Toll from Syria uni blasts reaches 87

THE death toll from two massive blasts that ravaged the campus of a Syrian university has reached 87, activists say.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the number of those killed in Tuesday's blasts at Aleppo University could rise even further because medics have collected unidentified body parts and some of the more than 150 injured are in critical condition.

It remains unclear what caused the blasts, which hit the campus as students took exams, setting cars alight and blowing the walls off dormitory rooms.

The opposition and the government have blamed each other for the explosions, which marked a major escalation in the struggle for control of Aleppo - Syria's largest city and once the country's main commercial hub.

Activists said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad launched two airstrikes on the area at the time of the blasts, while Syrian state media said a "terrorist group" - the government's shorthand for rebels - hit it with two rockets.

Either way, the explosions shattered the relative calm of the sprawling, tree-lined campus, signalling that Syria's civil war has reached areas that were mostly spared the violence that has killed more than 60,000 people and reduced entire neighbourhoods all across the nation to rubble.

The competing narratives about what caused the blasts highlighted the difficulty of confirming reports from inside Syria.

The Syrian government bars most media from working in the country, making independent confirmation of events difficult. Both anti-regime activists and the government sift the information they give to journalists to boost their cause. And civilians stuck in the middle avoid talking to the media, fearing reprisals from both sides for speaking their minds.

Aleppo has been the focus of a violent struggle for control since rebel forces, mostly from rural areas north of the city, pushed in and began clashing with government troops last summer.

The university is in the city's northwest, a sector still controlled by the government. Both activists and the Assad regime said those killed in Tuesday's blasts were mostly students taking their mid-year exams and civilians who sought refuge in the university dorms after fleeing violence elsewhere.

Activists said a government warplane carried out two airstrikes on the university. To support their claim, they circulated a video they said showed a small trail of smoke left by a jet. They could not explain why the government would strike an area controlled by its forces.

"We have no idea why the plane hit there, but it was very clear that it was a plane that struck," said an Aleppo activist reached via Skype.

Syria's state news agency said a "terrorist group" - government shorthand for rebels - fired two rockets at the university from an area further north. It did not give numbers for the dead and wounded.

The scale of destruction appeared inconsistent with the rockets the rebels are known to possess.

On Tuesday, Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told a Security Council meeting on combating terrorism that "a cowardly terrorist act targeted the students of Aleppo University" as they sat for their mid-terms.

He said 82 students were killed and 152 were wounded.

Syria's crisis began with political protests in March 2011 but quickly descended into a full-blown civil war, with scores of rebel groups across the country fighting Assad's forces.

The UN said this month that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the violence.

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Zimbabwe police seize four tonnes of pot

POLICE in Zimbabwe have seized about four tonnes of marijuana aboard a truck driven from the neighbouring country of Malawi, their biggest haul on record.

Police officials said the truck was intercepted when it was being suspiciously "escorted" by a minibus and a taxi to a parking lot in western Harare that appeared ready to ferry away some of the marijuana leaf packed in 90kg hessian bags.

The driver of the Malawi registered truck, destined also for South Africa, was arrested but his suspected accomplices ran off, evading capture on Tuesday.

The marijuana or hemp plant grows wild in southern Africa. The "Malawi Gold" suited to that country's climate and grown in illegal plantations there, is sought after by users across the region.

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Chopper crashes in central London, 2 dead

A HELICOPTER crashed into a crane and fell on a crowded street in central London, killing two people and sending black plumes of smoke into the air as it smashed to the ground.

Nine other people were injured in Wednesday's fiery crash, officials said.

The helicopter crashed just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and near the British spy agency MI6.

Police said one person had critical injuries. Several people were taken to a nearby hospital with "minor injuries," London Ambulance Service said.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said it was not a military helicopter, and a security official said the incident was not terror-related.

The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute when thousands of pedestrians are trying to get to work.

Video on Sky News showed wreckage burning in a street, and black smoke in the area. The video from the crash scene showed a line of flaming fuel and debris. Witnesses said the helicopter hit a crane atop a 50-storey residential building, the St George Wharf Tower.

Allen Crosbie, site manager for the landscape firm Maylim company, who was working at the scene, said the explosion convinced him and others that London was being attacked.

"I was 100 per cent sure it was a terrorist attack," he said.

"There was debris everywhere, a tonne of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang, bang - I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack."

He and everyone just ran for their lives, he said.

William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker at the St George Wharf Tower, said he heard the helicopter hit the crane.

"First we heard a big crash, looked up, that's when we saw the helicopter coming toward us. We heard an explosion as it hit the ground," he said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he believed the helicopter was being diverted to a nearby heliport when it crashed.

