Kenyan police quizzed over airport looting

INVESTIGATORS in Kenya are questioning police and airport workers suspected of taking advantage of a fire at Nairobi's main airport on Wednesday to steal cash and alcohol, an officer says.

"It is embarrassing because some of them concentrated on looting instead of raising alarms," said a police officer in the probe team who did not want to give his name.

"We're questioning all of them. Police officers, immigration staff, civilians who work in other areas and even taxi drivers," he added.

Security cameras caught some thieves in action, he said.

Kenyan paper Daily Nation said seven police officers would appear in court on Monday. The men were found with cash and alcohol on them, the paper said.

The cause of the fire that broke out at 5am local time at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday and blazed out of control for several hours has not yet been determined.

The airport's main arrivals hall was gutted in the blaze.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ruled out terrorism.

But "those responsible for negligence will have to be punished", he warned on a visit to the airport Friday.

The fire caused no casualties but paralysed the airport, which is the principal aviation hub for east Africa, on Wednesday.

International and domestic flights were cancelled.

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Britain issues forced marriage alert

THE British government has warned teachers, doctors and airport staff to be on alert for a rise in forced marriages over the school summer holidays.

Summer marks a peak in reports of young people - mainly girls - being taken abroad on "holiday", not knowing their families are forcing them into a marriage, the interior ministry said.

Britain's Forced Marriage Unit dealt with some 1,500 cases last year, a third of them involving children aged under 17. In nearly half the cases the victims were taken to Pakistan.

"The rise in forced marriage reports over the school holidays is shocking," crime prevention minister Jeremy Browne said on Saturday.

"Teenagers expecting their GCSE or A-level (exam) results should be embarking on a bright future, not condemned to a marriage with someone they have never met and do not want to marry.

"My message to young people who feel they are at risk is, please come forward - you do not have to suffer in silence, there is help available and it can be stopped."

The Forced Marriage Unit is handing out cards this summer providing information for potential victims, telling them to speak to police or airline staff if they believe they are being taken to be married against their will.

But the opposition Labour party said the warning might have been more helpful if it was issued before schools broke up for the holidays.

The Forced Marriage Unit said the victims it had dealt with last year were taken to 60 countries, including Bangladesh (11 per cent), India (8 per cent) and Afghanistan (2.1 per cent).

In 18 per cent of cases, the victim was male.

The government announced plans last year to introduce new laws for England and Wales that would see parents sent to jail if they force their children into a marriage.

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Another asylum seeker boat arrives

A BOAT carrying 28 asylum seekers has been intercepted by the Navy off Christmas Island.

Customs says the boat, which also had two crew on board, sought and recieved assistance from HMAS Maryborough on Friday night.

The people on board have been transferred to Christmas Island, where they will be given health checks.

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Rudd dumps ALP candidate for Hotham

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has dumped the ALP's candidate for the safe Labor Victorian seat of Hotham following claims of misconduct several years ago, while another candidate has quit the campaign after a racism row.

Geoff Lake was forced again to apologise for abusing a fellow councillor during a meeting of Monash City Council in 2002.

Details of a sexual harassment claim from the time, reportedly being shopped around by his own party colleagues, say he called Liberal councillor Kathy Magee a "f...ing bitch" and a "f...ing slut".

Mr Lake told News Corp newspapers he had apologised several times to Ms Magee and was still remorseful.

Labor ministers including Mark Dreyfus and Tanya Plibersek defended Mr Lake on Saturday, saying it was a long time ago, when he was 22, and he had apologised many times.

However, late on Saturday, Mr Rudd issued a statement saying the party had removed Mr Lake's endorsement following a report by Labor's national secretary George Wright into misconduct claims.

"The national secretary has informed me that he is not satisfied that there has been full disclosure about these previous matters," Mr Rudd said.

"Based on the investigation, I have concluded that it is inappropriate for Mr Lake to continue as the endorsed Labor candidate for Hotham."

He said he would ask the national executive to preselect a new candidate for the Hotham.

Meanwhile, Labor candidate for Kennedy, Ken Robertson, has resigned after reportedly calling Tony Abbott a bigot, Sky News says.

"I hope Australia never has to suffer his Catholicism and the things that he's doing personally, because I think he's a very, very bigoted person," Mr Robertson reportedly said.

"He'd have the White Australia policy back in a flash, if he could."

Earlier on Saturday, the coalition said Mr Rudd's sincerity about party reform would be tested by what action he takes against the two Labor candidates.

Shadow attorney-general George Brandis said the two reports of "serious misconduct" posed a test for Mr Rudd.

He linked it to Thursday's announcement Labor was dumping its candidate for Forde, Des Hardman, in favour of former Queensland premier Peter Beattie.

