Nigeria gunmen kill six at Christmas mass

GUNMEN have attacked a church in northern Nigeria during midnight mass on Christmas Eve, killing six people including the pastor, before setting the building ablaze, residents and police say.

"A group of gunmen came into the village at midnight and went straight to the church," said Usman Mansir, a resident of Peri village near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state.

"They opened fire on them, killing the pastor and five worshippers. They then set fire to the church," he added, specifying that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was targeted.

A senior police official in Yobe confirmed the details to AFP, but declined to be named.

Yobe police chief Sanusi Rufa'i said "this is a security issue" and refused to comment further.

Boko Haram Islamists have carried out several attacks in Yobe, which borders the state of Maiduguri, where the insurgent group is based.

The Islamists are blamed for killing hundreds of people in northern Nigeria since 2009. It was not clear who was behind the latest violence.

While Yobe's population is overwhelmingly Muslim, the commercial hub of Potiskum has a significant Christian minority. Peri is just two kilometres outside the city.

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Queen calls for togetherness at Christmas

LOOKING past the scandal which has at times shaken the royal family in 2012, a humble Queen has sent out a global thanks to those who helped celebrate her 60-year reign.

During the monarch's Christmas message, in which she became the first royal to appear in 3D format, the 86-year-old sovereign touched on friendship, sport, duty and religion.

In her address, the Queen recognised the efforts of those serving in the armed forces and emergency services.

Grandson Prince Harry, 28, continues to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan in his role as a British Army apache helicopter co-pilot.

Earlier in the year, the playboy prince attracted unwanted exposure when caught short of clothing on camera during a game of strip billiards in Las Vegas.

Prince William's much-adored wife Catherine also made global headlines as topless photos taken during a holiday in France popped up in tabloids and glossy magazines. The surrounding hubbub soon came to an end with the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge, 30, is expecting her first baby.

However, news of the royal pregnancy led to further controversy with the death of a nurse working at a hospital where Catherine was being treated for acute morning sickness after a prank call by Australian DJs.

While there was no mention of her own family in her address, the Queen focused on community spirit and support.

"It's important at this time of year to reach out beyond our familiar relationships to think of those who are on their own," she said.

The Queen sent her thanks to those who helped celebrate her Diamond Jubilee Year.

"It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations," she said.

She labelled the London 2012 Games as a "splendid summer of sport", with mention of the dedicated volunteers who contributed to the city's successful role as Olympics host.

"It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others," the Queen said of Jesus Christ.

"I wish you all a very happy Christmas."

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Fukushima kids getting fatter

CHILDREN in Fukushima are getting fatter as outdoor activities have been cut in the area due to radiation fears after last year's nuclear disaster, a Japanese government report said.

The education ministry said it had surveyed the heights and weights of about 700,000 children, aged between five and 17, at schools and kindergartens across the country this year.

It compared the number of obese children, defined as weighing at least 20 per cent more than the average for their age and height, among the 47 prefectures.

Fukushima registered the highest rates in seven of the 13 age groups, the ministry said. In 2010, the prefecture on the north of the main island Honshu topped the table only in the 10th year of school.

"The amount of exercise has declined in Fukushima, mainly among elementary school pupils, as outdoor activities in some locations have been restricted after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident," a ministry official told a news conference.

In Fukushima, 449 - or 56 per cent of public schools - curbed outdoor activities during school time as of June last year due to radiation concerns, Kyodo news agency said.

Such restrictions remained in place at 71 elementary and junior high schools as of September this year, Kyodo said.

In the accident of March last year, an earthquake-triggered tsunami smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking meltdowns and explosions.

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Morocco busts Qaida recruitment cell

MOROCCAN authorities said they had broken up a recruitment cell for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in the central Fez region, after announcing the discovery of a jihadist network last month.

"The police, in coordination with the leadership of territorial surveillance, have dismantled a cell with six members, originating from the city of Fez," the interior ministry said in a statement.

The aim of the cell was to "enroll and recruit young Moroccans who have embraced jihadist ideas, in order to send them to camps of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Algeria," it added.

Among those arrested was a "former prisoner detained under the anti-terrorism law," who had been "extradited from Algeria in 2005 after he attempted to join the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)."

AQIM, the global terror network's north African branch, evolved from the GSPC, a breakaway group of militant Algerian Islamists who refused to lay down their weapons when Algeria's civil war ended.

Last month, the Moroccan authorities said they had dismantled several "terrorist" cells that were planning to attack strategic targets in the kingdom.

More than 2000 Islamists were arrested and sentenced after 2003 suicide bomb attacks in Morocco's second city of Casablanca that killed 45 people including the 12 attackers.

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Egypt court frees Mubarak-era Senate chief

AN Egyptian court has freed the former Senate leader under ousted president Hosni Mubarak on bail, after spending the maximum permitted 18 months in jail awaiting his corruption trial, the official MENA news agency reports.

Safwat al-Sherif, one of the top-ranking members of Mubarak's National Democrat Party, was allowed out on payment of the equivalent of $US8100 ($A7830).

He is one of several Mubarak-era officials facing charges of corruption and abuse of power.

In October he and other former regime officials were acquitted of charges of ordering horse- and camel-riders to attack protesters in Cairo during the country's uprising.

Mubarak himself is serving a life sentence for the deaths of some of the 850 protesters in the revolution. He is appealing the conviction, and a court will decide on January 13 whether or not to order a new trial.

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Iran begins naval war games

IRAN has launched naval manoeuvres in the Gulf, and announced plans for another exercise in the strategic Strait of Hormuz later this week, media reports said.

Revolutionary Guards naval units began a four-day exercise inside Iranian waters at South Pars, a joint gas field between Iran and Qatar, a Guards spokesman was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

The drill, dubbed "Fajr 91," is aimed at honing "capabilities in executing defensive and security scenarios," Admiral Alireza Nasseri said without elaborating.

