Divers find three bodies in Indian sub

INDIA'S navy has retrieved four badly burned bodies from a submarine that exploded in a Mumbai dockyard and said it was unlikely any of the other 14 missing crewmen would be found alive.

The diesel-powered INS Sindhurakshak sank in a military dockyard early on Wednesday, dealing a setback to India's naval ambitions just days after it unveiled its first domestically made aircraft carrier.

Navy divers managed to enter the vessel, whose forward section was totally destroyed in the fire, but their progress was hampered by extreme heat, poor visibility and mangled hatches.

The first bodies were retrieved from a compartment behind the tower on Friday and have been sent for DNA testing because severe burns prevented their identification, a navy statement said on Friday.

The state of the bodies and conditions within the submarine "leads to the firm conclusion that finding any surviving personnel within the submarine is unlikely", the statement said.

It also suggested some bodies might never be found because of the fierce temperatures generated in the fire during which some of the weapons on board - cruise missiles and torpedoes - ignited.

"The navy will continue to search every inch of the submerged submarine till all bodies are either located or it can be stated with finality that no bodies remain to be found," it said.

The navy's focus remains on accessing all compartments of the vessel before attempting to salvage the vessel.

"Salvage of the submarine would only be attempted thereafter for which many alternatives including deploying professional salvors are also being considered," it added.

An inquiry has been set up to determine what caused the blasts, which turned the recently refurbished Russian-built submarine into a fireball.

The Times of India newspaper speculated on Friday that sabotage might have been the cause of the explosion, but the navy chief said on Wednesday that "the indicators at this point of time do not support that theory".

The families of the 18 men on board at the time of the explosion, whose names have been released, have gathered in Mumbai.

The 16-year-old submarine returned from Russia in April where it underwent a two-year overhaul of its communication, weapons and propulsion systems.

It is still covered by a Russian warranty and the Russian company responsible for the refit, Zvyozdochka, has offered its assistance.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the nation in a traditional Independence Day speech on Thursday, voiced sorrow at the blast.

"The accident is all the more painful because the navy had recently achieved two major successes in the form of its first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, and the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant," Singh said.

In addition to the aircraft carrier launched on Monday, India announced sea trials for its first domestically made nuclear submarine last weekend, which Singh trumpeted as a "giant stride" for the country.

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Turkey, Egypt recall envoys over crackdown

TURKEY has recalled its ambassador to Cairo as tensions with Egypt worsen dramatically following a bloody crackdown on supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president.

Egypt retaliated by recalling its envoy to Turkey, whose Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned what he called the "massacre" of peaceful protesters.

Erdogan, a supporter of former president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement, has infuriated the interim government in Cairo by terming his ouster a military "coup".

Nearly 600 people were killed in the violence that erupted on Wednesday when security forces moved in to break up pro-Morsi protest camps, the worst unrest in the country since the 2011 uprising that unseated Hosni Mubarak - causing international criticism to poured in.

Erdogan, who heads Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), had forged a close alliance with Morsi since he was elected in the country's first free election in June 2012.

The Islamist leader was invited to the AKP's annual congress last September where Erdogan positioned Turkey as a regional standard-bearer.

"We have shown everyone that an advanced democracy can exist in a predominantly Muslim country," Erdogan told the congress.

"We have become a role model for Muslim countries."

Turkish leaders hinted they would not break ties with the new leadership emerging in Egypt after the military uprising, despite their criticism of the army's actions.

Analysts, however, said the bloody crackdown on demonstrators was a breaking point for Turkey, which would make it very hard for Erdogan's government to reconcile with the military regime in Egypt.

Turkey invested both politically and financially in Egypt after Morsi's election, aiming to bolster Ankara's influence and show that Turkey was not the only country where Islam and democracy could coexist.

Erdogan said his country served as a "very important reference" to Egypt on why military uprisings must not be tolerated.

This week's unrest in Egypt is expected to hit around 260 Turkish businesses operating in the Arab world's most populous country.

Turkish investment in Egypt amounts to nearly $US2 billion ($A2.2 billion), mostly in the textile and clothing industries.

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Panama may fine N. Korean arms ship $1m

THE Panama Canal authority says it will impose as much as a $1 million fine on the North Korean freighter caught with an undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons.