"If Mr Rudd is willing ruthlessly to sack a candidate who is innocent of any wrongdoing, what leadership will he show, what action will he take against these two candidates ... who have in different ways disgraced themselves?" he asked reporters in Brisbane," Senator Brandis said.

"If Mr Rudd stands by these candidate, while dismissing poor old Mr Hardman in Forde as part of his political chess game, then the Australian people will make their own judgments about Mr Rudd's personal standards and they'll make their own judgment about Mr Rudd's hypocrisy."

One Nation candidate Stephanie Banister, who was ridiculed after referring to Islam as a country in a television interview, has also withdrawn from the election campaign.

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Japan national debt at one quadrillion yen

JAPAN'S eye-watering national debt has topped Y1 quadrillion, official data shows, a record figure that underlines Tokyo's struggle to curb its huge borrowing.

The figure supplied by the finance ministry of Y1.008 quadrillion by the end of June amounts to about $A11.51 trillion at current exchange rates.

A quadrillion is one thousand trillion.

Tokyo has the dubious distinction of having, proportionately, the biggest debt pile among industrialised nations, more than twice the size of its economy.

The lion's share of that debt is from long- and short-term Japanese government bonds, as well as other borrowing.

The staggering figure, about 1.7 per cent higher than the previous quarter, comes a day after Japan pledged to slash its budget and get spending under control.

Japan has not faced a public debt crisis like the kind seen across the debt-riddled eurozone, largely because most of its low-interest debt is held domestically rather than by international creditors.

But the International Monetary Fund and others have issued warnings about Tokyo's ever-increasing borrowing, after a series of sovereign credit rating downgrades in recent years.

This week, the IMF called on Japan to adopt a "credible" fiscal plan to repair its books, including raising sales taxes to generate new revenue.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is mulling whether to go ahead with a series of sales tax rises that would double the rate to 10 per cent by 2015, a key source of new income but one that some fear would stall his economy-boosting plan dubbed "Abenomics".

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One Nation defends candidate over gaffe

THE One Nation party is defending its candidate who was ridiculed after referring to Islam as a country, saying it was a simple slip of the tongue.

One Nation leader Jim Savage says its candidate for Rankin in Queensland, Stephanie Banister, 27, was dealt a terrible injustice following the Seven Network interview, which was picked up by newspapers and radio stations around the country.

Ms Banister, who had only been in politics for 48 hours at the time of her interview, referred to Islam as a country.

"I don't oppose Islam as a country but I do feel their laws should not be welcome here in Australia," she told the network.

However, Mr Savage says Ms Banister meant to say "in" a country and immediately corrected herself, but this was not aired.

"Channel Seven went to air trying to give the impression Stephanie said Islam was a country," he said in a statement.

"She immediately corrected herself, but Seven conveniently left this off.

"I am bloody furious that Channel Seven targeted this young woman, without our knowledge.

"Of course as a rank novice it was easy to manage to get her to make a simple slip of the tongue.

"The poor girl was giving her very first TV interview, and if anyone thinks it is easy, try doing it some time.

"Even the Channel Seven reporter, Erin Edwards, in an interview she did with me last week asked if I was racist against Islam.

"I had to inform her Islam was not a race."

Mr Savage called for Ms Banister to be given a fair go, adding other politicians had referred to Islam as a race but were not taken to task by the media.

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Tokyo investors eye Japan, US data

TOKYO investors will be eyeing Japanese and US economic data next week, but trading is expected to be thin with many dealers off for a national holiday.

US economic figures including retail sales and industrial output are due out as markets look for clues as to when the US Federal Reserve will start rolling back its huge stimulus drive.

The Fed has said any pull back from its quantitative easing scheme rested on evidence of a solid recovery in the world's largest economy.

"If it is confirmed that the US economy is keeping in good shape, that would support the (Tokyo) market," Nomura Securities said in a client note.

Eurozone GDP figures will also be in focus while, closer to home, second-quarter economic growth figures for Japan will be eyed as Tokyo mulls a series of sales tax hikes aimed at chopping its mounting public debt, already the worst in the industrialised world.

There are fears that a drive to stimulate the world's third-largest economy could be cut short by raising taxes.

In the week to August 9, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 5.88 per cent, or 850.97 points, to 13,615.19.

The Topix index of all first-section shares lost 4.62 per cent, or 55.26 points, to 1,140.91.

The tumble was largely due to a 4.0 per cent drop in the Nikkei on Wednesday as selling pressure soared because of a stronger yen and after Wall Street fell sharply.

On Friday, Tokyo stocks ended flat after zigzagging in and out of positive territory, with market heavyweight Nikon diving after a big drop in the camera giant's quarterly profit.

"The market remains in the summer doldrums," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.

Next week, many traders will be off for national holidays.

"The markets could see some renewed buffeting if trading volume drops off even more than we have seen in recent weeks," said an equity derivatives trader at a foreign brokerage.

