Tunisia ruling Islamists call for rally

MEMBERS of Tunisia's main ruling Islamist party are calling for a rally in the capital on Saturday, a day after police clashed with protesters at the funeral of murdered opposition figure Chokri Belaid.

The Ennahda party demonstration was to take place in the centre of Tunis on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where the latest violence has taken place, the party said in a statement.

The protest would "defend the legitimacy of the national constituent assembly," where the Ennahda-dominated coalition holds a majority, and would "fight against (the political) violence" it said the opposition is using.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Friday for the funeral procession of Belaid, who was killed by a lone gunman on Wednesday, and clashes with police led to 132 arrests, said the interior ministry.

The opposition blames Ennahda for the murder of the outspoken government critic, but the ruling party vehemently denies any involvement.

The unrest comes amid tension and division within Ennahda itself, after the recent sacking of the party's leader and as Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali attempts to form a new government of technocrats, which hardliners oppose.

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Unidentified child found wandering alone

POLICE are searching for parents of a young child who was found wandering alone in the streets of Perth's east more than 24 hours ago.

The boy, who is about three-years-old, was found on Belgravia Street in Belmont at about midday on Friday.

He has not been able to provide his name or details of his parents or guardians, and is currently being cared for by the Department for Child Protection (DCP).

Neither the DCP nor police have received any reports of a missing child.

Police have now released a picture of the boy, who has short brown hair, brown eyes and a light olive complexion.

He has limited speech.

Anyone able to identify the boy should contact the Department's Crisis Care Unit on 9223 1111.

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Domestic violence tracking set for WA

SERIOUS domestic violence offenders in Western Australia will almost certainly find themselves being monitored electronically, with both main political parties pushing the plan.

If WA Labor wins the March 9 election, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan says the party will start a $4.5 million electronic monitoring trial of domestic violence offenders who breach restraining orders - a plan he mooted in March last year.

But Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said the Liberal-led government had already approved the drafting of legislation to create a new category of a serious, violent offender to enable courts to order them to wear GPS tracking devices.

This would initially target repeat domestic violence offenders, Mr Cowper said, after the Liberals announced their GPS tracking policy last month.

The government had also passed legislation that meant a mandatory one-year jail term for anyone who tampered with the device, he said.

"Will Mr McGowan commit to mandatory sentencing for tampering with a device?" Mr Cowper said.

Mr McGowan said domestic violence was on the rise and victims were not being adequately protected.

He pointed to Saori Jones, who was murdered in front of her two children by her ex-husband Bradley Wayne Jones.

Jones received a five-year prison sentence in 2011, moving WA Labor to introduce a private member's bill, known as Saori's Law, to parliament last year, but it was voted down by the Barnett government.

The bill sought the near-automation of restraining orders in domestic assault cases and would have cleared the way for victims to remain in their homes even if the properties were registered in the offenders' names.

Mr McGowan also took a swipe at Premier Colin Barnett's announcement on Saturday - Chinese New Year's Eve - to promise $2 million to improve Chinatown in Northbridge.

Sticking with one of his key campaign themes of transforming the CBD, Mr Barnett said he wanted to turn the area into a vibrant laneway precinct, building on the Perth City Link project currently under way.

This involves sinking the Fremantle rail line to make the border between the city and the entertainment district more pedestrian-friendly.

Two new street connections would be created, the premier said, including linking the high-end King Street - home of Perth's most expensive retail rentals - to Lake Street, one of Northbridge's most bustling roads.

But Mr McGowan said the announcement confirmed the Premier's priorities were wrong and out-of-touch, and came as the WA government racked up record debt levels.

Instead, Mr McGowan said he was focused on traffic congestion, which the opposition planned to solve with its Metronet rail plan to connect outer suburbs to the city and airport, and easing high costs of living.

The Australian newspaper's Newspoll figures on Friday pointed to a landslide win for the WA Liberals, who lead 57 per cent to 43 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

But Mr McGowan is romping it in as preferred premier, jumping 11 points to 40 per cent. On the same basis, Mr Barnett has slipped to 44 per cent, down four points.

The poll has a three per cent margin of error.

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Behemoth storm dumps snow on US northeast

Airlines are grounding their planes in New York City in response to an intensifying blizzard. Source: AAP

A BEHEMOTH storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions has swept through the US Northeast, dumping more than half a metre of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 homes and businesses.