The Guards are tasked with defending Iran's territorial waters in the Gulf.

The regular navy, meanwhile, on December 28 begins an exercise dubbed "Velayat 91," covering an area that includes the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean, navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari said in remarks reported by the ISNA news agency.

Warships, submarines and missile defence systems will be used and tested during the exercise, Admiral Sayari said.

"We will definitely respect the maritime border of our neighbours, and conduct the manoeuvres based on international law," Admiral Sayari said.

"Iran aims to demonstrate its defensive naval capabilities by conducting this exercise, and send a message of peace and friendship to regional countries."

Iran frequently conducts missile tests and manoeuvres to underline its military muscle and has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic should it be attacked.

The strait is a narrow channel at the entrance of the Gulf through which a third of the world's traded oil passes.

The US has warned Iran that any attempt to close the strait would be viewed as a "red line" - grounds for US military action.

Iran's navy, with 17,000 servicemen, is tasked with defending Iranian interests in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Its offshore forces are limited to half a dozen small frigates and destroyers, and three Russian Kilo class submarines.

Iran regularly denounces the regional presence of foreign forces, including the US, particularly those stationed in the Gulf. It says the security of the region must be ensured "by regional countries."

Arab monarchies on the opposite side of the Gulf from Iran are worried by what they see as territorial ambitions by the Islamic republic, which frequently stresses Persia's historic dominance over the waterway.

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17 killed as Yemen army, tribesmen clash

YEMEN'S army has launched an offensive against tribesmen suspected of repeatedly sabotaging an oil pipeline in the country's east, sparking clashes that left 17 people dead, tribal sources say.

The dead included 10 tribesmen and seven soldiers, said the sources, who added the offensive in Marib province's Habab valley, 140 kilometres east of the capital Sanaa, was launched in the early hours of Tuesday and backed by air raids.

The sources said the army was "randomly shelling" the area where some al-Qaeda militants joined tribesmen battling Yemeni troops. Marib is a major al-Qaeda stronghold.

Tribesmen, of whom 18 were also wounded according to the same sources, fought back with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, one source said.

According to official figures, lost production because of attacks on the oil pipeline in the east cost the government more than $US1 billion ($A965 million) in 2012, while oil exports fell by 4.5 per cent.

A tribal source told AFP the offensive was targeting prominent figure Salah bin Hussein al-Dammaj, who has allegedly blown up the pipeline several times to pressure the authorities to pay him 100 million riyals ($A465,000) in compensation for land he claims was taken from him in Sanaa.

The 320-kilometre pipeline carries oil from Safer oilfields in Marib to an export terminal on the Red Sea. It carries about 180,000 barrels per day.

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Turnbull criticises Sydney Harbour helipad

MALCOLM Turnbull has criticised NSW government plans to allow a helicopter barge in Sydney Harbour, tweeting that he is concerned for people's safety.

In a series of tweets, the federal member for Wentworth said he was told the decision to approve the helicopter service from a barge in Sydney Harbour was made by the Roads and Maritime Services "without consulting the premier or cabinet or community.

"Frankly what troubles me most is safety, summer afternoon, harbour full of boats, most with kids, noreaster......"

"And don't forget every weekend there are hundreds if not thousands of kids in skiffs sailing on Sydney Harbour," he said.

Mr Turnbull said "democracy involves government with the consent of the governed", adding that the decision was taken administratively with no consultation.

According to Newcastle Helicopters website, the company will be operating a floating heliport on Sydney Harbour.

"The Floating heliport will offer swift transfers from Mascot airport ideal for the time poor businessperson and centrally located Sydney residents, and scenic flights over Sydney Harbour convenient to tourists staying close to the CBD, and those visiting with limited schedules on cruise ships," it says on its website.

It said the helipad is a flat-top powered barge that would be positioned each day from its overnight berth (in the Pyrmont area) to one of "several designated areas".

A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell reportedly told the Sydney Morning Herald that he would not be rescinding the heliport licence and he was satisfied with how it had been approved.

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Harder to provide food aid in Syria

THE UN's World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the spiralling violence in Syria is making it increasingly difficult to distribute food in the war-torn country.

"Food needs are growing in Syria," said WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs, whose organisation distributes most of its aid in Syria through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

Citing SARC figures, Byrs told reporters in Geneva that nearly 2.5 million people currently need emergency food assistance, up from the 1.5 million estimated two months ago.

Yet WFP is only able to reach 1.3 million people each month, she said, lamenting the "escalating violence", especially in the north of the country.

WFP said in a statement it had seen a sharp rise in the number of attacks on its aid trucks in recent weeks.

Since the beginning of October, the organisation said, armed groups have stolen or confiscated around 10 of its trucks.

"In many of these incidents, WFP was able to recover the food after negotiations through third parties, but truck drivers have become more reluctant to drive on some roads or deliver food assistance to risky areas," it explained.

Fuel shortages have also impacted WFP's ability to distribute aid, it said, adding that there were not enough humanitarian partners on the ground to help deliver the aid.

The WFP appeal came after UN aid chief Valerie Amos at the weekend asked the Syrian government to allow 10 additional aid organisations into the country to help the increasingly desperate population.

People on the ground are going hungry, Byrs added, saying there was a "bread crisis" because fuel shortages had forced bakeries to close.

The UN, which is set to issue an appeal for funds to finance all of its aid work in Syria in 2013, estimates that around four million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid.

WFP meanwhile said it aimed to help 1.5 million people by the end of this month, but stressed that if it was going to continue providing food to so many people it would need another $US132 million ($A125.67 million).