"It is a flagrant violation of safe passage through the Panama Canal and we have little tolerance for this kind of activity," canal administrator Jorge Quijano said on Thursday.

"It is going to be sanctioned," he said, adding that authorities were still mulling the size of the fine.

"It's obvious that there were containers that had not been declared, not to mention what was inside them."

The ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was boarded and searched July 10 on suspicion it was smuggling drugs.

Authorities instead uncovered 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet era MiG-21s, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles, buried under tons of sugar.

Havana said they were obsolete Cuban arms being shipped to North Korea for refurbishment under a legitimate contract.

A team of UN experts had travelled to Panama to inspect the weapons and determine whether the shipment violated a UN ban against arms transfers to North Korea.

According to the Panamanian government, the experts wrapped up their visit on Thursday.

However, officials did not provide any details on possible findings.

Quijano said fines imposed by the canal authority range from $10,000 to $100,000 for serious violations and up to $1 million for "very serious" violations.

"The case of the North Korean freighter is very serious," he told AFP.

Warships and ships carrying military or nuclear material routinely go through the canal, allowed passage even at times of war.

The only requirement is that canal authorities be given prior notice so that local authorities can take appropriate security precautions.

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Ecuador vows to resolve Assange situation

The Ecuadorian government has pledged to find a solution to the Julian Assange situation. Source: AAP

THE Ecuadorian government has stressed its commitment to finding a solution to the position of Julian Assange on the anniversary of the WikiLeaks founder being granted political asylum.

The Australian has been living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for more than a year as part of his campaign to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault against two women - claims he denies.

Assange fears that if he travels to Sweden he will be forcibly taken to the United States to face questioning over documents published by WikiLeaks.

A statement from the Ecuadorian government said: "One year ago today Ecuador took the decision to award asylum to Julian Assange, a journalist who feared political persecution after publishing information sensitive to the US government that exposed war crimes, killings, torture and other human rights abuses that would otherwise never have come to light.

"After thoroughly examining the evidence, the government of Ecuador concluded that it shared Julian Assange's concerns that there is a real and present danger to his freedoms."

The statement said the recent guilty verdict against US soldier Bradley Manning and attempts to prosecute Edward Snowden for leaking information about US surveillance underlined why Ecuador granted asylum.

It added: "The decision taken was based on Ecuadorian and international law. As Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares 'Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution'.

"However, Ecuador accepts that resolving Julian's status and specifically his right to leave the embassy without threat of arrest and onward extradition to the US involves the jurisdictions of three sovereign nations - the UK, Sweden and Ecuador.

"The government of Ecuador remains committed to finding an equitable solution to this situation that respects domestic and international law while at the same time protecting Julian Assange from inhumane treatment and the threats of political persecution."

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Baghdad bombings kill at least 23

APPARENTLY co-ordinated bombings mainly targeting Shi'ite areas of Baghdad have killed 23 people, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki vowed to press a campaign against militants to stem spiralling violence.

Security forces have carried out major operations against militants in recent weeks, but the relentless violence has raised fears Iraq could slip back into the all-out sectarian bloodshed of 2006-2007.

Overall, six car bombings and a roadside explosion struck six different areas of the capital during morning rush hour on Thursday - five of them Shi'ite-majority and a sixth mixed - also wounding more than 70 people.

In the single deadliest attack, a car bomb exploded at a bus station in the Kadhimiyah area of north Baghdad, killing seven people and wounding 24.

Another car bomb blew up in Baladiyat near an office of Al-Ahad television, which is affiliated with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shi'ite militant group that split from powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

"I was parking my car and, all of a sudden, the bomb went off," said 38-year-old taxi driver Haitham Khalaf, whose vehicle's windshield was badly damaged by a blast in central Baghdad's Allawi neighbourhood.

"I was slipping in and out of consciousness, I was so confused. I only heard the explosion, and then I fell. I couldn't feel anything. I was in shock, it was such a big explosion.

"I am thankful to God that I am safe," said Khalaf, who was not wounded in the attack, standing close to multiple military vehicles that blocked off entry to the street where the bombing took place.

"We only pray to God that this (violence) will be over."