More than 70 centimetres of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early on Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 0.6 metres or more of snow - with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travellers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the footpaths.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain cancelled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches. A wind gust of 76 mph was recorded at Logan Airport.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of motorists remained disabled early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shovelling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

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UK measles cases hit 18-year high

THE number of cases of measles has reached its highest level for 18 years, British health experts say.

There were 2016 confirmed cases in England and Wales in 2012 - the highest annual total since 1994, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed.

A spokeswoman said the majority of cases occurred in Merseyside, Surrey and Sussex, as well as several smaller outbreaks in travelling communities.

Measles is a highly-infectious disease and last year health officials noted "prolonged" outbreaks" in Merseyside, Surrey and Sussex, an HPA spokeswoman said.

Symptoms include fever, cold-like symptoms, red eyes, sensitivity to light and greyish white spots in the mouth and throat. After a few days a red-brown spotty rash will appear.

In severe cases it is potentially fatal.

People are protected against measles, mumps and rubella with the combine MMR vaccine - which is normally given as part of children's routine vaccinations.

Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the HPA, said: "Coverage of MMR is now at historically high levels but measles is highly infectious and can spread easily among communities that are poorly vaccinated, and can affect anyone who is susceptible, including toddlers in whom vaccination has been delayed.

"Older children who were not vaccinated at the routine age, who may now be teenagers, are at particular risk of becoming exposed, while at school for example.

"Measles continues to circulate in several European countries that are popular with holidaymakers.

"Measles is a highly-infectious disease, so the only way to prevent outbreaks is to make sure the UK has good uptake of the MMR vaccine, and that when cases are reported, immediate public health action is taken to target unvaccinated individuals in the vicinity as soon as possible."

"Measles is often associated with being a disease of the past and, as a result, people may be unaware that it is a dangerous infection that can lead to death in severe cases.

"Parents should ensure their children are fully protected against measles, mumps and rubella with two doses of the MMR vaccine.

"Parents of unvaccinated children, as well as older teenagers and adults who may have missed MMR vaccination, should make an appointment with their GP to get vaccinated.

"If you are unsure if you or your child has had two doses of the vaccine, speak to their GP, who will have a record."

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Iran frees Slovak man arrested for spying

A SLOVAK man arrested in Iran and accused of spying for the United States has been released and returned home.

Iranian authorities claimed in January that 26-year-old Matej Valuch was involved in Central Intelligence Agency activities in Iran.

Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said on Friday that Valuch was released after "difficult and complicated" bilateral negotiations.

Lajcak gave no details.

Valuch, who was standing next to the minister at a news conference, denied he worked for the US intelligence, saying "I am not a spy".

He declined to take questions.

Lajcak said Valuch would not talk about his Iranian experience in the future.

In a documentary broadcast in Iran, Valuch said he was recruited by a CIA agent and ran a job recruitment agency in Tehran as a front.

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Emergency alert for Hotham heights

HOMES are under threat as a large, fast moving bushfire burns in Victoria's alpine region.

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has issued an emergency alert for Hotham Heights in the state's northeast, with the fire expected to impact the area within the next two hours.

Authorities advise residents to leave now if it is safe or take shelter nearby.

The out-of-control bushfire is 11,000 hectares and creating spot-fires approximately one to 2km ahead.

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'Suicide bomber' attacks Mali troops

A SUICIDE bomber has blown himself up near a group of Malian soldiers in the northern city of Gao, a local military officer says.

The suicide bomber "approached us on a motorbike, he was a Tamashek (Tuareg), and as he came closer he set off his belt," said Mali First Sergeant Mamadou Keita.

"He died immediately and among us, one was injured."

The act marked the first suicide attack in the embattled west African country since the start of a French-led offensive to oust the Islamists from Mali's north, where they had controlled key towns for 10 months.

It comes a day after one of the militant groups, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), said in a message on Thursday that it had "created a new combat zone" by organising attacks on military convoys and placing landmines.

A landmine blast on Wednesday between the northern towns of Douentza and Gao killed four civilians returning from market, an officer with Mali's paramilitary police said.

That explosion came after a similar blast in the same area on January 31 claimed the lives of two Malian soldiers.

"MUJAO is behind the explosion of two Malian army cars," the group's spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui said in a text message to Agence France-Presse.

A month after the French launched a lightning offensive to chase out the rebels, Paris has warned of "residual jihadist groups" who were still fighting.

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Man charged after filming up girls' skirts

A MAN has been caught on CCTV filming up the skirts of women in shopping malls across Sydney.

The 52-year-old man was captured on CCTV at shopping malls on George Street in Sydney and in Liverpool, using his mobile phone to film up the skirts of women.

