Syrian jet bombs area near Turkish border

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Take him to the Tower... oh, wait

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Queen criticised for light pay packets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Troika report on Greece 'positive': Junker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Two houses destroyed in SA bushfire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sri Lanka opposition wants prison inquiry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Camilla's hairdresser on tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Egypt police bust baby trafficking ring

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

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

Police are searching for the hospital manager who escaped arrest.

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

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

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

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

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

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Chopper crash kills 17 soldiers

A TURKISH military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels crashed because of bad weather, killing all 17 troops onboard, officials said.

Thirteen soldiers and four military crewmembers were killed in the crash in a mountainous part of Pervari district in Siirt province, in southeastern Turkey, where the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party is fighting for self-rule.

President Abdullah Gul said the soldiers were on their way "to help their friends" in an operation against the rebels who have escalated attacks in recent months, adding the incident would not deter Turkey from its determination to fight the rebels.

The provincial governor, Ahmet Aydin, blamed the crash on heavy fog and ruled out an attack by the rebel group.

"The weather during the transportation (of troops) was bad. There was extreme rain. The helicopter crashed into rocks because of the fog," Mr Aydin said in televised statements.

"The incident was the result of a crash and any kind of an attack is out of the question."

The Kurdish rebels have been fighting since the 1980s and they seek more rights for Kurds, including autonomy in the mostly Kurdish southeast of the country. Turkey and its Western allies categorise the rebels, known by the acronym PKK, as a terrorist group.

Several days ago, Turkish media reported that Turkish soldiers were airlifted into northern Iraq for a brief operation against suspected rebels, who have bases there.

There were no reports of casualties on that mission. Turkey periodically carries out artillery and air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, but reports of cross-border incursions by troops are rare.

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Turkish helicopter crashes killing 17

A TURKISH military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels has crashed because of bad weather, killing all 17 troops aboard, officials say.

Thirteen soldiers and four military crewmembers were killed in the crash on Saturday in a mountainous part of Pervari district in Siirt province, in southeastern Turkey, where the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party is fighting for self-rule.

President Abdullah Gul said the soldiers were on their way "to help their friends" in an operation against the rebels who have escalated attacks in recent months, adding the incident would not deter Turkey from its determination to fight the rebels.

The provincial governor, Ahmet Aydin, blamed the crash on heavy fog and ruled out an attack by the rebel group.

"The weather during the transportation (of troops) was bad. There was extreme rain. The helicopter crashed into rocks because of the fog," Aydin said in televised statements. "The incident was the result of a crash and any kind of an attack is out of the question."

The Kurdish rebels have been fighting since the 1980s and they seek more rights for Kurds, including autonomy in the mostly Kurdish southeast of the country. Turkey and its Western allies categorise the rebels, known by the acronym PKK, as a terrorist group.

Several days ago, Turkish media reported that Turkish soldiers were airlifted into northern Iraq for a brief operation against suspected rebels, who have bases there. There were no reports of casualties on that mission. Turkey periodically carries out artillery and air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, but reports of cross-border incursions by troops are rare.

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