Nearby vehicles and shops were badly damaged by the Allawi blast, as a crane picked up debris and emergency workers cleared the scene.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni militants including those linked to al-Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority, whom they consider apostates.

The violence came a day after attacks including a blast at a cafe north of the capital killed 17 people.

On Wednesday, Maliki said security forces would continue large-scale efforts to hunt militants.

"The operation that we started in chasing terrorists, and those who stand behind them, will continue until we protect our people," Maliki said.

He said more than 800 alleged militants had been detained and dozens of others killed, and that security forces had destroyed militant infrastructure used to make car bombs and seized a large amounts of weapons and explosives.

The premier did not, however, specify when the arrests were made, where the operations took place or who had carried them out.

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Politkovskaya murder defendant shot

ONE of three Chechen brothers currently on trial for the 2006 murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been shot in the leg, his defence lawyer says.

Dzhabrail Makhmudov has been hospitalised in Moscow with a gunshot wound to his thigh, lawyer Murad Musayev wrote on Facebook on Thursday, adding that doctors said he was lucky to be alive after the bullet went clean through his leg, just missing an artery.

Musayev complained that no police arrived at the scene overnight, despite the firing of a shot.

His client is free to move around Moscow but subject to travel restrictions as a jury trial is in progress.

The lawyer linked the shooting to the trial in an interview with Moscow Echo radio station, saying: "I absolutely do not rule out that what happened yesterday could be linked to our active position in court.

"The people who followed Politkovskaya, who killed Politkovskaya, are at large."

In a hospital bed interview, Makhmudov told Life News website that the attackers hit him on the head as well as shooting him, saying he believed they "definitely wanted to do me in".

The shooting of Politkovskaya, a journalist for liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta who strongly criticised the Kremlin's tactics in Chechnya, shocked the world, but so far no one has been brought to justice.

Russia ordered a retrial after a first trial ended in acquittals in 2009.

Politkovskaya's son Ilya and daughter Vera had boycotted the new trial, which opened last month, over a failure to consult them on the jury members.

But Ilya Politkovsky attended a trial hearing on Thursday.

"We realised that the defence was actively making use of our absence," he told the Interfax news agency.

"A number of rights activists wrote to us asking us to return to the trial to guarantee its objectivity."

Dzhabrail Makhmudov is suspected along with another brother, Ibragim, of organising the shooting of Politkovskaya at the entrance to her apartment building. A third brother, Rustam, according to investigators, fired the shot. He was on the run during the earlier trial.

The men's uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev is also accused of organising the crime along with a former Moscow police officer, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov. They are charged with murder and arms trafficking. Three of the suspects are being held in detention, while two are free but subject to a travel ban.

Russia has failed to identify a mastermind behind the killing.

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Vietnam offers free Marxist education

VIETNAM is offering free classes in Marxism, Leninism and the teachings of Ho Chi Minh in a bid to revive interest in the ideology behind the country's system of government.

Philosophy students will not have to pay university tuition fees under a new scheme aimed at encouraging more people to embrace the unpopular classes.

"We have not received enough applications for these subjects," a professor of philosophy at a state university told AFP on condition of anonymity on Thursday because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

"Students only apply for subjects which offer realistic prospects of helping them get a job," he added.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed a decree last month on the fee exemption, which will apply to students at state universities who agree to study the works of the approved pantheon of orthodox communist thinkers.

Fees for state universities in Vietnam average some five million dong ($240) per year but a small number of foreign-run universities charge far higher sums.

The quality of local universities can be lacking -- a recent education ministry survey said some 60 per cent of recent graduates need retraining to meet the requirements of future employers -- and many Vietnamese parents send their children to study abroad at great expense.

The fee waiver will apply for the next two years, according to a copy of the decree seen by AFP.

But it is unlikely to result in significantly more applications for the unpopular subjects, students said.

"How can I get a job and earn money if I study Marxism and Leninism?" Hanoi high school student Nguyen Lan Huong told AFP.

"I will apply to study English and probably hotel management," the 17-year-old girl, who will take entrance exams to universities next summer, added.

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Coalition coy on costing times

THE coalition might not reveal the cost of all its policies until the last week of the election campaign, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it won't be as late as the last day.