One of the incidents occurred in August last year, while the other two were captured in January.

Police arrested and charged the Frenchs Forest man with three counts of film person's private parts without consent.

He was released on bail with strict conditions and will face North Sydney Local Court on February 25.

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Document declaring USSR dead 'missing'

FORMER Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich says a historic document that pronounced the death of the USSR is missing from archives.

Shushkevich discovered the disappearance of the original document while working on his memoirs.

Officials with Belarus' government and other ex-Soviet states confirmed on Wednesday that they only have copies.

The document's disappearance reflects the chaos that surrounded the Soviet demise.

On December 8, 1991, Shushkevich hosted Russia's President Boris Yeltsin and Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk for secret talks at a government hunting lodge near Viskuli in the Belovezha Forest.

The trio signed a deal declaring that "the USSR has ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality," defeating Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to hold the country together and forcing him to resign on Christmas Day.

The agreement also announced the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance joined by nine other Soviet republics later that month.

"It's hard to believe in the disappearance of a document of such level, but this is fact," Shushkevich said.

He said he believes the document has been stolen, probably with the intention of selling it to a collector.

"We don't know where the original is," said Vasily Ostreiko, the head of the archive department of the CIS, which has its headquarters in the Belarusian capital.

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Burke to reveal Tarkine heritage decision

The environment minister is set to reveal his decision on heritage listing for Tasmania's Tarkine. Source: AAP

ENVIRONMENT Minister Tony Burke is set to reveal his decision on heritage listing for Tasmania's Tarkine.

The federal government has been assessing the heritage value of Tarkine, home to the largest tract of temperate rainforest in the southern hemisphere and the last haven of disease-free Tasmanian devils.

Mr Burke will make an announcement in northern Tasmania on Friday.

Environmentalists want the area protected from mining.

They say it fulfils eight of 10 criteria for becoming a world heritage area - only the second place in the world that would do so - but only five per cent is protected in national parks.

The Tarkine been home to mining for more than a century and 10 new mines, some open-cut, are planned for the area in the next five years, according to the Tarkine National Coalition.

The state government has granted several mining leases, which are still subject to federal approval, and Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings says only one per cent of the Tarkine will be affected by the proposals.

In 2010, Mr Burke allowed an emergency heritage listing in the area to lapse.

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Firefighting helicopter crashes in Tas

A HELICOPTER pilot has been rescued after his chopper crashed while he was fighting a bushfire in Tasmania.

A Tasmanian police rescue helicopter evacuated the pilot at 5pm (AEDT) after his helicopter crashed while he was fighting the fire near Molesworth in the state's south, police said.

The pilot was flown from the scene and taken to hospital in a stable condition.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) says the fire danger in the Molesworth area is very high with a large bushfire burning at Glen Dhu Road.

The fire is impacting the areas of Suhrs Road, Fehlbergs Road, Valley Road and Collins Cap Road to Springdale Road, it says in a statement.

TFS warns it is likely to be too late to leave the area, with residents advised to activate their bushfire survival plan.

Spot fires may threaten homes earlier than the main fire front.

The TFS says there may be embers, smoke and ash falling on Molesworth, Glenlusk and Collinsvale, Myrtle Forest Road, and Old Springdale Road.

TFS said an out-of-control fire on the Huon Highway at Franklin, south of Hobart, has prompted a high fire danger rating for the area.

TFS says the fire may now affect the Huon Highway, Castle Forbes Road and Fleurtys Road to the south of Franklin.

Communities south of Franklin and Castle Forbes Bay may experience embers, smoke and ash falling on them.

A low-moderate fire danger rating has also been made for the Lefroy area, between Bridport and George Town on the north coast, with a large bushfire burning out of control at Shaw Street.

The fire may affect the communities of the Lefroy township and properties southeast of Lefroy are also at risk from smoke and embers, the TFS said.

The 52-year-old Hobart man crashed into a clearing near the bushfire before being rescued.

His helicopter was one of a team of four choppers water-bombing the Molesworth blaze that started on February 6.

Police said the man was airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital for assessment and was shaken by the incident but not seriously hurt.

The Air Transport Safety Bureau has been advised of the crash. Investigators will look into the cause of the accident.

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Greek ferries sail as govt breaks strike

FERRIES have set sail for Greek islands for the first time in a week after the government invoked emergency powers to force striking seamen back to work.

Thousands of demonstrators converged on the country's largest port on Wednesday to protest against the order and the two main unions declared a strike in greater Athens in solidarity with the seamen.