On Friday, Nikon dropped 14.29 per cent to Y1,726 after saying on Thursday its net profit fell 72 per cent in the April-June quarter as digital camera sales slumped, while slashing its sales and profit outlook for the fiscal year to March.

Toyota rose 0.16 per cent to Y6,170, Sony gained 0.83 per cent to Y1,943 while Sharp was down 0.74 per cent to Y401.

In Tokyo afternoon trading, the US dollar was nearly flat at Y96.66 from Y96.64 in New York on Thursday.

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European stocks mixed before weekend

EUROPEAN stock markets have traded mixed and the euro retreated from seven-week highs against the US dollar as traders banked profits ahead of the weekend pause.

London's FTSE 100 index on Friday gained 0.26 per cent to 6,546.46 points following strong British export data and approaching midday in the British capital.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.16 per cent to 8,305.24 points and the CAC 40 index in Paris dipped 0.13 per cent to 4,059.15.

"Markets have hit a lull ... (amid) holiday mode after a busy two weeks dominated by economic figures and news from all the major policy decision makers," said Toby Morris, senior sales trader at CMC Markets, in reference to action being taken by global central banks.

On Friday, the world's second-biggest economy China reported industrial growth for July reached a five-month high.

Industrial production, which measures output at factories, workshops and mines, rose 9.7 per cent year-on-year, well above analyst expectations.

Authorities also announced steady expansion in retail sales and fixed asset investment, and a benign inflation figure of 2.7 per cent, unchanged on last month.

Analysts said the figures pointed to a more stable outlook for China's economy - seen as a key driver of global growth - after months of mounting pessimism.

The data came as Britain's biggest retailer, supermarket chain Tesco, said on Friday that it is in exclusive talks over combining its Chinese operations with those of China Resources Enterprise.

Tesco said the move was in line with the group's strategy of seeking to profit from fast-growing economies, and comes as China seeks to balance export growth with domestic consumption.

Tesco - the world's third-biggest supermarket group after French rival Carrefour and US retailer Wal-Mart in first place - said the proposed joint venture would create a business with annual sales of about STG10 billion ($A17.18 billion).

Shares in Tesco rose 0.87 per cent to stand at 372.3 pence in London morning deals.

Shares in Dutch telecom group KPN leapt by 18.0 per cent in response to a bid for full control by Mexican group America Movil.

The euro edged up to $US1.3383 from $US1.3380 in New York late on Thursday.

The US dollar nudged higher to Y96.68 from Y96.65 on Thursday.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $US1,306.61 an ounce from $US1,298.25 on Thursday.

Asian stock markets closed out the week mixed, while on Wall Street overnight US stocks snapped a three-day losing streak.

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Peter Garrett's talents wasted: Blundell

Senate candidate James Blundell (R) says Peter Garrett's intellect was wasted in politics. Source: AAP

COUNTRY music star James Blundell says fellow artist Peter Garrett's intellect was wasted in politics.

But the lead Queensland Senate candidate for Katter's Australian Party has vowed his celebrity status won't be exploited, in the same way Labor used the former Midnight Oil frontman.

"I think Peter Garrett is the greatest misuse of intellect I've seen in my adult, politically active lifetime," he told AAP.

"The decision makers and policy makers should have been listening to what Peter was saying because the reason Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil became incredibly famous was because they really, really connected with their peers, and half a generation above and below."

Blundell says he and Mr Garrett chatted about the shaved-head rock star's future career as they sat side-by-side at country music legend Slim Dusty's funeral in 2003.

He also feels that Mr Garrett, who is retiring from politics at this election, was unfairly tied to the failed pink batts scheme.

"To give him pink batts is the stupidest thing I've seen in my life," he said.

The 28-year music veteran and Golden Guitar winner says his own celebrity status won't be exploited, after persistent pleas from party leader Bob Katter for him to stand.

"If a celebrity is there for the glory of it, they will be badly hurt," he said.

Blundell called State of Origin coach and rugby league great Mal Meninga for advice, and to ask why he famously aborted a 2001 run for the ACT parliament.

"Mal is a bloke I absolutely love and he was one of the people ... I had a list of people to call because I wanted to know what happened," Blundell said, adding he hoped not to "go the Mal route".

Blundell also admits to being in favour of gay marriage, unlike many in his party.

"We have an agreement to disagree or to keep that whole issue away from the top 20 important things to discuss," he said.

"We don't see eye-to-eye on it 100 per cent."

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Schools key in Corangamite: Shorten

Senior minister Bill Shorten believes Labor's battle for the seat of Corangamite will be tough. Source: AAP

LABOR can win the election, senior minister Bill Shorten says, but he's less confident it will retain its most marginal seat.