Mr Abbott says every policy will be funded and costed so Australians are in no doubt of the coalition's economic plans when they go to the polling booths.

"And we intend to keep putting out policies right up into the last week of the election campaign," Mr Abbott told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday.

"So when all our policies are out we will be able to tell you exactly how much we are going to spend, exactly how much we are going to save and exactly what the overall budget bottom line will be and how much better it will be than under the Labor Party."

Mr Abbott said the coalition would not release them at the last minute, like Labor did before the elections in 2010 and 2007.

He again rejected as lies, Labor's claim that he would increase the GST.

Mr Abbott, who coughed throughout the interview, said the coalition had more to say on health over the next three-and-a-half weeks.

He also said the coalition did not like Labor's three new taxes - on tobacco, the bank levy and changes to the fringe benefits tax on cars - but they might have to keep the first two.

"We possibly might have to," he said.

But he would not go ahead with the fringe benefits tax on cars because it was a "disaster" for the industry.

Mr Abbott reiterated that there was a challenge ahead to manage the budget and find savings but said there would be no overall increase in the tax burden.

He said there was an enormous amount of waste in the system but the coalition had a record of surpluses.

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Research tracks minke whales' journey

Researchers have tagged four minke whales in an attempt to find out where they spend the summer. Source: AAP

MINKE whales are spotted playing in waters off north Queensland during winter, but scientists are at odds with where they spend the summer.

In a world first, researchers have tagged four minke whales in an attempt to find out where it is they go after leaving Australian waters.

Dr Alastair Birtles, who leads James Cook University's Minke Whale Project, says the whales gather off north Queensland for a few weeks during the middle of winter.

"The Great Barrier Reef hosts the world's only known predictable aggregation of these exquisitely beautiful little whales," Dr Birtles said.

But it is anyone's guess where their next stop might be.

The whales were last month tagged with small tracking devices in north Queensland and scientists have been following their progress.

One of the whales, a young male named Spot, has already travelled 3000 kilometres east and is swimming in waters off Sydney.

Dr Birtles, who has studied minke whales for 18 years, says researchers have already learnt a great deal about the whales.

"Their tracks have transformed our understanding of the movements of these animals," he said.

"Up to this point we had only documented by divers re-sighting them and taking underwater photographs."

Scientists were able to insert the tracking tag using a ship called the Whale Song, an Australian Defence Force boat which makes very little noise underwater.

Minke whales, usually about five to seven metres in length, were only discovered in the Great Barrier Reef area in the 1980s.

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No widespread bullying at CSIRO: report

THERE are problems at Australia's national science agency but there's no toxic culture or widespread bullying, an independent inquiry has found.

Former Commonwealth ombudsman Dennis Pearce investigated 130 allegations of workplace bullying, discrimination and unreasonable behaviour from current and former CSIRO staff.

Professor Pearce's phase one report found there were no major problems of workplace bullying and it was not possible to describe the work culture as toxic.

It regretted that efforts were made by some people to dissuade others from making submissions.

The report found pockets of concern including shortcomings in CSIRO's policies and procedures for handling complaints.

"While we do not think it to be the case, it is possible that these procedural issues have served to mask a more significant incidence of workplace bullying than the evidence to us reveals," the report said.

Prof Pearce has made 34 recommendations which focus on changing the way in which complaints by staff are managed.

The CSIRO said it would implement the recommendations but some would take time.

Twenty-two of the allegations will be further investigated by Prof Pearce and his team.

The coalition said it was disappointed that potentially more than 100 cases were overlooked by the investigation.

Shadow minister for Innovation, Industry and Science Sophie Mirabella said the terms of reference excluded cases of people who had raised allegations of criminal conduct or instigated legal proceedings against CSIRO.

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Norway bars Apple from taking aerial shots

Norway's intelligence agency has refused Apple permission to take flyover 3D photos of Oslo. Source: AAP

NORWAY'S intelligence agency has blocked US company Apple from flying over Oslo to take 3D aerial photos for its map application, citing national security.

"I can confirm that Apple was not authorised to take aerial photographs because the level of detail in the shots is considered too high for some of the restricted zones," a spokeswoman for the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM), Mona Stroem Arnoey, said on Tuesday.