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Gunmen kill 5 polio workers in Pakistan

GUNMEN have shot dead five women working on UN-backed polio vaccination efforts in two different Pakistani cities, officials say, a major setback for a campaign that international health officials consider vital to contain the crippling disease but which Taliban insurgents say is a cover for espionage.

Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is endemic. Militants however accuse health workers of acting as spies for the US and claim the vaccine makes children sterile. Taliban commanders in the troubled northwest tribal region have also said vaccinations can't go forward until the US stops drone strikes in the country.

Insurgent opposition to the campaign grew last year after it was revealed that a Pakistani doctor ran a fake vaccination program to help the CIA track down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was hiding in the town of Abbottabad in the country's northwest.

The Taliban have targeted previous anti-polio campaigns, but this has been a particularly deadly week. The government is in the middle of a three-day vaccination drive targeting high risk areas of the country as part of an effort to immunise millions of children under the age of five.

The women who were killed on Tuesday - three of whom were teenagers - were all shot in the head at close range. Four of them were gunned down in the southern port city of Karachi, and the fifth in a village outside the northwest city of Peshawar. Two men who were working alongside the women were also critically wounded in Karachi.

The attacks in Karachi were well-coordinated and occurred within 15 minutes in three different areas of the city that are far apart, said police spokesman Imran Shoukat. In each case, the gunmen used nine millimetre pistols. Two of the women were teenagers, aged 18 and 19, and the other two were in their 40s, he said.

Two of the women were killed while they were in a house giving children polio drops, said Shoukat. The other two were travelling between houses when they were attacked, he said.

On Monday another person working on the anti-polio campaign, a male volunteer, was gunned down in Karachi. Taliban militants also killed three soldiers in an ambush of an army convoy escorting a vaccination team in the northwest.

Officials in Karachi responded to the attacks by suspending the vaccination campaign in the city, said Sagheer Ahmed, the health minister for surrounding Sindh province. The campaign started on Monday and was supposed to run until Wednesday, he said.

Immunisation was suspended in Karachi in July as well after a local volunteer was shot to death and two UN staff were wounded.

Janbaz Afridi, a senior health official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the fifth woman was killed, said the shootings would not stop the local government from continuing its vaccination program in the province and the neighbouring tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban militants in the country.

"These incidents are depressing and may cause difficulties in the anti-polio drive, but people should not lose heart," said Afridi. "The government is very serious, and we are determined to eliminate polio despite all odds and difficult conditions."

Also on Tuesday, two men on a motorcycle hurled hand grenades at the main gate of an army recruiting centre in the northwestern town of Risalpur, wounding 10 people, including civilians and security personnel, said senior police official Ghulam Mohammed.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of assaults in recent days that illustrate the continued challenge Pakistan faces from militants despite multiple military operations against the Pakistani Taliban and their supporters.

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Funerals continue; some return to school

MOST children in Newtown have returned to school for the first time as the toll of funerals for the 26 dead continues on a grey, wet day.

The national debate on gun control sharpened as a prominent investor said it would sell shares in the company that makes the rifle thought to be used in Friday's shooting.

At least one funeral was planned for one of the 20 young students - six-year-old Jessica Rekos - as well as several wakes, including one for teacher Victoria Soto, who has been praised as a hero for sacrificing herself to save several students in one of the worst mass shootings in US history.

Security remained high, and the small, affluent Connecticut community was still on edge.

Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management announced it would sell its stake in major arms manufacturer Freedom Group, saying in a statement, "It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level."

And the mystery of why a smart but severely withdrawn 20-year-old, Adam Lanza, shot his mother to death in bed before rampaging through Sandy Hook Elementary, killing 20 children ages six and seven, was as deep as ever.

The first two children, including the youngest victim, were buried on Monday, the first of a long, almost unbearable procession of funerals as the rest of the country prepared for the Christmas holidays.

Classes resumed on Tuesday for Newtown schools except those at Sandy Hook, where the school will remain closed indefinitely.

"It's the right thing to do. You have to send your kids back. But at the same time I'm worried," said Dan Capodicci, whose 10-year-old daughter attends another local school. "We need to get back to normal."

Investigators say Lanza had no ties to the school he attacked, and they have found no letters or diaries that could explain why he targeted it. He forced into the school shortly after its front door locked as part of a new security measure. He wore all black and is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, a civilian version of the military's M-16. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in the US under the 1994 assault weapons ban, but the law expired in 2004.

Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges and visited ranges together.

At the White House on Monday, spokesman Jay Carney said curbing gun violence is a complex problem that will require a "comprehensive solution." He did not mention specific proposals to follow up on President Barack Obama's call for "meaningful action."

New York City's billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, perhaps the most outspoken advocate for gun control in US politics, again pressed Obama and Congress to toughen gun laws and tighten enforcement.

"If this doesn't do it," he asked, "what is going to?"

At least one senator, Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, said on Monday that the attack has led him to rethink his opposition to the ban on assault weapons. And West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is an avid hunter and lifelong member of the powerful National Rifle Association, said it's time to move beyond the political rhetoric and begin an honest discussion about reasonable restrictions on guns.

In Newtown on Monday, minds were on mourning.

Two funeral homes filled for Jack Pinto and the youngest victim, Noah Pozner, who turned six just two weeks ago.

A rabbi presided at Noah's service, and in keeping with Jewish tradition, the boy was laid to rest in a simple brown wooden casket with a Star of David on it.

"I will miss your perpetual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the envy of any lady in this room," Noah's mother, Veronique Pozner, said at the service, according to remarks the family provided to The Associated Press. Both services were closed to the news media.

Noah's twin, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom, survived the killing frenzy.

At six-year-old Jack Pinto's Christian service, hymns rang out from inside the funeral home, where the boy lay in an open casket.

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UK judge rules cancer boy operation

A JUDGE has ruled that a seven-year-old British boy with cancer could undergo more surgery despite his mother's opposition, which had led her to run away with her son earlier this month.