The strike in the Attica region will affect all public services and include a four-hour work stoppage by public transport workers.

The seamen's six-day strike against austerity measures had left dozens of islands without any means of resupply. The Cyclades islands' chamber of commerce this week said the strike had led to shortages in goods, prevented treatment of serious health cases and even stopped the transportation of dead bodies for burial.

Trucks carrying food and other products loaded onto ferries set sail from the port of Piraeus for the Cyclades and the Dodecanese islands early Wednesday morning, unhampered by the union-backed protesters who began to gather at the port at dawn.

Riot police cordoned off the Merchant Marine Ministry to prevent a demonstration by thousands of protesters from reaching the building.

The strikers returned to work after the government implemented a rarely used civil mobilisation order for the second time in two weeks. The three-party coalition last used the order - under which those who defy it risk arrest and jail time of up to five years - to end an eight-day metro workers' strike in January.

"The government must know that the systematic undermining of union and labour laws violate the country's constitution and international and European agreements that protect workers' rights," the civil servants union ADEDY said in a statement. It described the measure as an "anti-democratic practice of criminalising labour and strike action."

Seamen have been demanding more than six months' worth of arrears in pay, and the signing of collective work contracts with ferry companies. Merchant Marine Minister Costas Mousouroulis said Tuesday that the government had done what it could to address their concerns.

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Burma opposition MP joins cabinet

THE president of Myanmar (Burma) has appointed an opposition MP to his cabinet, giving a foothold to a political rival in his reformist government for the first time.

Tin Shwe, an upper house member of parliament from the National Democratic Force (NDF), has been drafted in as deputy minister of hotels and tourism by President Thein Sein, state-mouthpiece the New Light of Myanmar reported on Wednesday.

The decision prompted the NDF, a splinter group from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, to insist that it would not go easy on the government now that its man is in the cabinet.

"There was no negotiation with the party and we didn't know about it in advance," NDF chairman Khin Maung Swe told AFP, adding the party nonetheless supported the appointment.

"We will continue to oppose whatever does not benefit the people... There is no plan not to oppose the government just because one of us has become a minister."

Tin Shwe, a 67-year-old doctor, will now step down as an MP to carry out his duties in cabinet, leaving the NDF with five serving lawmakers spread across both parliament houses in Naypyidaw.

The number is fewer than half the seats they won in disputed 2010 national elections that sparked the bitter split with Suu Kyi, whose party boycotted the polls, saying the rules were unfair.

Thein Sein has overseen sweeping reforms of the once-authoritarian junta-ruled nation, including Suu Kyi's election to parliament in by-elections held in April 2012 that gave her party more than 40 seats in parliament.

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Bring back banned drinkers register

THE scrapped Northern Territory banned drinkers register dramatically cut alcohol-fuelled violence when it was introduced, federal Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard took aim at the NT government for dumping the successful program when it won power during her Close the Gap report to parliament on Wednesday.

She's written to the NT government urging them to overturn the decision, but they have signalled that's not going to happen.

Mr Snowdon, who has lived in Alice Springs for 30 years, told parliament he's seen first hand the scourge of alcohol abuse.

He said in the first year after the Labor government introduced the register in July 2012 alcohol-related assaults across the NT were down 15 per cent.

Mr Snowdon said there were also 10,000 fewer anti-social behaviour incidents reported across the NT in that time.

After the register was scrapped last year there were "hordes of people lining up at bottlos and grog shops", he said.

"We have seen an immediate spike in drunkenness around Alice Springs," Mr Snowdon told the lower house.

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Tunisian opposition leader shot dead

THE leader of a Tunisian opposition party who had been particularly critical of the country's Islamist government has been shot dead.

Chokri Belaid, leader of the leftist Movement of Democratic Patriots, was shot by unknown attackers in the neck and head as he was leaving his Tunis home for work, his wife told Chems FM radio.

Belaid, a lawyer, had been outspoken in his criticism of Tunisia's ruling coalition, which is led by the Islamist party Ennahda.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali denounced the murder as an "act of terrorism" against Tunisia.

"This is a criminal act, an act of terrorism not only against Belaid but against the whole of Tunisia," Jebali from the ruling Islamist Ennahda party told FM Radio Mosaique.

He promised to pursue all efforts to "immediately" arrest the murderer.

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String of bushfires on Great Eastern Hwy

BUSHFIRES have broken out along the Great Eastern Highway in Western Australia, including one across the highway from the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre at Northam, north-east of Perth.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said firefighters were working on several scrub fires along the highway and also on the corner of Northam's main street, Mitchell Avenue, and Mt Ommanney Rd.