"We have however presented Apple with alternative solutions, including buying photos from Norwegian suppliers or from the Norwegian map authorities," she said.

Norway's neighbours Sweden and Denmark have meanwhile granted Apple permission to take aerial photos.

NSM, tasked with protecting Norway from espionage, sabotage or acts of terrorism, refused to comment on the number or nature of restricted zones in Oslo.

Photos of these zones provided by Norwegian suppliers are of a lower resolution or blurred.

According to the daily newspaper Aftenposten, the photo ban prompted Oslo's mayor - approached by the US embassy in Norway - to contact the government on Apple's behalf but to no avail.

Apple was heavily criticised for errors in the first map application it developed in-house, and has since come up with its Flyover function that enables users to fly over major cities interactively.

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Two Koreas agree to reopen industrial park

North and South Korea have agreed to reopen the Kaesong joint industrial zone. Source: AAP

NORTH and South Korea have reached an agreement to reopen the Kaesong joint industrial zone closed by Pyongyang in April at the height of soaring military tensions.

The five-point agreement that came out of a seventh round of talks on Wednesday committed both sides to making "active efforts" to resume normal operations as soon as possible after inspecting the shuttered plants in Kaesong.

A joint committee will be set up to discuss compensation for economic losses suffered as a result of the complex's closure, according to a copy of the accord released to reporters.

The agreement will help lower tensions ahead of the launch of joint South Korea-US military exercises on Monday which the North had warned could bring the divided peninsula "to the brink of war".

Established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, Kaesong was a key hard-currency earner for the North and the decision to shut it down took many observers by surprise.

The project had managed to ride out previous North-South crises without serious disruption, but it eventually fell victim to an extended period of heightened tension following the North's third nuclear test in February.

Pyongyang initially barred access to the park, which lies 10 kilometres inside the North Korean border and then withdrew its 53,000-strong workforce from the 123 South Korean firms based there.

The previous six rounds of talks had foundered on the South's insistence that North Korea provide a binding guarantee that it would not close the complex again.

Wednesday's agreement suggested a compromise had been reached where the North accepted the worker pullout had closed Kaesong, while both sides promised to ensure it remained open in the future.

"The South and the North will prevent the current suspension of the Kaesong industrial complex caused by the workers' withdrawal from being repeated again," the agreement said.

It also included a pledge to promote foreign investment in Kaesong - a key South Korean demand.

The North had proposed the seventh round of talks last week, just hours after Seoul announced it was going to start compensation payments totalling $US250 million ($A276.01 million) to businesses affected by Kaesong's closure.

The payout move was widely seen as the first step towards a permanent withdrawal from the zone.

Wednesday's accord was immediately welcomed by the South Korean company owners who had complained that both Seoul and Pyongyang were using their livelihoods as a political football.

"We will do our best to help the Kaesong industrial park boost its international competitiveness and become a globally viable place for investment," the association representing the owners said in a statement.

Monday's annual South Korea-US drill, dubbed "Ulchi Freedom Guardian", involves about 50,000 South Korean and 30,000 US troops practising a North Korean invasion scenario.

Although largely computer-simulated, it is viewed as highly provocative by North Korea, which has already issued dire warnings of its impact on stability on the peninsula.

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No Syria peace talks before October

A PROPOSED international peace conference on Syria that aims to bring together President Bashar al-Assad's allies and the opposition will probably not happen until October at the very earliest, a top Russian official says.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said additional preparatory talks for the meeting will be held between Moscow and Washington at the end of August, and that the diplomatic schedule was already busy for September.

"It will probably not happen in September because there will be other events," Gatilov told the Interfax news agency late on Monday.

"We are in favour of holding the conference as soon as possible, but we have to take certain realities into account that may have an effect on when this forum is convened."

The so-called Geneva 2 talks were initially agreed in May by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a time when the Syrian rebels were making steady advances on the ground.

Russia, one of Assad's strongest international backers, had initially proposed having the meeting by the end of May.

But as Assad's forces mounted a counter-offensive, the talks were repeatedly postponed because of the opposition's failure on the need or terms under which they would attend.