Campaigning in the Victorian seat of Corangamite, which the ALP's Darren Cheeseman holds by only 0.3 per cent, Mr Shorten told students the government could win the election.

"Bookmakers have us not as the favourite in a two horse-race," Mr Shorten said at a Geelong school.

"Bookmakers can be wrong. It's four weeks to go.

"We can win. That's for sure."

When asked if Labor could retain Corangamite, Mr Shorten qualified his response by saying the ALP would prevail in the seat if the election was fought on education policy.

"Corangamite is an electorate which has got a great future," Mr Shorten said.

"If this is an election that is fought on education policies, Darren Cheeseman will remain the member for Corangamite."

Mr Cheeseman said he would have to work hard to show voters how Labor was addressing their concerns.

"This going to be a very close contest here. Every single vote will count," Mr Cheeseman said.

"If we campaign hard ... I think we've got every chance of winning this seat again."

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Greens pledge big cut for small business

The Greens say they would support a bigger corporate tax cut, but only for small businesses. Source: AAP

THE Australian Greens want to cut corporate tax rates harder and faster than the coalition - but only for small businesses.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confirmed a coalition government would lower the 30 per cent tax rate to 28.5 per cent from July 1, 2015 for all businesses.

Greens leader Christine Milne parried with a promise to cut the rate to 28 per cent but only for businesses with an annual turnover under $2 million.

"This is the kind of injection that small business has really been looking for," she told reporters in Canberra.

"Not only is it more generous to small business, it would start a year earlier."

The Greens plan would benefit 610,000 small business and cost $1.75 billion over four years, compared with $5 billion for the coalition cut.

Mr Abbott has said the company tax cut would offset his plan for a 1.5 per cent levy on big business to pay for his wage-replacement paid parental leave scheme.

The Greens also want to put a levy on big business to cover a similar leave proposal.

However, Senator Milne said big business could afford to pay more tax and didn't need any offset.

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BoE ties rate rise to fall in unemployment

THE Bank of England (BoE) has made a major break with policy, insisting that any rise in its record-low key interest rate would be tied to a drop in Britain's unemployment rate.

The BoE said it "intends not to raise Bank Rate from its current level of 0.5 per cent at least until ... the unemployment rate has fallen to a threshold of seven per cent".

Britain's unemployment rate is 7.8 per cent.

The new governor of the bank, Mark Carney, noted on Wednesday that "a renewed recovery is now under way" for Britain's economy.

The BoE added that its Monetary Policy Committee stood ready to provide the economy with more cash stimulus while the unemployment rate remains above seven per cent - and despite a recent recovery of British growth.

The Bank of England described its pledge over interest rates and stimulus as "explicit guidance regarding the future conduct of monetary policy".

Markets had widely expected some form of so-called "forward guidance" being introduced by Canadian national Carney, who became head of the BoE at the start of July.

The Bank of England's main interest rate, which has stood at 0.50 per cent since March 2009, is closely tied to borrowing costs offered by the retail banking sector.

The BoE's record-low rate has resulted in cheap loans for home owners but poor returns for people with deposited savings.

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Gay activists target Libs but not Labor

GAY marriage activists will target marginal seats held by federal coalition MPs opposed to their cause.

But they won't go after Labor MPs who disagree with gay marriage now that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is on side.

Australian Marriage Equality (AME) deputy national director Ivan Hinton says mail-outs will be sent to constituents in Teresa Gambaro's cosmopolitan seat of Brisbane, which she holds by a slim 1.1 per cent margin.

"When you look at Teresa Gambaro's seat, there is an enormous support for marriage equality," Mr Hinton told AAP.

"It's going to be up to Teresa to work out whether she is actually going to be reflecting her constituency. Teresa Gambaro is certainly going to be one of our targets."

The group, however, won't be distributing leaflets in the seats of Labor MPs opposed to marriage equality, such as John Murphy in the marginal western Sydney seat of Reid, which has a considerable Muslim constituency.

Mr Hinton said this was because Mr Rudd had converted to the cause, after voting against gay marriage in parliament last year.

"We need to realise that western Sydney is looking for leadership on the issue," he said.

"They're not opposed to a prime minister that's actually in favour of marriage equality."

AME also won't be campaigning by mail against Natasha Griggs, the Country Liberals MP for the Darwin-based seat of Solomon, because it's focused on Australia's eastern seaboard.

Liberal MPs Wyatt Roy, Kelly O'Dwyer and frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull have declared their support for gay marriage.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has a lesbian sister, has previously said his party's opposition to a conscience vote could be reviewed after the election.

The Australian Christian Lobby says it will email 100,000 people about the views of their local candidates in the lead-up to the election.

Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome later said the organisation will campaign in all seats, including those held by Labor.

"Australian Marriage Equality will be targeting Labor members who oppose marriage equality as well as Liberal members," Mr Croome said.