Details were being gathered ahead of the release of alerts, she said.

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Syria newspaper reacts to oppn talks offer

SYRIAN opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib's offer of talks with the regime is significant but "two years late", the pro-regime daily Al-Watan says.

"Despite their importance, the statements of Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib are two years late. During that time, our finest young men have died, suffered wounds or been exiled, while we have lost our electricity and fuel infrastructure, alongside several military positions," Al-Watan said in a long editorial on Tuesday.

"Two years have gone by, in which we have lost a lot because of the opposition's stubbornness and their refusal to negotiate," said the daily.

"So the ball is not in the Syrian state's hands, as Khatib said" on Monday, in an interview with pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television, Al-Watan added.

The editorial was the first indication of official thinking as regards to Khatib's surprise proposal of negotiations as a way out of the conflict that has ravaged Syria for almost two years.

Khatib, who heads the opposition Syrian National Coalition, said he was ready to talk with regime officials if "160,000 detainees" are released and if exiled Syrians are able to renew their passports abroad.

In the past the opposition has demanded Assad step down before talks can begin but analysts say Khatib's change in stance stems from a belief that the population will be bled dry while the West fails to act.

Formed in Doha, Qatar in November last year, the coalition is recognised by scores of states and international organisations as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

"Khatib's declarations are insufficient. They do not make him an acceptable negotiator at a popular level," said Al-Watan, suggesting the opposition chief was insincere in his offer.

Khatib's statements "are a political manoeuvre, through which he is trying to correct his mistake of supporting the (jihadist) Al-Nusra Front," said Al-Watan.

The editorial said Khatib "should explain the reasons behind his (alleged) support for Al-Nusra Front and for terrorism in general".

Since a revolt erupted against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, the regime has described dissidents and rebels alike as "terrorists".

More recently, the regime has described all rebels as members of Al-Nusra Front, which is listed by the United States as a "terrorist" organisation.

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S Korea predicts multiple nuke tests

SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung-Bak believes North Korea could detonate multiple devices when it goes ahead with a nuclear test expected in the coming weeks or days.

In an interview published on Tuesday in the Chosun Ilbo daily, the outgoing president also acknowledged the huge challenge the international community faces in seeking to wean Pyongyang off its nuclear weapons program.

The North has signalled that it will carry out a "higher level" nuclear test very soon, in a defiant response to tightened UN sanctions after its successful long-range rocket launch in December.

Lee said "higher-level" suggested Pyongyang might attempt to detonate several devices.

"North Korea is likely to carry out multiple nuclear tests at two places or more simultaneously" to maximise scientific gains from an event that will be globally condemned, Lee said.

Experts around the world are gearing up to analyse any test for what it might reveal about the current status of the North's weaponisation program.

Of particular interest will be any sign that its scientists have succeeded in developing a warhead that can be fitted onto a missile.

"If the North produces miniaturised weapons that can be used as warheads on missiles, it would really pose a threat," Lee said. "That's why the whole world is watching it so intensively."

Lee has only a few weeks left in office at the end of a five-year term marked by an almost total freeze of contacts between North and South Korea.

In his interview, he suggested that diplomatic efforts would make little headway in bringing about a significant policy shift in Pyongyang.

"I think it is difficult to persuade the North regime to give up the nuclear path," he said.

Some predict the test will come before the Lunar New Year on February 10, while others suggest it will be timed to coincide with the February 16 birthday of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

South Korea and its ally the United States are holding a joint naval exercise off the Korean peninsula as tensions rise - a drill condemned as a "warmongering" exercise by North Korea.

Its official news agency Tuesday threatened a move going "beyond the imagination" of Seoul and Washington in response to the exercise, which it terms a rehearsal for invasion.

"The US is now getting hell-bent on the joint anti-submarine drill targeting the 'north's nuclear facilities'," the agency said in an editorial.

"Now that the hostile acts toward the (North) have gone beyond the limit of universally accepted... norms of the international community, the (North's) option in reaction to it will also go beyond the imagination of the hostile forces," it said.

"There is no other option for the (North) but to fight it out."

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Riots erupt as Bangladeshi Islamist jailed

DEADLY riots have broken out in Bangladeshi cities after a court sentenced a senior Islamist opposition leader to life in prison for mass murder during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Abdul Quader Molla, 64, the fourth-highest leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was the first politician to be found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal, a much-criticised domestic court based in Dhaka.