Additional difficulties were sparked by Russia's insistence that Iran, which has provided the Assad regime with weapons and diplomatic support, also attend the negotiations.

Gatilov said the issue of Iran will be discussed by Russian and US officials when they meet at the end of August "in one of the European capitals that will probably not be Geneva".

Lavrov said after meeting Kerry on Washington on Friday that Russia and the United States were in agreement about the need to stage the talks "as soon as possible", but gave no specific date.

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French Alps accidents kill four climbers

TWO Italian women have died in an avalanche and the bodies of two French climbers have been found in a crevasse after climbing accidents in the French Alps, local officials say.

The two Italians were among a group of at least seven climbers caught up in the avalanche as they were ascending Mont Blanc du Tacul, at an altitude of 4200 metres, the gendarmerie in the Haute-Savoie region said.

Rescuers later found the two women, aged 37 and 41 and both from Italy's Piedmont region, dead under the snow.

An Italian mountain guide was rescued alive from under the snow, but suffered serious injuries and was in intensive care in a hospital in nearby Annecy.

A fourth climber was also missing after the avalanche and a search was under way. The rest of the party appeared to have escaped unharmed.

Meanwhile the bodies of two French climbers - a man and a woman both in their fifties - were found on Tuesday morning at the bottom of a 20-metre crevasse on Roche de la Muzelle, a mountain in the Ecrins massif of the Alps.

Mountain rescue services in the Isere region said the couple, described as "amateur climbers", had left a refuge on Monday morning and appeared to have fallen into the crevasse on their descent from the summit.

The woman was identified as a 51-year-old from the southeastern French city of Chambery. No further details were provided about the man's identity.

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Doctor steals heroin from patient's belly

POLICE in Russia have arrested a surgeon for stealing heroin from the stomach of a patient upon whom he was operating.

The unidentified doctor was found in possession of 5 grams of heroin after performing surgery on a man who had allegedly been smuggling drugs in his stomach, the police in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk said on Tuesday.

It said that investigators found that some heroin was missing after the doctor had removed the drugs from the patient's stomach in the hospital of the city of Bogotol.

When they searched the surgeon, they found a pack of heroin hidden in his clothes. Police also said that the medic was high.

Investigators published a video showing the suspect being locked up in a police cell. They said that he might face up to 15 years in prison.

The statement said nothing on the situation of the purported drug courier or why anybody would swallow drugs for smuggling in a remote region some 4000 kilometres east of Moscow.

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Abbott cites exuberance in latest gaffe

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has pledged $100 million to address mobile phone coverage black spots. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott admits he was "a bit exuberant" when referring to the sex appeal of a female Liberal candidate.

Social network contributors and Labor pounced on Mr Abbott's gaffe on Tuesday during a visit to the key marginal seat of Lindsay in western Sydney.

Standing between his daughter Frances and local Liberal candidate Fiona Scott, he was asked how the latter compared with her coalition predecessor Jackie Kelly.

"They're young, they're feisty and I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal," he told reporters.

Leaving his daughter wincing, Mr Abbott was later forced to explain himself.

He said Ms Scott was a smart, hardworking woman with whom he was proud to be associated.

"I was a bit exuberant today ... but we're all working incredibly hard to get her elected," Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

But by the time Mr Abbott tried to explain himself, a backlash was underway against the man who has a record of gaffs about the role of women.

"He's pathetic, he really is pathetic," Labor minister Kim Carr told the ABC of Mr Abbott's words.

"Sometimes we should think Tony Abbott really hasn't crawled out of the 1950s."

The coalition camp worked to brush off the remark.

"It was just a light-hearted comment, which I'm sure was not meant with any offence," Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Mathias Corman told Sky News.

Coalition finance spokesman Andrew Robb said the comment was made in "jest" and talked up Mr Abbott's deep respect for women, including his professional wife Margie, three daughters, and sister.

However Twitter exploded with opinion on the subject, much of it criticising Mr Abbott.

"So @TonyAbbottMHR thinks a woman candidate is vote-worthy if she has #sexappeal ? #mysogynist" posted one person.

The Twitter account for NSW Labor also weighed in: "On September 7 we should vote for candidates based on #policyappeal not #sexappeal".