"Our aim is the election of as many MPs from both major parties who support marriage equality."

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Solomons PM rejects taking asylum seekers

The Solomon Islands says it has rejected a request from Australia to accept asylum seekers. Source: AAP

THE Solomon Islands government says it has rejected a request from Australia to accept asylum-seekers.

Solomons Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo said Canberra had approached him about sending asylum-seekers for processing but he had dismissed the idea.

"No, we will never consider that. It was informally put to us and I rejected it," he told reporters in Fiji.

"I basically said to them, (asylum-seekers) have made a choice to go to Australia, they don't make a choice to come to the Solomons."

Under the policy pursued by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, asylum-seekers arriving by ship will be processed and settled in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Darcy Lilo said he objected to the policy being labelled the "Pacific solution" as it was something that Australia was seeking to impose on the region, which consists largely of poor island states.

"It's not right, because a Pacific solution has to be discussed properly with all the Pacific leaders," he told the Fijivillage news website.

"So you cannot invent something in Australia and say that is the Pacific solution. That's wrong,"

Fiji's Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola last month accused Australia of trying to "dump" its refugee problem onto its Pacific neighbours, labelling the policy "inconsiderate, prescriptive, high-handed and arrogant".

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Hong Kong shares down 1.34% by close

HONG Kong shares have fallen 1.34 per cent, dragged lower by a sharp fall in HSBC Holdings after the banking giant posted disappointing first-half results.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 298.31 points to 21,923.7 on turnover of HK$49.02 billion (US$6.32 billion) on Tuesday.

It was HSBC's biggest one-day decline in more than a year after the bank's first-half revenue fell more than expected and as declining emerging market growth was seen weighing on the global banking giant.

HSBC's report was "not a disaster by any means but (considering) the share price strength before (its) announcement, a correction looks inevitable," Kim Eng investment advisory head Edward Fung told Dow Jones Newswires.

Its shares had risen 13 per cent in the six weeks leading up to the report.

The stock easily carries the biggest weighting on the HSI, accounting for 15 per cent of the index.

Tuesday's declines shaved 170 points off the index.

Shares of Chinese internet titan Tencent were a bright spot in Hong Kong trade, rising 1.2 per cent to HK$375.60 despite the broader market's decline.

The technology sector has been a hot trade in the city after Beijing signalled technology as one of the industries it intends to focus on its growth reform.

"If you look at the individual performance, I think this will still be a very polarised market," said Alex Wong, head of asset management at Ample Capital.

China Construction Bank was off 1.22 per cent at HK$5.69 while insurance group AIA fell 1.92 per cent to HK$35.75.

Chinese shares closed up 0.49 per cent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 10.02 points to 2,060.50 on turnover of 88.7 billion yuan ($A16.29 billion).

"In the short term, the downside is limited while there's still upward momentum in the market," BOC International analyst Shen Jun said.

Automakers led gains on hopes for solid half-year earnings.

Guangzhou Automobile Group surged 8.42 per cent to 8.37 yuan while SAIC Motor gained 5.37 per cent to 13.34 yuan.

Media shares were higher, with Zhejiang Daily Media Group jumping 7.10 per cent to 31.23 yuan while Jishi Media rising 2.97 per cent to 7.97 yuan.

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Japan radioactive water 'may overflow'

THE operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it is struggling with its latest efforts to stop contaminated underground water leaks from running into the sea.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said that some of the water was seeping over or around a "liquid glass wall" it has created by injecting chemicals into the soil that solidify into a wall.

The latest problem involves underground water which has built up over the last month, since the company started creating the chemical walls in an embankment to stop leaks after it detected radiation spikes in water samples.

TEPCO spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai said the company was slow to deal with the underground water problem while focusing on the melted reactors, which pose greater risks.

Measures to contain contaminated underground water leaks have lagged while "we devoted ourselves to cool the reactors," which was the foremost task, Nagai said.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has suffered multiple meltdowns since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed power and cooling systems.

The plant still runs on makeshift equipment and has been plagued with blackouts and leaks from underground tanks.

TEPCO has been repeatedly criticised for delayed handling and disclosures of problems and mishaps at the plant.

Japan's nuclear watchdog set up a special panel with TEPCO and met on Friday to assess the water problem and discuss measures to resolve it.

Watchdog officials have urged TEPCO to pump the contaminated water inland and expand underground and seawater sampling.

TEPCO is also building more layers of chemical walls around the embankment.

Officials acknowledged last month for the first time that the plant has been leaking radioactive water into the ocean for some time.

After a major leak a month after the meltdowns, TEPCO said it had contained the problem, and denied further underground leaks into the ocean until recently, though many experts have suspected that from early on.