Molla cried "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greater) and said the charges were false after presiding judge Obaidul Hassan delivered the verdict in a crowded and tightly guarded court on Tuesday.

"He deserved the death sentence because of the gravity of the crimes. But the court gave him life imprisonment," said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, adding Molla was found guilty of five out of six charges including mass murder.

A man was shot dead in clashes with police in the port city of Chittagong as the ruling sparked immediate protests by Jamaat, the country's largest Islamic party, which enforced a nationwide strike in anticipation of the conviction.

"We fired in self-defence after hundreds of protesters attacked us with firearms and handmade bombs," deputy police commissioner Habibur Rahman told AFP, adding an unidentified man died of bullet wounds and 10 officers were injured.

Police also clashed with protesters in the capital Dhaka, firing rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters who were smashing vehicles.

And in the northwestern city of Rajshahi police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at about 500 Jamaat supporters who hurled a dozen homemade firebombs.

The verdict is the second by the tribunal. On January 21 a top TV preacher who is an ex-Jamaat official was sentenced to death in absentia for murder and genocide.

Ten other opposition figures - including the entire leadership of Jamaat and two from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - stand accused of war crimes.

Both Jamaat and BNP have labelled the cases "show trials" aimed at barring the leaders from upcoming polls. International rights groups have questioned the proceedings.

Prosecutors said during the war Molla was a senior figure in the then-student wing of Jamaat, while studying physics at Dhaka University, and was a member of a pro-Pakistan militia accused of killing hundreds of thousands of people.

Security was tight in the capital with more than 10,000 police on patrol as war veterans and ruling party supporters held rival marches.

Schools were closed and many shops and businesses shuttered. Motorways linking Dhaka with other cities were largely empty.

Police said a young banker was burnt to death and four people injured in Dhaka on Monday night after a bus was torched by suspected Jamaat activists protesting the war crime trials.

The tribunal, which has no international oversight, was created by the country's secular government in 2010. The opposition has alleged that it is politically motivated and is selective in its targets.

The current government says up to three million people were killed in the war, but independent estimates put the figure far lower.

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US law permits pre-emptive cyber strikes

A SECRET legal review has concluded the US president has the power to order pre-emptive cyber strikes if the US discovers credible evidence of a major digital attack against it is in the offing.

The New York Times reported on Monday that the policy will govern how the intelligence agencies can carry out searches of overseas computer networks for signs of potential attacks. If the president approves, it can attack adversaries with a destructive code - even if there is no declared war.

The review came as the US approved a five-fold expansion of its cybersecurity force over the coming years in a bid to increase its ability to defend critical computer networks.

The Washington Post reported that the department's Cyber Command, which currently has a staff of about 900, will expand to about 4,900 troops and civilians.

Last November, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta conceded that US cybersecurity needed more financial support and human capital.

The seriousness of the threat has been underscored by a string of sabotage attacks, including one in which a virus was used to wipe data from more than 30,000 computers at a Saudi Arabian state oil company.

According to The Times, John Brennan, who has been nominated to run the Central Intelligence Agency, played a central role in developing the administration's policies regarding cyberwarfare.

President Barack Obama is known to have approved the use of cyberweapons only once, when he ordered an escalating series of cyberattacks against Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, The Times said.

One senior American official said that the reviewers had quickly determined that the cyberweapons were so powerful that - like nuclear weapons - they should be unleashed only on the direct orders of the commander in chief, The Times noted.

International law allows any nation to defend itself from threats, and the United States has applied that concept to conduct pre-emptive attacks, the paper noted.

Under the new guidelines, the Pentagon would not be involved in defending against ordinary cyberattacks on American companies or individuals, The Times said. That responsibility falls to the Department of Homeland Security.

But the military would become involved in cases of a major cyberattack within the United States, the paper noted.

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Iran says Israel will regret Syria attack

A TOP Iranian official visiting Damascus says Israel will regret its "latest aggression" on Syria.

Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran's National Security Council, says the Islamic world will not allow any attack against Syria.

Israeli warplanes struck a site near the Syrian capital, Damascus, last week, targeting what US officials said were ground-to-air missiles apparently heading for Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group.

Syria has vowed retaliation but has so far refrained from any response. Iran is Syria's closest regional ally.

Jalili, who is on a three-day visit to Syria, did not explain in his comments on Tuesday how Israel would regret the strike.

He only said Israel "will be defeated" as it apparently was during the 2006 month-long war with Hezbollah and recently by Gaza's Hamas rulers.

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Man killed in Brisbane traffic crash

A MAN has been killed in a collision between two vehicles east of Brisbane on Monday afternoon.