In an odd show of support, NSW Liberal minister Pru Goward, a former sex discrimination commissioner, said she sees nothing wrong with highlighting a candidate's sex appeal.

"I think a lot of politicians are described as sexy," she told Macquarie Radio.

The clanger comes a day after Mr Abbott's incorrect use of the word "suppository" during a press conference attracted widespread publicity.

Tuesday's comment risks overshadowing the coalition's efforts in Lindsay, a seat currently held by Labor's David Bradbury by a 1.1 per cent margin.

Mr Abbott also used the visit to announce that a coalition government will provide $12 million for a sport and community centre at Penrith.

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Hong Kong shares up 2.13% by close

HONG Kong shares have closed up 2.13 per cent, buoyed by better-than-expected industrial data from China late last week that eased fears the world's second-largest economy is heading towards a slowdown.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Monday gained 463.72 points to 22,271,28, its highest close since early June, on turnover of $HK64.74 billion ($A9.14 billion).

On Friday, 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.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in China expanded 7.8 per cent in 2012, its slowest annual pace in 13 years.

Growth slipped to 7.7 per cent in the January-March period this year and slowed further to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter, raising alarm bells over possible deeper weakness.

Steven Leung, head of institutional sales at brokers UOB Kay Hian, said long-term buyers returned to the market on Monday.

Yanzhou Coal jumped 9.9 per cent to $HK6.55 while Zijin Mining surged 10.7 per cent to $HK1.86.

But sportswear stocks in Hong Kong tumbled, with Chinese sporting goods company Li Ning falling 6.1 per cent to $HK4.91 after a disappointing first-half report, and rival Anta Sports closing down 3.3 per cent at $HK9.83.

Chinese shares closed up more than two per cent due to renewed optimism over the domestic economy, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.39 per cent, or 49.04 points, to 2,101.28 on turnover of 116.5 billion yuan ($A20.79 billion).

"Market expectations changed after economic data showed improvement," Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing told AFP.

"The market will definitely continue the upward trend if monthly economic figures continue to improve."

Resource and financial shares led the gains.

Shanxi Coal International Energy surged by its 10 per cent daily limit to 6.44 yuan while Yanzhou Coal Mining also jumped 10 per cent to 11.30 yuan.

Baotou Steel Rare-Earth advanced 5.01 per cent to 29.57 yuan and Jiangxi Copper gained 4.49 per cent to 17.93 yuan.

Southwest Securities rose 7.56 per cent to 9.53 yuan, Industrial Bank jumped 6.24 per cent to 9.88 yuan and New China Life Insurance gained 4.08 per cent to 23.19 yuan.

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Longer sentence for UK pedophile

A PEDOPHILE who walked free from a British court after his 13-year-old victim was branded "predatory" by a prosecutor has had his sentence increased because of a technicality.

Neil Wilson was handed an eight-month suspended sentence after admitting engaging in sexual activity with the girl, as well as separate counts of making indecent images, at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London last week.

News that prosecutor Robert Colover had labelled the young victim "predatory" and "sexually experienced" caused outrage and led to his suspension from prosecuting sexual offence cases pending a review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Judge Nigel Peters QC is also being investigated by the Office for Judicial Complaints for remarking that his sentence took into account how the girl looked and behaved.

Judge Peters altered Wilson's sentence on Monday, at a brief hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, after admitting it needed correction.

Making no reference to the storm surrounding the case during the 10-minute hearing, the judge altered Wilson's total sentence to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, but kept the sentence for sexual activity with a child the same, at eight months suspended for two years.

Explaining the decision to Wilson, who appeared via videolink from York Magistrates' Court, the judge told him: "I have had the matter listed before me today as part of the sentence, not that part relating to sexual activity with a child, requires correcting.

"It was not appreciated by the parties that I could not pass a community order with a supervision requirement for three years to run alongside a suspended sentence on the same indictment or indeed another indictment sentenced on the same occasion.

"In amending the sentence I have sought to ensure that all parts of the order will be complied with by the defendant and that any breach will be brought before a court and consideration given to further penalty, including immediate imprisonment."

He said he was revoking a community order and imposing additional suspended jail terms for two counts involving indecent photographs, and another indictment involving five counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

The addition of the suspended sentences was commensurate with the reduction of the supervision element from three to two years, he said.