High Court judge David Bodey ruled that Neon Roberts, who has already had surgery on a brain tumour, should have another operation after hearing from doctors that he would very likely die soon without treatment.

The boy's mother Sally Roberts, 37, had refused to give her consent, telling the court: "I feel I need more expert opinion on it before proceeding."

But a doctor treating Neon said a scan showed more surgery needed to be carried out "urgently", saying there was a residual tumour left behind from the first operation. He said a second doctor agreed with his analysis.

The judge had been due to decide whether Neon should undergo radiotherapy treatment following surgery, which his mother had also opposed, but that issue was put on hold pending a ruling on the operation.

Sally Roberts has been locked in a legal dispute with her estranged husband Ben over the boy's condition and treatment, and earlier this month she went on the run with Neon in what she later said was a panicked move to protect him.

The New Zealander says she fears radiotherapy would cause her son long-term harm.

The pair were found safe after a judge ordered a search and Roberts apologised for her actions.

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Fresh protests in Egypt over constitution

EGYPT'S opposition has launched fresh protests in a last-minute bid to scuttle a draft constitution pushed by President Mohamed Morsi and his Islamist backers ahead of a second round of voting.

Hundreds of people had already begun gathering in Cairo by late afternoon ahead of the evening rallies, AFP correspondents reported.

The biggest were set for outside the presidential palace and in the capital's iconic protest hub Tahrir Square as the opposition sought to mobilise voters against the draft charter in Saturday's second leg.

They add to weeks of street unrest that have challenged Morsi's authority.

Early this month, clashes between pro and anti-Morsi supporters killed eight people and wounded hundreds, and prompted the army to deploy troops and tanks around the palace.

The head of the military, Defence Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, warned against the nation becoming so politically polarised.

"The divisions are affecting the economy and threaten social peace, requiring of us solidarity, renouncing differences and putting public interests first," Sissi was quoted as saying.

The opposition National Salvation Front coalition was urging Egyptians to protest against the draft constitution and denounce what it said was "rigging" in the first round of voting last weekend by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

"We do not agree with this constitution. We don't recognise the referendum as valid," said one opposition protester near the palace, Ayyoub Laouindi.

"The constitution is void, the referendum is void. Egyptians' voices have been falsified and the ballot boxes been stuffed," said another, Suzanne Esmat, a tourist guide.

The justice ministry responded to the opposition's fraud allegations by saying it was appointing judges to investigate.

Unofficial tallies showed 57 per cent of ballots counted from first-round voting in Cairo and nine other regions backed the draft charter, suggesting the text would be adopted in the second round when the other half of the country votes.

Many of Egypt's 21,000 judges also kept up their pressure on Morsi, charging that he was trying to undermine their independence.

On Monday, the State Council Judges Club grouping nearly 1000 top judges announced it would boycott supervision of the second round of voting. It joined an estimated 12,000 judges who already boycotted the first round.

And a protest by hundreds of prosecutors the same day forced the resignation of the prosecutor general, Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah, appointed less than a month ago by Morsi.

"This is undoubtedly a new crisis for Mohammed Morsi, showing that his decisions are not accepted by large sectors of the state system," a political science professor at Cairo University, Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyed, told AFP.

"They might have let the president get away with it, if he had made a good choice, but the person he chose (Abdallah) acted in a way giving the impression he was breaking laws and at the beck and call of the president's party," the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Sayyed said.

Morsi's camp argues the new charter is needed to bring stability to Egypt after months of turmoil following the early 2011 revolution that toppled veteran leader Hosni Mubarak.

But the opposition is scathing of the document, which was written largely by Islamists, believing it weakens human rights protections, particularly for women, and sets the stage for a creeping advance towards Islamic sharia law.

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Thousands of students wake up to HSC marks

UP to 73,000 students are set to go online, send a text or make a phone call, in order to find out their HSC results on Wednesday.

Students in NSW will receive their HSC results from 6am (AEDT) on Wednesday, followed by their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) on Thursday.

The NSW Board of Studies said most are expected to check their results online, while others will receive them via text or by phoning in.

It comes after more than 100 NSW high achievers celebrated taking out first place in their courses at a ceremony in Sydney on Tuesday.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said two-thirds of the award recipients were young women, with females also dominating the first course results for mathematics.

Meanwhile, parents who are having trouble coping with their kids' disappointing HSC marks can talk about it on a new telephone hotline.

The NSW government-funded line is a 24/7 telephone counselling service for parents confronted with a disappointing HSC score, or who need guidance on helping their kids deal with poor results.

"Parents and students often feel that if they haven't reached a certain benchmark, then they've failed," the service's manager, Tarja Malone said earlier this week.

"It's important that students, and parents, realise it's not the end of the world."

Parent Line can be reached 24 hours, seven days a week on 1300 1300 52.

The HSC Results Inquiry Centre (13 11 12) opens on 19 December.

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US stocks gain in opening trade

US stocks have headed solidly higher in opening trade following gains in Europe's markets, which came on the back of a surge in German investor sentiment to a seven-month high.

Ten minutes into trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 62.16 points (0.47 per cent) to 13,232.04.

The broad-market S&P 500 added 7.57 (0.53 per cent) at 1426.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 24.62 points (0.82 per cent) to 3011.58.

Insurer AIG was up 2.7 per cent to $34.25 after the US Treasury announced the successful sale of its final 234 million shares at an average of $32.50 a share.

The Nasdaq was boosted as volatile Apple gained 2.0 per cent to $540.39.