Police said in a statement that the fatal smash occurred near the intersection of Rickertt and St James roads at Thornside, about 2.30pm.

They said one of the drivers was taken to hospital, but later died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

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Scientists confirm King Richard III find

Scientists will reveal the result of tests to determine if a skeleton belongs to King Richard III. Source: AAP

SCIENTISTS have confirmed that 500-year-old remains found under a car park in the city of Leicester are those of England's King Richard III.

University of Leicester researchers say tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.

"Richard III, the last Plantaganet King of England, has been found," said the university's deputy registrar, Richard Taylor.

Osteologist Jo Appleby said on Monday that the study of the bones provided "a highly convincing case for identification of Richard III".

And DNA from the skeleton matches a sample taken from a distant living relative of Richard's sister.

The last English monarch to die in battle, Richard was depicted in a play by William Shakespeare as a hunchbacked usurper who left a trail of bodies - including those of his two princely nephews, murdered in the Tower of London - on his way to the throne.

Many historians say that image is unfair, and argue Richard's reputation was smeared by his Tudor successors.

That's an argument taken up by the Richard III Society, set up to re-evaluate the reputation of a reviled monarch.

"It will be a whole new era for Richard III," society spokeswoman Lynda Pidgeon said.

"It's certainly going to spark a lot more interest. Hopefully people will have a more open mind toward Richard."

Richard III ruled England between 1483 and 1485, during the decades-long tussle over the throne known as the Wars of the Roses.

His brief reign saw liberal reforms, including introduction of the right to bail and the lifting of restrictions on books and printing presses.

His rule was challenged, and he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field by the army of Henry Tudor, who took the throne as King Henry VII.

For centuries, the location of Richard's body has been unknown.

Records say he was buried by the Franciscan monks of Grey Friars at their church in Leicester, 160km north of London. The church was closed and dismantled after King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1538, and its location eventually was forgotten.

Then, last September, archaeologists searching for Richard dug up the skeleton of an adult male who appeared to have died in battle.

There were signs of trauma to the skull, perhaps from a bladed instrument, and a barbed metal arrowhead was found between vertebrae of the upper back.

The remains also displayed signs of scoliosis, which is a form of spinal curvature, consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance, though not with Shakespeare's description of him as "deform'd, unfinished" hunchback.

Researchers conducted a battery of scientific tests, including radiocarbon dating to determine the skeleton's age. They also compared its DNA with samples taken from a London cabinet-maker identified as a 17th great-grand-nephew of the king's older sister.

The mayor of Leicester, Peter Soulsby, said the monarch would be interred in the city's cathedral.

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Armed bandits threaten 80yo NSW shopkeeper

AN 80-year-old takeaway store owner and his daughter have been threatened with an axe and a machete during an armed robbery in northern NSW.

Police said the elderly man and his 56-year-old daughter were woken up around 1.45am (AEDT) on Sunday by loud noises at their home on Queen Elizabeth Drive at Coraki.

When they went to investigate the sounds in their adjoining takeaway food shop they were confronted by two masked men.

One of the men was armed with an axe, while the other was wielding a machete, police said.

The bandits threatened the man and woman before demanding cash and cigarettes.

They then forced the pair into the woman's Nissan Tiida car, drove them about three kilometres out of Coraki, and ordered them out of the vehicle.

Police pursued the car a short time later at Casino but the robbers managed to dump the vehicle and escape on foot.

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French bomb Mali extremists

French President Francois Hollande has received a rapturous welcome in war-torn Mali. Source: AAP

FRENCH warplanes bombed training and logistics centres run by Islamist extremists in northeastern Mali on Sunday, just hours after President Francois Hollande visited the country, the military said.

The "major" air strikes were carried out overnight in the Tessalit area north of Kidal, the last bastion of radicals who occupied the desert north for months before France's intervention, military spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard said.

Earlier, President Francois Hollande called on Africans to take over the fight against extremism as he received a rapturous welcome in Mali, where a French-led offensive has driven back Islamist rebels from the north.

The French leader's whirlwind tour came as troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of radicals who seized control of Mali's desert north last year after a coup, raising fears that an area larger than France could become a safe haven for al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

In the fabled city of Timbuktu, thousands gathered in the central square, dancing to the beat of drums - a forbidden activity during the extremists' 10-month occupation - to welcome the French leader with shouts of "Vive la France! Long live Hollande!"