"The top of the crane was actually obscured by fog so I didn't see the impact," Michael Gavin told the BBC.

"But I heard a bang and saw the body of the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane and then a large plume of smoke afterwards."

The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there.

Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights.

"The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Yates said.

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Vic police probe Andrews accident

VICTORIAN police will carry out an internal investigation into why the wife of state Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews escaped being breath-tested after a road accident this month.

A police spokesman said it was policy to breath test motorists in the three hours after a collision.

He confirmed that Mr Andrews' wife Catherine was not given a preliminary breath test and described it as "an oversight".

"Local management has notified Professional Standards Command and an investigation into the circumstances will take place," the spokesman told AAP.

Ryan Meuleman, 15, required surgery at the Royal Children's Hospital after a collision with Mrs Andrews at Blairgowrie southeast of Melbourne in early January.

Mr Andrews and their three children were in the car at the time.

The teenager's father, Peter Meuleman, told News Ltd on Tuesday the family was upset Mr Andrews had not contacted them since to check on Ryan's welfare.

But Mr Andrews said his wife had checked on Ryan's status through both the hospital and police in the days since the accident.

"I was very conscious from the outset to make sure I did nothing whatsoever that could be seen to or could in any way influence or interfere with the Victoria Police investigation into what happened," he told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"That is why I and my wife have not sought to speak to Ryan or his family, that is after consultation with Victoria Police.

"They made it very, very clear to my wife (the investigation) should be left to them."

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Princess Mary to support twin registry

MOTHER of twins and Aussie royal Princess Mary of Denmark will do a double act as the international patron of the Australian and Danish twin registries.

Princess Mary's patronage of the Australian Twin Registry, based at the University of Melbourne, and the Danish Twin Registry was announced in a ceremony in Denmark at 11pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

Australian Twin Registry director John Hopper said as a mother of twins Princess Mary was a fantastic ambassador for twin research.

"We are extremely thrilled about the announcement and hope the crown princess's patronage will raise awareness of the importance of twin research on a range of health issues from cancer, to diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, to osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease," the Melbourne University professor said in a statement on Tuesday.

Crown Princess Mary was born Mary Donaldson in Hobart and married Crown Prince Frederik in 2004 in Copenhagen.

She is the mother of Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and two-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

The Australian Twin Registry supports medical studies involving twins, enabling researchers to study the impact of genetic and environmental factors on health.

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Fitch warns it might downgrade US rating

FITCH ratings agency has issued a strong warning to the United States to deal with its recurrent debt-ceiling dramas in a way which strengthens the economy in the long term, saying that its top "AAA" credit rating was at stake.

Fitch on Tuesday said it might revise downward its notation for the United States from the "AAA" level if Congress did not reach agreement on raising the ceiling for the national debt.

Fitch said that failure to raise the limit in time would lead to a formal revision by Fitch of its ratings of US debt instruments, but the agency also said the risk of a US default was extremely low.

However, Fitch also warned that fundamental strengths in the US economy were being undermined by the weight of debt and associated strains.

Fitch warned, that even if a crisis over the ceiling were averted in the immediate future, if the solution did not address the debt in a way which supported growth, then it was set to downgrade the US rating later in the year anyway.

Fitch Ratings said it expects that "Congress will raise the debt ceiling and that the risk of a US sovereign default remains extremely low.

"Nonetheless, and in line with our previous guidance, failure to raise the debt ceiling in a timely manner will prompt a formal review of the US sovereign ratings."

The legal ceiling for the US federal debt reached the limit of $US16.394 trillion ($A15.58 trillion) at the end of December. US politicians must agree on how to raise this limit within the next few weeks. Otherwise the United States will be unable to borrow to pay its bills.

The US found itself in a similar situation in August 2011. Deadlock within Congress caused one of the other top three rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, to downgrade its top-notch rating for US debt.

The Fitch statement said: "In Fitch's opinion, the debt ceiling is an ineffective and potentially dangerous mechanism for enforcing fiscal discipline.

"It does not prevent tax and spending decisions that will incur debt issuance in excess of the ceiling while the sanction of not raising the ceiling risks a sovereign default and renders such a threat incredible."

Fitch also said: "The extraordinary measures now being enacted since 31 December 2012, together with around $US43 billion Treasury deposits, are expected to allow the federal government to continue to fund itself until end-February."

"This estimate is provisional and sensitive to volatile monthly budget flows. It is highly uncertain what would happen if Congress did not raise the debt ceiling before the Treasury's borrowing authority and available cash balances were exhausted."