Data provided by TEPCO showed underground water at coastal monitoring points has risen over the chemical wall, obviously leaking into the sea.

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US extends closure of Mideast embassies

US security official says the embassy closures in the muslim world are the "most serious" he's seen. Source: AAP

US missions across the Middle East and Africa will be closed through August 10 after US intelligence uncovered what lawmakers said was the most serious threats of an al-Qaeda attack in years.

The US State Department, noting it was acting "out of an abundance of caution", said 19 diplomatic outposts would be shuttered through Saturday.

Britain said its embassy in Yemen would remain closed until the end of the Muslim festival of Eid, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, "due to continuing security concerns".

France also said its mission there would remain shut until Thursday.

Eid is due to end at the weekend.

Adding further tension to the situation, Interpol on Saturday issued a security alert after hundreds of militants were freed in jailbreaks.

The US list includes 15 embassies or consulates that were already closed on Sunday over the security fears, as well as four additional posts. At least 25 US missions had initially been ordered closed.

US legislators on Sunday said the move was prompted by electronic intercepts of high-ranking Al-Qaeda operatives signalling a major attack.

The intercepts were "probably one of the most specific and credible threats I've seen, perhaps, since 9/11", said Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland security committee.

An attack appeared to be "imminent", possibly timed to coincide with the last night of Ramadan, McCaul told CBS.

Saxby Chambliss, vice-chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said there has been "an awful lot of chatter" among terrorists about planning an attack, all "very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11".

Chambliss, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, said a National Security Agency (NSA) program that electronically intercepts mobile phone and email communication helped gather intelligence about this threat.

The NSA programs have come under intense scrutiny since former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden leaked information to the press about the scope of the surveillance.

"If we did not have these programs, then we simply wouldn't be able to listen in on the bad guys," said Chambliss, who described the information as "the most serious threat that I've seen in the last several years".

Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, told ABC's This Week that US officials "received information that high-level people from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are talking about a major attack".

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News the threats were "more specific" than previous threats.

While an exact target was unknown, "the intent seems clear. The intent is to attack Western, not just US, interests," Dempsey said.

ABC News cited an unnamed US official as saying there was concern that al-Qaeda might deploy suicide attackers with surgically implanted bombs to evade security.

The diplomatic posts to be closed through Saturday included those in: Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antananarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis.

The new closures are located in Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius. The outposts that are reopening include those in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Iraq, and Israel.

Security was especially tight in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday where Britain, France and Germany also shut their embassies.

Soldiers with armoured personnel carriers were stationed outside the buildings as police and army checkpoints went up on all the city's main thoroughfares.

Residents said they heard the sound of a drone overhead, which could only be American as Washington is the sole power to operate the unmanned aircraft in the region.

The United States considers al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the jihadist network's most active and dangerous branch, and has waged an intensifying drone war against AQAP militants in Yemen.

Although Washington has responded to terrorist threats before by closing diplomatic missions, this was believed to be the most widespread closure ever.

"I've spent 21 years in the CIA, and I don't think I've ever seen 22 embassies closed simultaneously. This is very, very unusual," Robert Baer, a former US case officer in the Middle East, told CNN.

Baer said the US action comes amid an al-Qaeda resurgence, including prison breaks in Libya and Iraq in which hundreds of inmates have escaped, and turmoil in Egypt, Mali and elsewhere in the region.

Interpol, the worldwide police agency, said it suspected al-Qaeda was involved in the getaways across nine countries, notably Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, that had "led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals" in the past month alone.

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Envoys extend visit to defuse Egypt crisis

INTERNATIONAL envoys have extended their visit to Cairo as efforts intensify to find a peaceful way out of the crisis sparked by the Egyptian military's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met the No. 2 of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, Khairat al-Shater, in prison, the official MENA news agency said on Monday.

The report said Burns was accompanied by EU envoy Bernardino Leon and top diplomats of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during the visit to Shater at Cairo's high security prison in Tora.

Burns and Leon were due to fly out on Sunday night but extended their stay, an airport source said.

The powerful Shater, one of the main financiers of the Muslim Brotherhood, is due to face trial on August 25 along with senior Brotherhood leader Rashad Bayoumi and Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, who is currently in hiding.

The three are accused of inciting the killing of protesters during clashes outside the Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo in June.

Morsi himself has been formally remanded in custody on suspicion of offences committed when he escaped from prison during the 2011 revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

Burns had already met army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi amid intense efforts to mediate a solution to the crisis pitting Morsi loyalists and the army-backed interim leadership.

Days of heated diplomatic activity in Cairo have seen visits by Burns, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Arab diplomats and an African Union delegation.

Supporters of Morsi - Egypt's first freely elected president - see his ouster by the military as a violation of democracy and insist on nothing short of reinstatement.

The interim leaders however say there is no turning back on the army-drafted roadmap announced after Morsi's ousting on July 3 and which provides for new elections in 2014.