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Arrests as police storm tent embassy

More than 30 police officers have arrived at Musgrave Park where Indigenous activists have vowed to defend the sacred flame that they have re-lit after the site was cleared late Tuesday afternoon. Picture: Brittany Vonow Source: The Courier-Mail

West End's Aboriginal tent embassy has been closed after Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk withdrew official consent for protesters to continue inhabiting the site. Source: The Courier-Mail

West End's Aboriginal tent embassy has been closed after Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk withdrew official consent for protesters to continue inhabiting the site. Source: The Courier-Mail

A GROUP of indigenous activists have re-lit a sacred flame at the Aboriginal tent embassy in Brisbane and will guard the site through the night.

BREAKING: Police have moved in on the Aboriginal tent embassy site in Musgrave Park, arresting several people.

12.45am: One woman who wished to be only known as Karen said she had been at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy site all afternoon, and said she was unimpressed with the police presence.

"We will still rebuild, we'll wait until everyone can get together again," she said.

Most of the police have now left.

12.35am: The main group of protesters has dispersed, moving to the outskirts of the park where they have continued to protest.

A heavy police presence of up to 80 officers are being abused by protesters at the edges of Musgrave Park.

Brisbane City Council workers have completely removed the wood from the site as police continue to guard the area.

12.30am: About 15 people standing on the edge of the park are continuing to protest.

Police are letting one man take some embers from the main fire.

 

12.25am: One of the protest leaders, Wayne Wharton, was arrested by police.

With one fire out and police guarding the other, Brisbane City Council workers are taking away the firewood.

12.20am: After gathering on the edges of Musgrave Park, more than 30 police officers stormed the Aboriginal tent embassy site, pulling protesters away from fires that had been re-lit.

Police then formed a cordon around the fires before firefighters moved in to douse the sacred flames.

MORE TO COME

Earlier reports:

Activists called an early-morning press conference for Wednesday after Brisbane City Council announced it would remove the tent embassy at the request of indigenous elders.

But embassy spokesman Wayne Wharton told AAP late on Tuesday that about 40 "warriors" later decided to re-light a fire at the site, which includes coals from embassy fires in Moree and the original tent embassy in Canberra, and would stay put to guard it.

He said police officers and fire brigade units had begun gathering at the Musgrave Park site.

"The only thing we're missing now is the military," he said.

"This time, we'll defend it."

A police spokesman could not confirm a ramped-up police presence at the site on Tuesday night, telling AAP all inquiries were being referred to the city's council.

A Queensland Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman told AAP some firefighters were at the site but was unable to say why.

Mr Wharton said it was untrue that the city had the indigenous community's backing.

Pressed on whether he believed violence could erupt overnight, Mr Wharton said he would use "whatever means possible" to defend the tent embassy.

"There are a number of warriors here that will defend it," he said.

EARLIER:

WEST End's Aboriginal tent embassy was closed down late Tuesday afternoon after Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk withdrew official consent for protesters to continue inhabiting the Musgrave Park site.

The development came in response to requests from local indigenous leaders, who had raised concerns about the embassy's ongoing presence in the park.

Mr Quirk said members of Brisbane's indigenous community had serious concerns about the site, including fears it lacked adult supervision and was becoming violent and choked with rubbish.

"This action is being taken strictly at the request of local elders," Mr Quirk said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We have a very good working relationship with Brisbane's indigenous community and if they tell me that the tent embassy has lost its way and needs to close, then I respect that decision."

A delegation of elders joined Cr Quirk in Musgrave Park late this afternoon, as Uncle Des Sandy, of the Yuggera people, formally requested the protesters move on.

They agreed after Cr Quirk gave an undertaking a sacred fire burning in the campsite would not be interfered with.

Council officers moved in on the site to assist with the disassembling of tents.

The operation has so far proceeded without incident.

Protesters have inhabited the park since earlier this year.

The site was thrown in to the spotlight in May when police moved in to evict protesters in the lead up to the annual Paniyiri Greek festival (see the pictures here).

Cr Quirk eventually gave permission for the embassy to remain in another section of the park in the wake of angry protests.

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Egypt seeks to delay loan request: IMF

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Egypt has asked to delay its request for a $US4.8 billion ($A4.60 billion) loan agreed in November as violent protests mount in Cairo ahead of a referendum on the constitution.

"In light of the unfolding developments on the ground, the Egyptian authorities have asked to postpone their request for a Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF," a Fund spokeswoman said in a statement.

"The Fund remains in close contact with the authorities, and stands ready to continue supporting Egypt during the ongoing transition and to consult with the authorities on the resumption of discussions regarding the Stand-By Arrangement," the spokeswoman said.

The IMF announcement followed violent protests in Egypt over a deeply disputed constitutional referendum proposed by the Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi.

The IMF and Egyptian authorities provisionally agreed on the loan on November 20. The IMF executive board had been expected to review the deal in this month.

The planned IMF loan is aimed at helping the government bridge financing shortfalls through fiscal 2013-2014 as the country rebuilds an economy left battered by the 2011 overthrow of the Hosni Mubarak regime.

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Fallen police officer to be honoured

THOUSANDS of Sydneysiders are expected to join dignitaries and the state's top brass as they farewell fallen Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson.

The 45-year-old father of three will be mourned at a ceremony with full police honours at St Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta on Wednesday.

Mourners will hear eulogies from his Bryson's wife Donna Anderson, his brother Warwick, a retired police officer, and another brother Damian.

The detective was stabbed after responding to a neighbour dispute at Oakville, in Sydney's northwest, on Thursday.

Tributes have flooded in from colleagues who worked alongside the "police officer's police officer", and the state's top police have remembered a skilled detective and a great mate.

"He was larger than life," Commissioner Andrew Scipione told the Fairfax Radio Network on Tuesday.

"He was well-respected. There were people that looked up to him. He always brought a laugh to any conversation. On top of that he was compassionate and caring."

He worked as a duty officer at Hawkesbury local area command and recently turned down a promotion in order to remain on the front line.