Fitch, together with the third agency which still rates US debt at "AAA", Moody's, has already warned that this notation has a "negative" outlook, meaning that it is likely to be downgraded in the medium term.

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Pakistan govt not informed of arrest order

THE Pakistan government says it has not yet been notified in writing of any arrest order against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf issued by the Supreme Court in connection with corruption allegations.

A cabinet minister said it would wait for official notification before deciding how to respond, but took issue with the "timing" as thousands of protesters led by a populist cleric are demanding the immediate dissolution of parliament.

"So far we have not received anything from the Supreme Court in writing. The government, the law ministry and the prime minister have not received any order from the Supreme Court," Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told private TV channel Geo on Tuesday.

"The timing of the decision should be noted. As far as I have been told, the prime minister's name is not mentioned in the Supreme Court order and hype has been created."

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French court approves teacher sex charge

JEREMY Forrest, the British schoolteacher who eloped to France with a 15-year-old pupil, can be charged in Britain with having sex with a minor, a French court has ruled.

Lawyers for Forrest lodged an appeal which blocks the immediate application of the ruling on a British request to change the terms of his extradition from France.

Daniel Lalanne, the French lawyer representing Forrest, refused to comment as he left court.

Forrest and his teenage lover eloped to France in September. After a week on the run, they were arrested in Bordeaux.

The girl, who cannot be identified in Britain for legal reasons, was flown home while Forrest was detained by the French authorities.

He was extradited in October under a European arrest warrant issued on suspicion of child abduction and has since been detained in custody awaiting trial.

British authorities want to add having sex with a minor to the abduction charge. But because the statutory rape charge was not included in the extradition request, they can do so only with the agreement of the French court that approved his handover.

The additional charge increases the maximum sentence Forrest could face from seven to 14 years.

State prosecutors recommended accepting the British request at a hearing in December.

Forrest's lawyers argued for it to be rejected on the grounds that their client's detention in custody was disproportionate to the nature of his alleged crime or crimes.

Under French law, a 15-year-old is deemed capable of consenting to sex while in Britain she is still considered a minor. Both countries outlaw sexual relations between teachers and students in their care.

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Germany mulls medical, logistic Mali aid

GERMANY is considering ways to help France in its mission in Mali such as providing logistical, medical or humanitarian aid.

"For the federal government and for Foreign Minister (Guido) Westerwelle it is clear that Germany will not leave France alone in this difficult situation," spokesman Andreas Peschke said at a regular government news conference on Monday.

Westerwelle and Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere will now "quickly" consider "how Germany can offer concrete support, other than military action", he said.

Discussions will take place with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Paris to see how Germany can best come to France's assistance, he added.

However, the sending of combat troops "is not up for debate", the spokesman stressed, repeating Berlin's firm position on that issue.

France's mission in Mali is "correct in the view of the federal government", he added.

"It is a difficult but also important mission that we support politically."

Peschke also expressed condolences on behalf of Germany for French military personnel already killed during the mission.

Westerwelle is also in favour of a special meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the crisis in Mali, his spokesman told reporters.

France's intervention has been backed by the European Union and the United States, while Britain is providing logistical support in the form of transport planes.

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Japan boosts defence of disputed islands

JAPAN will deploy two more patrol ships to boost its defence of islands at the centre of a territorial row with China and has conducted its first drill simulating the recapture of an isle seized by enemy forces.

The vessels will be stationed at the regional coast guard headquarters which covers the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyus in China, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Monday.

The 335-tonne Kurose and 3100-tonne Chikuzen, equipped with a helicopter, will be deployed in August and October respectively, NHK reported.

On Sunday, Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force carried out the nation's first military exercise designed to recapture "a remote island invaded by an enemy force", officials said.

Around 300 troops took part in the 40-minute drill with 20 warplanes and more than 30 military vehicles at the Narashino Garrison in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo.

Some 80 personnel from the SDF's First Airborne Brigade rappelled from helicopters with parachutes in front of about 11,000 spectators to demonstrate manoeuvres to counter an enemy invasion of a remote island.

Chinese government ships and planes have been seen off the disputed islands numerous times since Japan nationalised them in September, sometimes within the 12 nautical-mile territorial zone.

Tokyo's defence ministry has said F-15s were sent airborne to head off Chinese state-owned - but not military - planes four times in December, including an occasion when Japanese airspace was breached.

They were also mobilised in January.

Japan plans to spend an extra Y180.5 billion ($A1.93 billion) on missiles, fighter jets and helicopters, an official said last week, as it tries to strengthen defence capabilities with concerns growing over a rising China.

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