Hollande, whose surprise decision to intervene in Mali three weeks ago made him a hero in the former French colony, told the crowd France's mission was not finished, but that African countries would soon have to take over.

"It's not over yet. It's going to take several weeks, but our goal is to pass the baton," he said on Saturday.

"Our African friends will be able to do the job we've been doing until now."

Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, who joined hands with Hollande and raised them in a victory salute, thanked his counterpart for the French troops' "efficiency", which he said had allowed the north to be freed from "barbarity and obscurantism".

Hollande was offered a young camel as a gift of thanks as he toured the city.

"The women of Timbuktu will thank Francois Hollande forever," said 53-year-old Fanta Diarra Toure.

"We must tell him that he has cut down the tree, but still has to tear up its roots."

Hollande and Traore visited Timbuktu's 700-year-old mud mosque of Djingareyber and the Ahmed Baba library for ancient manuscripts, both targeted by destructive Islamist militants.

"There's a real desire to annihilate. There's nothing left," Hollande told the mosque's imam as they visited two ancient saints' tombs that the extremists attacked with pickaxes in July, considering them idolatrous.

"We're going to rebuild them, Mr President," said Irina Bokova, the head of UNESCO, which is trying to assess the scale of the damage to Mali's ancient heritage, particularly in Timbuktu, a caravan town at the edge of the Sahara that rose to fame in the 14th century as a gold and salt trading hub.

Hollande later travelled to the capital, Bamako, where he addressed a large crowd gathered at a monument commemorating Mali's independence from France.

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787 grounded, but batteries fly

AT the time the US government certified Boeing's 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner's electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk.

Now the situation is reversed.

Dreamliners worldwide were grounded nearly three weeks ago after lithium ion batteries that are part of the planes led to a fire in one plane and smoke in a second. But new rules exempt aircraft batteries from the ban on large lithium ion batteries as cargo on flights by passenger planes.

In effect, that means the Dreamliner's batteries are now allowed to fly only if they're not attached to a Dreamliner.

The regulations were published on January 7, the same day as a battery fire in a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston's Logan International Airport that took firefighters nearly 40 minutes to put out.

Pilots and safety advocates say the situation doesn't make sense.

If the 787's battery system is too risky to allow the planes to fly, then it's too risky to ship the same batteries as cargo on airliners, they said.

"These incidents have raised the whole issue of lithium batteries and their use in aviation," said Jim Hall, a former National Transportation Safety Board chairman. "Any transport of lithium batteries on commercial aircraft for any purpose should be suspended until (an) NTSB investigation is complete and we know more about this entire issue."

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a former US Airways pilot famed for his precision flying that enabled passengers and crew to survive an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York, said in an interview that he wouldn't be comfortable flying an airliner that carried lithium ion aircraft batteries in its cargo hold.

The battery rules were changed in order to conform US shipping requirements with international standards as required by Congress, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a statement.

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the 787 battery fire in Boston. Japanese authorities are investigating a battery failure that led to an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways 787 on January 16.

All Dreamliners, which are operated by eight airlines in seven countries, have since been grounded.

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Israel's Barak tips Syrian president to go

ISRAEL'S defence minister made his country's first public comments on Sunday over an airstrike in Syria, suggesting that Israel had been behind the attack.

US officials have said the attack hit a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons inside Syria bound for the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group but Israel hasn't publicly acknowledged the airstrike.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "Hezbollah from Lebanon and the Iranians are the only allies that Assad has left."

He said in his view Assad's fall "is coming imminently" and when it happens, "this will be a major blow to the Iranians and Hezbollah."

"I think that they will pay the price," he said.

In the days ahead of the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials repeatedly warned of the dangers of Syrian weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah and other hostile elements in the region.

Barak brought the issue up at a gathering of the world's top diplomats and defence officials in Germany, initially saying: "I cannot add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria several days ago."

But, addressing the audience in English, he then added: "I keep telling frankly that we said - and that's proof when we said something we mean it- we say that we don't think it should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into Lebanon."

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed fears that if Syria were to disintegrate, President Bashar Assad could lose control of his chemical weapons and other arms.

The Syrian military said the target of Israeli jets was a scientific research centre. The facility is in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus.

Purported images of the targeted site, aired by Syrian state television on Saturday, show destroyed cars, trucks and military vehicles. A building has broken widows and damaged interiors, but no major structural damage.

On Saturday night, Netanyahu, who is in the process of forming a new ruling coalition, said his new government would have to deal with weapons "being stockpiled near us and threatening our cities and civilians" - an apparent reference to the deteriorating situation in Syria.

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