Both the interior ministry and the army have repeatedly called on pro-Morsi protesters to lift their sit-ins which have paralysed parts of the capital and increased divisions in the country.

Authorities have promised Morsi loyalists a safe exit and said an end to their protests would allow the Muslim Brotherhood to return to political life.

Burns had met with members of the Brotherhood's political arm, which later stressed its continued commitment to "legitimacy, which stipulates the return of the president, the constitution and the Shura Council," or upper house of parliament.

The Islamists' declaration suggested Burns had failed to shift their position.

"We affirm our welcome of any political solutions proposed on the basis of constitutional legitimacy and rejection of the coup," said the Freedom and Justice Party statement.

During his visit, the US envoy sat down with Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in a bid to broker a compromise as Washington kept up the pressure from afar, with Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel urging Sisi to support an "inclusive political process", the Pentagon said.

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Extra federal money for WA road schemes

Deputy PM Anthony Albanese has granted more money to West Australia for road upgrade schemes. Source: AAP

WESTERN Australia will get extra federal funding for roadworks on the increasingly crowded Kwinana Freeway and Great Eastern Highway.

In a government announcement, deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese said the package of works would widen the Kwinana Freeway between the Roe Highway and Armadale Road to three lanes and upgrade its on and off-ramps.

The Great Eastern Highway will also be widened between Walgoolan and Coolgardie.

Mr Albanese said 54,000 motorists and drivers used these roads every day. There will be a call for tenders in coming months.

No dollar amount was put on the announcement, with Mr Albanese saying the works would be funded using savings achieved on earlier projects.

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Malaysia ends search for missing migrants

MALAYSIAN rescuers say they will stop searching for 33 Indonesians missing at sea, more than four days after their boat sank on their way home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, with seven confirmed dead.

The wooden boat was believed to be smuggling 44 people, including women and children, from Malaysia's southern state of Johor to Indonesia's Batam island. It sank in rough seas late on Thursday, and four men were rescued the following day.

Amran Daud, an official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), said in a statement that search and rescue operations would stop at sunset on Monday as the chances of finding survivors had become "increasingly thin".

Rescuers recovered the bodies of four more men on Monday despite rough seas and heavy rain hampering efforts.

Three other bodies - two women and a man - were found on Sunday, far away from the accident site as strong currents are believed to have scattered the corpses.

Amran said authorities decided to stop search efforts after "assessing various aspects, including monitoring by helicopters" without finding any clues of survivors.

"But MMEA will continue to have routine patrols in the area, and if there are new leads we will mobilise our members," he said, adding 130 rescuers had scoured an area of almost 7,800 square kilometres since last Friday.

The boat, which authorities believe was "not seaworthy", capsized in high waves about 13 nautical miles off the coast.

The passengers are believed to have been illegal migrants who came to Malaysia to work but wanted to return to their country to celebrate Thursday's Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, without passing border controls.

One of the survivors found on Friday said he paid some 1,300 ringgit ($400) for what was to be his first trip home in 13 years.

A search and rescue coordinator told AFP that as many Indonesians sought to sneak back to their country and maritime officials had stepped up patrols, smugglers were choosing more dangerous disembarkation points along the coast.

"It's too dangerous to travel there for small vessels... The swell is big, the wind is strong, the weather unpredictable," he said, referring to the part of the coast from where Thursday's ill-fated boat left.

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Israel to free Arab prisoners on August 13

PALESTINIAN negotiator Saeb Erakat says Israel will free the first batch of a promised 104 long-serving Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners on August 13.

"The release of veteran prisoners will be in four batches as Israel refused to release them all at once," he said in a statement.

Israel says that the men will go free in stages depending on progress in newly-resumed peace talks with the Palestinians.

"It agreed on releasing 26 of the old prisoners on August 13," Erakat said in the statement.

The prisoner release was approved by the Israeli cabinet last week to coincide with the talks, revived after a three-year hiatus.

A first meeting took place in Washington earlier in the week and the Israeli negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, said on Saturday that another session would be held shortly in the Middle East.

"These discussions that began in Washington will resume during the second week of August and will take place in the region," Livni told the private Channel 10 television station.

She said the talks would alternate between Israel and the Palestinian territories, and that the first of 104 prisoners imprisoned by Israel prior to the 1993 Oslo peace accords would be freed before the next round.

The names of the prisoners to go free have yet to be officially published, but they reportedly include many militants convicted of killing Israelis.

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One dead, 11 hurt in LA car chaos

One person is dead after a car drove through a packed crowd along LA's Venice Beach. Source: AAP

AN accelerating car driven by a young man screeched across a footpath and straight into a crowd enjoying one of California's most popular boardwalks, killing one person and injuring 11.