A sexual offences prevention order remains in place.

Wilson already faces having his sentence reviewed after Attorney General Dominic Grieve agreed to examine the case.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said the CPS was "absolutely right" to label Mr Colover's comments "inappropriate".

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Greek recession eases to 4.6%

THE Greek economy has shown improvement in the second quarter of the year, shrinking by 4.6 per cent from 5.6 per cent in the first quarter, official data shows.

This first estimate from the statistics authority comes in the sixth year of recession since the country was overwhelmed by a debt crisis.

"According to available data, gross domestic product shrank by 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the second quarter of 2012," the authority said on Monday.

The latest figure shows the recession in Greece is still dragging on but that it is less severe on a 12-month comparison.

Last year the economy shrank by 6.4 per cent from output in 2011.

The country has been bailed out by the International Monetary Fund and European Union in return for deep structural reforms to its economy, and its banking system is being underpinned by refinancing from the European Central Bank.

The government has estimated the economy will contract by 4.3 per cent this year, but the forecasts for the state budget are based on an assumption that at the end of 2014 the economy will show growth of 0.2 per cent.

The budget of the central government, which does not include the cost of interest on the debt, local authority spending and pension budgets, showed a surplus of 2.6 billion euros ($A3.80 billion) in the seven months from January to July, Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday.

He expressed satisfaction in a statement with what he called "the good results of the central government budget which demonstrates the improving trend of public finances".

"This performance proves that the target of achieving a primary surplus on the general government budget by the end of the year is achievable," he said.

A primary surplus is a surplus excluding the cost of interest on the debt.

Greece hopes to achieve a primary surplus this year in order to begin reducing the public debt of accumulated past deficits, the statement recalled.

However, on Sunday the German weekly publication Der Spiegel, citing an internal document from the German central Bundesbank, reported that Greece might need another rescue program because it was unable to pull itself out of the crisis, despite bailout funding from the IMF and EU.

The IMF, EU and ECB recently praised progress made on reform of the Greek economy and approved payment of the next slice of bailout funding.

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UK warships head to Gibraltar amid row

BRITISH warships are due to set sail for the Mediterranean for a naval exercise that will see one vessel dock in Gibraltar, as tensions rise with Spain over the British-held territory.

The type 23 frigate HMS Westminster will leave Britain on Tuesday and is set to arrive in Gibraltar, at Spain's southern tip, within a week as part of what the defence ministry stressed was a "routine" and "long-planned" deployment.

Three other warships - the flagship HMS Bulwark, helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigate HMS Montrose - and six supporting vessels were heading on Monday towards the Mediterranean as part of an exercise codenamed Cougar '13.

Madrid has agreed to allow HMS Illustrious to stop at a naval base in Rota in southern Spain as part of the operation, but Spanish media have described the plan for HMS Westminster to stop at Gibraltar as an intimidating move by Britain.

Britain and Spain are embroiled in an escalating diplomatic row over stringent car searches by Spanish guards at the Gibraltar border, causing tailbacks of several hours.

The government of the tiny peninsula has accused Madrid of acting in retaliation after Gibraltar built an artificial concrete reef which it says is aimed at stopping alleged incursions by Spanish fishing boats.

Writing in The Sun newspaper on Monday, Britain's Europe minister David Lidington said: "Britain and Spain matter to each other. We are NATO allies, key trading partners and millions of Brits travel to Spain every year.

"But our good friendship with Spain does not mean we will turn a blind eye when the people of Gibraltar are threatened or put under pressure."

The HMS Westminster and HMS Illustrious will set sail from the town of Portsmouth on the southern English coast, a defence ministry spokesman said. The flagship Bulwark and HMS Montrose will depart from the port of Plymouth.

The Cougar '13 deployment will allow the British navy to "hone its world-class maritime skills thousands of miles from home through exercises with a number of key allies", the defence ministry said.

The ships will visit a number of Mediterranean ports, carrying out an exercise with the Albanian armed forces before heading through the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf for exercises with other British allies.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity in 1713 but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. London says it will not do so against the wishes of the 30,000 Gibraltarians, who are staunchly pro-British.

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