VIPs including Premier Barry O'Farrell, Governor Marie Bashir, Parramatta Lord Mayor John Chedid and Mr Scipione will attend the service.

Bishop Anthony Fisher will preside over the church proceedings that are expected to last two hours.

Mr Scipione invited the public to attend and said overflow arrangements will be in place for those to listen to the proceedings from outside the cathedral.

After the proceedings, a roadside guard and marching escort will proceed along Victoria Road between Marist Place and O'Connell Street.

Motorists are advised Victoria Road will be closed between Church and O'Connell Streets from 3pm until 6pm.

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Yemeni offensive on al-Qaeda kills 24

A MAJOR offensive launched by the Yemeni army against al-Qaeda following the assassination of a top officer has killed at least 24 people, including 17 soldiers, a military official says.

"Troops backed by air forces launched a wide operation in the region of Wadi Abida," targeting al-Qaeda hideouts, a military official said on condition of anonymity.

General Nasser Naji bin Farid, who commanded military forces in central Yemen, was killed on Saturday in an ambush near the city of Marib, blamed by military and tribal sources on al-Qaeda.

Four other officers and six soldiers were also killed in the ambush, Yemeni authorities said, giving the latest death toll from the ambush.

Following the assassination of Farid, considered close to President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the army launched an offensive, in which 17 soldiers and seven tribesmen suspected of supporting al-Qaeda were killed, the military official said. Operations continued on Tuesday, he said.

The jihadist network has increased its attacks on army and security officers, especially in the south and the east of the country, where militants are active.

Gunmen suspected of being al-Qaeda militants shot dead on Tuesday the deputy chief of intelligence in the southeastern city of Mukalla.

In Daleh, also in the south, unknown gunmen on a motorbike shot dead a soldier and wounded another as they opened fire at a checkpoint, a security official told AFP.

Earlier this month, General Mahmud al-Sobaihi, a top army commander in the south, escaped an assassination bid when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in Huta, the capital of Lahj province.

Sobaihi's troops played a major role in an anti-Qaeda offensive that ended the control in June of jihadist militants in a string of towns and cities which they had held across the south for a year.

Although weakened, the network's militants continue to launch hit-and-run attacks on members of the security forces across Yemen.

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Ghana opposition to challenge vote results

GHANA'S main opposition party says it plans to challenge presidential election results in court after it alleged a "pattern of fraud" in incumbent John Dramani Mahama's victory.

"We are going to court," New Patriotic Party chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey told reporters after a meeting of party officials, including its candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, who declined to comment.

The decision comes with the country under pressure to maintain its reputation as a stable democracy in turbulent West Africa. Local election observers, citing their own findings, have said they support the results showing Mahama won.

According to the electoral commission, Mahama won the election held over Friday and Saturday with 50.70 per cent of the votes cast, compared with Akufo-Addo's 47.74 per cent.

The NPP alleged a "pattern of fraud" even before the official results were announced.

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Egypt protesters breach president's palace

SEVERAL hundred Egyptian protesters have breached a concrete and metal barricade outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Tuesday, forcing back the soldiers manning it, AFP correspondents report.

There was no violent confrontation despite the tensions surrounding the determination of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to press ahead with a Saturday referendum on a controversial new constitution drafted by a panel dominated by his Islamist allies.

The protesters pulled apart a high metal gate bar by bar and toppled concrete blocks with chains.

Hundreds of soldiers who had erected the barrier at the weekend, to block access roads following deadly clashes in the area last week, fell back closer to the palace. Six tanks were stationed close to the walled compound.

A counter-demonstration by Morsi supporters was taking place a few kilometres away, raising fears of further clashes.

On Wednesday last week, pro and anti-Morsi demonstrators fought each other with metal bars, petrol bombs and handguns, leaving seven people dead and more than 600 injured.

Morsi on Monday ordered the army to use temporary police powers to protect the palace and other "vital state institutions".

The military, which is trying to remain neutral in Egypt's three-week-old political crisis, has vowed to carry out its duty to maintain stability within democratic rules.

The opposition, made up of secular, leftwing and liberal groups, sees the draft text as weakening human rights, the rights of women and religious minorities.

Egyptian human rights groups issued a statement saying the draft constitution "opens the door to the establishment of a theocratic system similar to the Iranian Velayat-e Faqih model, or rule by a clerical supreme leader.

The UN human rights chief and international watchdogs have criticised the draft charter and the way it was drawn up.

Morsi's supporters, however, argue that it is now up to Egypt's voters to decide in the referendum.

Michael Wahid Hanna, a political analyst at US thinktank The Century Foundation told AFP that, as things stood, there was a good chance of the referendum passing.

On Monday, after a meeting with Morsi, Egypt's defence minister and commander of the armed forces, General Abel-Fattah al-Sisi, called on army officers to exercise the "highest levels of self-restraint".

He said the armed forces were determined to "carry out their role in protecting the nation and its stability regardless of pressures and challenges".

But Emad Gad, an Egyptian political analyst, said: "In the event there are violent clashes or especially if blood is spilt in the street, the army will certainly intervene."

He said there was even a potential the army might have to seize political control again, to maintain order and security.

The prolonged crisis has intensified uncertainty over Egypt's economy triggered by the revolution early last year that overthrew autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday said a proposed $US4.8 billion ($A4.60 billion) loan is on hold at the request of Egyptian authorities in view of the volatile situation.

The IMF and Egyptian authorities provisionally agreed the loan last month and the IMF's executive board had been expected to review the deal this month.

The loan is aimed at helping the government to bridge financing shortfalls through fiscal 2013-2014 as the country rebuilds a battered post-revolution economy.

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Internet storm welcomes royal baby

FROM spoof Twitter accounts to feverish speculation about names, the internet has gone into a frenzy over the unborn child of Prince William and his wife Catherine as the first royal baby of the online age.