The victim died at a hospital a few hours after the Saturday night crash at the Venice Beach boardwalk, Los Angeles police lieutenant Andy Neiman said.

Security video shows the man parking his black car alongside the seaside boardwalk as the sun sank, surveying the idyllic scene for several minutes before getting back into the car and speeding into the crowd. It shows hundreds of people walking lazily or sitting at cafes before the black car suddenly appears and sends them scrambling wildly.

Witnesses reported a horrifying aftermath.

"There was people kind of stumbling around, blood dripping down their legs looking confused not knowing what had happened, people screaming," said 35-year-old Louisa Hodge, who was out enjoying the day on the Venice Beach boardwalk with a friend visiting from San Diego.

"It was blocks and blocks of people just strewn across the footpath."

Firefighters combed the chaotic crowd, finding 12 people wounded and taking 10 of them to the hospital where one later died, fire and police officials said.

Another victim was in critical condition, two more were in serious condition, and the remaining eight had minor injuries, city fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

The driver fled the scene and about an hour later, just as police were circulating word that they were seeking a black Dodge with a driver in his 20s, a man walked into a police station in neighbouring Santa Monica, told officers he was involved in the boardwalk incident, Neiman said.

Police then found a car nearby that they believe belonged to the man, Neiman said.

Detectives were questioning the man, calling him a person of interest and attempting to determine whether he was the driver, Neiman said.

Neiman would give no details on the identity of the person who died or the person of interest.

According to the security video and witness accounts, the man with a baseball cap, grey shirt and white pants parked next to the Cadillac Hotel, twice walking out to the boardwalk before getting into the Dodge Avenger and accelerating, swerving around yellow poles meant to prevent cars from getting into the pedestrian-only area and onto the boardwalk.

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Tunisia says 'terror' suspect killed

TUNISIAN forces have killed a "terror" suspect in a dawn raid and separately foiled a political assassination, like the one that has plunged the country into crisis.

Sunday's announcements came after rival protests for and against the Islamist-led coalition government, with the opposition demanding the resignation of the cabinet and the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly.

The calls have mounted ever since the murder nearly two weeks ago of opposition MP Mohamad Brahmi, the second anti-government politician gunned down in Tunis since February.

Officials have said the same gun was used in both killings and pointed the blame at jihadists but failed to make any arrest in either case.

The interior ministry said the dawn raid targeted a house in the southern Tunis suburb of Ouardia where a group of "key terror" suspects was hiding.

"One of the members of the group was eliminated in an exchange of fire, and four were arrested," the ministry said in a terse statement that did not spell out why the suspects were wanted.

Overnight, the ministry said that police had foiled a new bid to assassinate a political figure and that two "very dangerous terrorists" had been arrested and guns and grenades seized.

The ministry did not identify the target of the plot but said it had taken place in Sousse, 140km south of Tunis, on Friday.

Police traded fire with gunmen after searching a house in the area, and a third suspect fled, it added.

The security force operations came as Tunisia's moderate Islamist Ennahda party was battling to defend the position at the head of the governing coalition it won in an October 2011 election.

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Man arrested over $1.4m Cannes jewel theft

A SUSPECT in the theft of jewellery worth one million euros ($A1.49 million) during this year's Cannes Film Festival was arrested in June during a robbery on a Spanish island, French newspaper reports say.

A 40-year-old French-Algerian man known as a notorious thief was caught in the act at a luxury hotel on the island of Mallorca on June 21 and taken into custody, Spanish police told AFP.

According to the Journal du Dimanche, the man was "formally recognised through images taken by cameras at the Novotel," the hotel in Cannes, France where the $US1.4 million ($A1.58 million) theft occurred on May 17. The claim has not been confirmed.

"Comparisons were made" with theft from the Novotel, and the suspect was apparently "used to doing this kind of thing," said a source close to the investigation.

Chopard jewellery reportedly due to be loaned to film stars at Cannes was stolen from the hotel room of an American employee in a pre-dawn heist in May.

A strongbox containing jewels was ripped out of the wardrobe and carried off.

The jeweller redesigned the festival's Palme d'Or trophy and each year lends jewellery to stars for their walk up the red-carpeted steps at the Palais des Festivals.

French investigators would be able to interview the suspect when they received instructions from their Spanish counterparts, the source said.

Two men are being sought in connection with the Chopard jewellery theft, according to French police.

On Friday the safes of three rooms in the billionaires' resort of the Hotel de Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, east of Nice, were broken into and jewellery and other valuables estimated at 40,000 euros were stolen, the hotel's management said.

And on Wednesday, local prosecutors said two men armed with a grenade and gun burst into a Cannes store selling luxury watches and made off with 100 to 150 items, just a couple of blocks away from the Carlton hotel, the scene of a record $US136 million ($A153 million) robbery a week ago.

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