the accident, officials in Seoul said.

One dramatic photo tweeted by a survivor showed people streaming out of the jet following the crash-landing. An inflatable slide was at the front entrance. Other emergency exits also appeared to have been used.

"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok," the passenger, David Eun, wrote on Twitter.

But another photo from above showed a more distressing scene, with most of the roof of the plane missing and the cabin seating area charred by fire. The aircraft's wings were still attached.

"I saw some passengers bleeding and being loaded onto an ambulance," another passenger, Chun Ki-Wan, told YTN TV in Seoul.

"Everything seemed to be normal before it crash-landed."

The White House said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the incident, noting: "His thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost a loved one and all those affected by the crash."

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye offered his "deepest condolences to the victims and their relatives," and promised that all government agencies concerned "will join forces to provide all necessary assistance and resources to deal with the disaster."

The twin-engine 777 aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another.

It was the first fatal crash involving an Asiana passenger plane since June 1993, when a Boeing 737 operated by the carrier crashed into a mountain in South Korea, killing 68.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said there was no indication that terrorism was to blame for the crash.

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