Rowling unhappy alter ego was revealed

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling says she was unhappy her identity as Robert Galbraith was exposed. Source: AAP

AUTHOR J.K. Rowling has revealed she had offers from two television firms to bring the crime novel she wrote under a pseudonym to the screen even before she was "outed".

The Harry Potter creator was exposed last week after publishing a detective tale, The Cuckoo's Calling, under the name of Robert Galbraith earlier this year.

Her unmasking left her angered, particularly when it emerged that her cover was blown by a senior figure at a legal firm which has represented her in the past.

Rowling has now pointed out the book was already gathering interest for adaptations and had sold a respectable number of copies. But she said it was becoming "increasingly complicated" to keep the charade going.

She said: "At the point I was 'outed', Robert had sold 8500 English language copies across all formats (hardback, eBook, library and audiobook) and received two offers from television production companies.

"The situation was becoming increasingly complicated, largely because Robert was doing rather better than we had expected him to but we all still hoped to keep the secret a little longer.

"Yet Robert's success during his first three months as a published writer (discounting sales made after I was found out) actually compares favourably with JK Rowling's success over the equivalent period of her career."

Rowling reiterated that her exposure was not part of a clever marketing campaign to boost sales and she had gone to great lengths to continue under the guise.

Writing on a website set up for Galbraith, she said: "If anyone had seen the labyrinthine plans I laid to conceal my identity - or indeed my expression when I realised that the game was up - they would realise how little I wanted to be discovered.

"I hoped to keep the secret as long as possible. I'm grateful for all the feedback from publishers and readers and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith has been all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer."

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European stocks rise on EU growth hopes

EUROPEAN stock markets have climbed thanks to upbeat eurozone data and company earnings, though gains were capped by more disappointing Chinese economic data, analysts say.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares on Wednesday rose 0.56 per cent to stand at 6,634.60 points approaching midday in the British capital.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.59 per cent to 8,363.60 points and in the Paris the CAC 40 won 0.75 per cent to 3,952.48 compared with Tuesday's closing values.

In foreign exchange, the European single currency rose to $US1.3240 from $US1.3224 in New York late on Tuesday. The US dollar increased to Y100.06 from Y99.43.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to $US1,340.89 an ounce from $US1,333.50 on Tuesday.

"The biggest news today is that Europe is finally showing signs of growth," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com trading group.

"Perhaps the most interesting development in the eurozone is the pick-up in France. While it's good news that there are signs of stabilisation in Spain and even Italy of late, France has been the weakest link for some time."

Private business across the eurozone returned to growth in July for the first time in 18 months, a key survey indicated on Wednesday, possibly signalling an end to recession, analysts said.

The Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index logged 50.4 points, above the 50-mark signalling growth, and a bigger-than-expected rise according to analysts after posting 48.7 points in June.

In company activity, shares in EasyJet soared 7.61 per cent to 437.72 pence after the British no-frills airline said revenues jumped in the group's third quarter on rising passenger numbers and fares.

Revenue climbed 10.5 per cent to STG1.142 billion ($A1.90 billion) in the three months to the end of June compared with a year earlier, the airline said in a statement.

Passenger numbers grew 2.6 per cent to 16.4 million and seat capacity by 3.6 per cent.

EasyJet added that it expected profit before tax for the 12 months to the end of September of between STG450 million and STG480 million, up from STG317 million in 2011/12.

Asian stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday as data showing that Chinese manufacturing activity shrank further in July added to mounting concerns about the world's second biggest economy.

Tokyo slipped 0.32 per cent, Shanghai was down 0.52 per cent and Hong Kong added 0.24 per cent.

HSBC's preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of Chinese manufacturing activity fell to 47.7 in July - an 11-month low - from a final reading of 48.2 in June.

A figure above 50 points to growth while anything below shows a contraction.

"Weaker Chinese numbers ... were quickly pushed out of the way by eurozone PMIs that give the smallest hint that, just maybe, things aren't quite as bad," said IG sales trader Yusuf Heusen.

"Particularly heartening was a welcome return to form by the German economy, which saw its august manufacturing sector move back into expansion territory."

On Wall Street, the Dow gained 0.14 per cent on Tuesday, setting yet another record high points level, but the S&P 500 gave up 0.19 per cent and the Nasdaq slid 0.59 per cent.

US shares were hit by a mixed bag of corporate earnings, although a surprisingly downbeat US manufacturing report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would hold off winding down its stimulus anytime soon, traders said.

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Russia gives Snowden pass to leave airport

RUSSIA'S migration service has provided fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden with a document that allows him to leave the Moscow airport transit zone where he has been holed up for the past month, the RIA Novosti news agency says.

The document confirms that his application for asylum is being considered, but allows Snowden to cross the Russian border so long as border guards do not object, it said on Wednesday.

The Interfax news agency said Snowden could leave the airport in the "next hours".