News of the former Kate Middleton's pregnancy - announced by the royal family on Twitter - met with an explosion of posts on social networks, from joyous congratulations to those pleading for the media coverage to end already.

It is perhaps of little comfort to Catherine, in hospital for a second day on Tuesday with severe morning sickness, that within minutes of the announcement her baby already had a slew of spoof accounts "live-tweeting from the royal womb".

"CURRENT STATUS: DARK IN HERE, WILL UPDATE," tweeted @RoyalFoetus, which has 6000 followers.

The rival @RoyalFetus, which has 9000 followers, added: "I may not have bones yet, but I'm already more important than everyone reading this. #royalbaby #sorry".

The hashtag #royalbaby instantly rocketed to the top of Twitter's "trending topics" list on the announcement.

Interest was so great that the official website of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the couple are officially known, crashed due to high demand.

Meanwhile, online topics of royal baby-related conversation have ranged from likely names and godparents to the probability that the new third-in-line to the British throne will inherit the famous ginger locks of its uncle, Prince Harry.

Bookmakers predict that the couple will name the baby after a close relative, with William's late mother Diana among the early front-runners if it is a girl and John, George and Charles among the favourite boys' names.

But mischievous web-users have made their own helpful suggestions about what William and Catherine should call the baby.

One gleefully suggested Austerity to reflect the public mood in Britain as it struggles to climb out of recession, while others plumped for a down-to-earth name bringing the monarchy closer to the people, such as Kevin.

Online chatter has also turned to reports that Catherine could be expecting twins - potentially spelling constitutional double-trouble for the royal family.

"So if Kate has twins and a C-section," wrote one tweeter, echoing the thoughts of many, "does the doctor get to choose who will be the next in line for the throne?"

"What if there are twins and they're born by C section at the same time?" wrote another. "A pair of heirs?"

Others have been revelling in the array of computerised images, hastily put together by newspapers and websites, showing what the child may look like.

Some of the more sinister versions transpose William's thinning hairline onto pictures of the hypothetical toddler.

One thing is clear - with Catherine believed to be less than 12 weeks pregnant and much more of this to come - those already tiring of #royalbaby-talk may wish to flee the internet for a few months.

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Israel to advance east Jerusalem building

ISRAEL is moving forward with plans for two major settlement projects in east Jerusalem, a spokeswoman says, even as a senior Palestinian official warned that his government could pursue war crimes charges if Israel doesn't halt such construction.

International anger over Israeli settlement construction has snowballed in recent days, following last week's UN recognition of a state of Palestine - in lands Israel occupied in 1967 - as a non-member observer in the General Assembly.

Israel retaliated for UN recognition of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem by announcing plans to build 3000 homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as preparations for construction of an especially sensitive project near Jerusalem, known as E-1.

The Israeli reprisal has prompted the country's strongest Western allies to take an unusually strong line with the Jewish state.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned on Tuesday that the latest Israeli building plans would make the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, "almost inconceivable."

Australia and Brazil summoned the local Israeli ambassadors on Tuesday in protest, Israel's Foreign Ministry said, a day after five European countries, including Britain, took the same step.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev defended the recent Israeli decisions, saying that "from our perspective, Israel is responding in a very measured way to a series of Palestinian provocations."

UN recognition could enable the Palestinians to gain access to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and seek war crimes charges against Israel for its construction of settlements on occupied lands.

Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he's not going to turn to the ICC "unless we were attacked" and that he informed many countries, including the United States, of this position. Abbas spoke before Israel announced its latest settlement plans.

A senior Abbas aide, Nabil Shaath, said late on Monday that "by continuing these war crimes of settlement activities on our lands and stealing our money, Israel is pushing and forcing us to go to the ICC."

Israel also said it is withholding some $US100 million ($A96.37 million) in tax rebates and other fees it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. The monthly transfer of the funds is vital for keeping afloat Abbas' Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government in the West Bank.

Israeli settlement construction lies at the heart of a four-year breakdown in peace talks, and was a major factor behind the Palestinians' UN statehood bid. Since 1967, half a million Israelis have settled in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but continues to restrict access to the territory. It says the fate of settlements should be decided in negotiations and notes that previous rounds of talks continued while construction went on.

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US stocks open mixed amid budget impasse

US stocks have opened mixed, getting a lift from European market gains while US politicians continued to wrangle over a budget plan that would avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.40 points (0.10 per cent) to 12,978.00 in the first few minutes of trade.

The broad-market S&P 500 edged down 0.72 point (0.05 per cent) to 1408.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 5.13 (0.17 per cent) to 2997.07.

The action came after the stock indexes started December in loss mode on Monday, with Washington's budget impasse weighing on sentiment.

"With the economic calendar empty, the unresolved fiscal cliff is likely to continue to command the lion's share of the Street's attention," said Charles Schwab & Co analysts.

On Monday, Republicans responded to President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction proposal with their own plan that raises half the income proposed by Obama and opposes a tax rate increase for the rich.

The White House swiftly rejected the counter-offer, leaving a stalemate less than a month ahead of the sharp automatic tax increases and spending reductions that take effect in January.

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Police arrest 2 linked to Toulouse gunman

FRENCH police have arrested two people in connection with the attacks by extremist gunman Mohamed Merah, whose shooting spree in and around the southern city of Toulouse left seven people dead.

A man described by police as a 38-year-old member of the traveller community who converted to Islam was detained on suspicion of having provided aid to Merah in carrying out the March attacks that shocked France.

He was arrested without incident at his home in the town of Albi, about 70 kilometres from Toulouse, where he was to be taken for questioning, police sources said.

His ex-girlfriend, also 38, was arrested separately at her home in Toulouse, in the same neighbourhood where Merah lived.