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Egypt army chief calls for rallies

Clashes in Egypt have left 10 people dead as pressure grows to release Mohamed Morsi from detention. Source: AAP

EGYPT'S army chief has called for mass rallies to back a crackdown on "terrorism and violence", in comments quickly slammed as a "threat" by a senior Islamist who vowed to continue protests.

With tensions already running high following the army's ouster of president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, the call by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday for protests raises the prospect of further violent showdowns between the pro- and anti-Morsi camps.

"Next Friday, all honourable Egyptians must take to the street to give me a mandate and command to end terrorism and violence," said Sisi, wearing dark sunglasses as he took to the podium to address a graduation ceremony of military cadets near Alexandria.

The general said that before he announced Morsi's ouster, he had warned the Islamist president he must either resign or hold a referendum.

Huge crowds of Egyptians protested against Morsi on June 30, after just a single turbulent year of his presidency.

Presidential aides "told me if there is any problem there will be lots of violence because of armed groups, to scare me," Sisi said.

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian in a statement on his Facebook page said Morsi loyalists would not be intimidated by the army chief's call for mass rallies.

"Your threat will not prevent millions from continuously protesting," Erian said, referring to demonstrations by Morsi's supporters which have continued non-stop since the Islamist leader was pushed aside by Sisi.

Nearly 170 people have died in political unrest in Egypt since the end of June, according to an AFP tally, many of them in clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents.

Sisi's address came just hours after blast in front of a police station in Mansura in the Nile Delta, which Mohamed Sultan, head of the emergency services, told AFP left "28 wounded and one dead".

The interior ministry said in a statement that a conscript was killed in the blast.

The Islamist Anti-Coup Alliance, which has been pressing demonstrations calling for Morsi's return, said on Wednesday that it "strenuously condemns the criminal bombing that hit Mansura city".

It added that it "adheres to peacefulness of protests and denounces all acts of violence that contradict this principle".

Clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi, have killed at least 13 people across Egypt since Monday.

Faced with the deadly clashes, interim president Adly Mansour appealed in a speech delivered for a "new page in the book of the history of the nation, without rancour, hatred and confrontation".

Presidential spokesman Ahmed Al-Muslimani also decried the violence.

"Egypt is not a second Syria and anyone who pushes in that direction is a traitor," he said.

But Morsi's detention, and subsequent arrests of senior Brotherhood leaders, have hardened his supporters against dealing with the new regime.

His daughter Shaimaa Mohamed Morsi told reporters on Monday that the family would sue army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and also take legal action outside Egypt.

Senior aides held with the president have asked their families for prison clothes, signalling possible charges, relatives said.

Khaled El-Qazzaz, the former president's secretary for foreign relations, and top adviser Essam El-Haddad made the request in telephone conversations last Friday, asking for white clothes, their relatives told AFP.

Prisoners awaiting trials or verdicts in Egypt wear white clothes, which may be provided by family members.

In addition to clashes between rival protests on streets across the country, Egypt's caretaker government is facing a low-level insurgency in the Sinai.

Militants in the restive peninsula have launched almost daily attacks on police and army checkpoints since July 3, killing 20 security services personnel and 10 civilians.

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Four suspected NSW armed robbers charged

Police have charged four men suspected over a string of armed robberies in Sydney's south. Source: AAP

FOUR young men suspected of a series of armed robberies in Sydney's south have been charged.

Drugs, a firearm part and ammunition were also seized during searches of the men and a car, police say.

Officers from tactical operations and the dog squad arrested three of the men, 32, 23 and 20, on a main road at Merrylands on Tuesday afternoon.

The fourth man, 19, was arrested inside a club on the same road shortly after.

The men were charged with a raft of offences, including robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon, aggravated break and enter and supplying and possessing drugs.

Three men appeared at Fairfield Local Court on Tuesday and the 19-year-old is due before the same court in August.

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Vic close to call on schools plan: Shorten

The Catholic education sector has backed the government's national schools improvement plan. Source: AAP

THE federal government expects to know within days whether Victoria will sign up to Labor's schools funding plan.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Education Minister Bill Shorten on Tuesday met with Victorian Premier Denis Napthine in a bid to convince him to get on board the Better Schools Plan.

Mr Shorten said the talks were "constructive" and "positive" but there were more intensive discussions to come in following days.

He was focused on achieving a "mutual win-win" for children in Victoria's state schools, not on setting a deadline for Victoria.

"There's no doubt in my mind that we'll know in the next few days," he told reporters in Melbourne after the meeting.

Victoria stands to gain $4 billion in additional funding for its school system under the arrangement.

Mr Napthine described the talks as "fruitful", but said keeping school administration in local hands was also an important priority for the state's future.

"We want assurances from the federal government with regard to the management of our schools," he said.

"It's absolutely vital for us that our schools are managed by local school councils, local school principals and local school committees, rather than faceless bureaucrats in Canberra."

Earlier, the Catholic schools sector announced it was backing the government's national plan for schools improvement.

They join the independent schools sector in supporting Labor's funding offer, along with the state governments of NSW, ACT, South Australia and Tasmania.

Catholic schools stand to gain about $1.6 billion of the $15-plus billion in extra funding pledged by the government for the national schools system over six years.

Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory remain unconvinced, and although negotiations continue it's highly unlikely Western Australia will reverse its staunch opposition.

Getting Victoria across the line would be a major coup for the Rudd government as it prepares for an election as soon as August 31.

The coalition has vowed to scrap the government's schools plan unless an "overwhelming majority" of states sign on, and with Victoria on side Labor could argue it has the numbers.

Mr Rudd said if NSW could see the benefits of signing on, he was sure Victoria could too.

"I'm not sure that any mum and dad, or person in charge of a local parent community in a school in the state system in Victoria, would want to say goodbye to that," he said.

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WA prison farm escapee captured nearby

A dangerous escapee from Karnet Prison Farm south of Perth has been recaptured by police. Source: AAP

A DANGEROUS escapee from Karnet Prison Farm south of Perth has been recaptured by police.

Bradley Edmund Wilcott, a 54-year-old sex offender, left the grounds of the minimum security facility around noon (WST) on Monday.

Police warned he was unpredictable and should not be approached.

On Tuesday evening, police said he had been found and captured without incident in the general vicinity of the prison around 4pm.

He has been charged with escaping legal custody and will appear in Armadale Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

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430 Qld govt IT jobs earmarked to go

ABOUT 430 Queensland government IT jobs could go next financial year and the minister won't guarantee work will stay onshore.

The state government is divesting its technology services provider, Centre for Information Technology and Communications (CITEC), within two years as part of a cost cutting drive.

The government's Information Communications Technology deputy director-general, Andrew Spina, told a budget estimates hearing on Tuesday job losses were expected to be finalised after a review was handed down in two months time.

"If you look at the service delivery statement, we've identified a reduction of staff for next financial year, which represents a movement of corporate resources and a movement of resources from the chief technology office to a number of 430," he said.

"Depending on what the outcomes of that review are, we would obviously be considering what other options there would be and what would need to occur with staff overall."

Information Technology Minister Ian Walker said he expects the government's IT needs to increase over the coming years but more of this work will be done by the private sector.

"This is good news for people in the IT game, the government isn't going to shut up and stop using IT," he said.

However when pressed by the opposition, Mr Walker couldn't promise jobs wouldn't be outsourced overseas.

"The key things for me will be value for money for Queenslanders and support of our local industry," he said.

Former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello's audit of the state's finances recommends the government divest itself of CITEC.

His report said CITEC was due to record an operating deficit of around $26.4 million in 2011-12, with further deficits expected in the following years.

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Eurozone debt burden hits all-time high

OFFICIAL figures show that the debt burden of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro have hit all-time highs in the first quarter despite austerity measures designed to return public finances to health.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said on Monday that government debt as a proportion of the total annual gross domestic product of the eurozone pushed up to a record 92.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 from 90.6 per cent the previous quarter.

Though a number of countries are pushing through spending cuts and tax rises, many remain mired in recession - shrinking economies can make the debt dynamics look less favourable.

The highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the eurozone was Greece's 160.5 per cent, followed by Italy's 130.3 per cent.

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Hong Kong shares end 0.25% higher

HONG Kong shares ended 0.25 per cent higher on Monday, in line with an upturn on Shanghai's main index.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 54.08 points to 21,416.50 on turnover of HK$38.49 billion ($A5.44 billion).

The rise was welcome news for the market but trade volume nonetheless slumped to its lowest point since September.

Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia, told the Dow Jones Newswires that investors needed "some story to buy or sell".

"Right now, there is no story... the market as a whole is a non-event," he said.

Banking shares were particularly mixed after China's central bank on Saturday removed a lower limit on lending rates, leaving them free to set their own rates in a move analysts said could lead to narrower interest margins.

Smaller banks were hit the hardest on fears the move would spark a price war in the industry, with China Citic Bank falling three per cent to HK$3.51.

Jewellery retailer Luk Fook rose 2.3 per cent to HK$9.70, following a two per cent jump in gold prices.

China Resources Power, meanwhile, climbed 5.22 per cent following an announcement that the energy giant had scrapped a plan to combine with a sister company after shareholders rejected the proposal.

Chinese shares closed up 0.61 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 12.11 points to 2,004.76 on turnover of 69.6 billion yuan ($A12.37 billion).

"The fluctuation in share prices was caused by funds seeking short-term investment opportunities in smaller firms," Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi told AFP.

Media shares and environmental stocks led the gains. Liaoning Publishing & Media surged 6.51 per cent to 7.04 yuan while Shanghai Xinhua Media gained 4.98 per cent to 5.69 yuan.

Tianjin Capital Environmental Protection Group jumped 6.00 per cent to 7.77 yuan.

Bank of Nanjing rose 0.76 per cent to 7.95 yuan, while Bank of Communications fell 1.30 per cent to 3.79 yuan.

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