She was questioned shortly after her arrest. Police said she may have been aware of her ex-boyfriend's alleged involvement with Merah and failed to inform authorities.

The nature of his alleged involvement was unclear, but investigators have been searching for a suspected "third man" believed to have been with Merah and his brother Abdelkader during the theft of a scooter used in the attacks.

The detained man was known to police, a source said.

Merah shot a rabbi, three Jewish schoolchildren and three French paratroopers in March before being shot dead in a police siege in Toulouse.

Abdelkader was arrested after the attacks and remains in custody.

Sources close to the investigation warned against concluding that the suspect arrested on Tuesday was the "third man". He can be held for questioning for up to 96 hours without charge.

Merah's elder brother Abdelghani previously told French media that someone from the traveller community may have been involved in stealing the scooter.

Investigators are also probing whether any possible accomplices may have provided funds or weapons used by Merah.

A petty criminal who was lured into Islamic extremist circles in Toulouse, Merah visited Afghanistan and Pakistan before his attacks.

Since his shooting spree, it has become clear that Merah had been on the radar of France's security services for years and that authorities under-estimated the extent of his radicalisation following his trips abroad.

French intelligence services have been heavily criticised for failing to realise the threat posed by Merah.

His attacks prompted a rethink of French security policies, with legislation being considered that will allow authorities to prosecute citizens who attend militant Islamist training camps abroad and to boost monitoring of extremist sites on the internet.

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Exports, spending cuts to hurt GDP growth

WEAKER exports and government spending cuts are likely to have slowed the pace of economic growth in the September quarter.

The median market forecast is for the Australian economy to have grown by 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, according to an AAP survey of 13 economists last week.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to report on Wednesday that over the year to September, the economy is to have grown by 3.1 per cent.

This will be a considerable slowdown compared to the 3.7 per cent growth recorded in the 12 months to June.

TD Securities Asia-Pacific macro strategist Alvin Pontoh said weaker exports and spending cuts from state and federal governments were expected to weigh on economic growth.

"It's lower than the first half of the year but it is not a bad rate of growth," he said.

"In the first half of the year, you had strong consumption but that is partly because of a number of temporary factors, including retailers' discounting and carbon tax compensation, but those effects are going to fade."

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One dead in violent clashes in Bangladesh

PROTESTERS from Bangladesh's largest Islamic party have clashed with security forces in cities across the country in violence that has left one dead, police say.

Jamaat-e-Islami called a strike on Tuesday to protest against the arrest and trial of its leaders, who face charges of war crimes during the country's 1971 liberation struggle.

An 18-year-old youth was shot dead on Monday night during clashes in the northern town of Chirirbandar, 300 kilometres from the capital Dhaka, and unrest spread to other cities on Tuesday.

Jamaat supporters torched and damaged about 20 vehicles including a car belonging to the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday and 69 people were detained on charges of violence, police said.

"Jamaat activists hurled bricks at a US embassy car which was coming from the airport after dropping a foreigner. They also tried to torch the car," police sub-inspector Abu Saleh told AFP.

In a statement posted in the party's website, Jamaat's acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman said "sorry" for the incident saying they were ready to pay compensation for the damaged car and to the injured driver.

Violence was also reported in the eastern town of Brahmanbaria and in the cities of Sylhet, Rajshahi and Narayanganj.

The dead 18-year-old was admitted to hospital on Monday with a gun shot wound to the head after a demonstration at which police admitted firing live ammunition to control the crowd, hospital and police sources said.

"We fired seven rounds of live bullets, rubber bullets and tear gas shells," local police chief Tariqul Islam told AFP, saying that the cause of the activist's death was unclear.

Shihidul Islam, a nurse at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, said the activist died as he was brought to the clinic. "He has a bullet shot in his head," he told AFP.

The government blames Jamaat for much of the killing in the bloody nine-month war against Pakistan, in which it says about three million people died.

But the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), created in 2010 to try war crimes suspects, has been widely criticised as being a political tool for the ruling Awami League government to target its opponents.

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West warns Damascus on chemical weapons

WESTERN powers have warned Damascus there will be an immediate reaction to any use of chemical weapons as NATO prepares to approve a Turkish request for missiles to protect its border with Syria.

"The possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable to the whole international community and I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community," NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles were "a matter of great concern," Rasmussen said, adding: "This is also the reason why it is a matter of urgency to ensure effective defence and protection of our ally Turkey."

Turkey's request for US-made surface-to-air Patriot missiles on its border is worrying Russia, but both NATO and Ankara insist they would be purely defensive.

US President Barack Obama on Monday issued a new warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons against his own people, as the conflict approaches the 21-month mark with more than 41,000 people killed.

"I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command, the world is watching, the use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable," Obama said.

"If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."

France, with traditional interests in the region, made a similar point.

"The leaders in Damascus must know the international community is watching them and will react" if chemical weapons are used, French foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani said.

The Syrian government, fighting to prevent the capital Damascus from falling to rebel forces, on Monday reiterated it would never resort to chemical weapons.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile urged the international community to take a unified position on Syria after the rebel groups formed a coalition last month.

"We see in forming the new Syrian coalition an important positive step towards uniting the opposition under one banner," Prince Saud al-Faisal said.

"We hope to see a similar step towards uniting the positions and views of the international community in dealing with the Syrian issue," the foreign minister added.

Saudi Arabia has openly called for arming the Syrian rebels.

On the ground on Tuesday, the Syrian army blasted a string of rebel zones on the eastern and southwestern outskirts of Damascus.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said "the army is trying at all costs to keep the rebels out of Damascus.

"The rebels are pushing hard to enter into the city but they have not been able to make the advance they are hoping for," he added.

Pro-regime daily Al-Watan reported that the army is "making progress in all directions in Damascus province, chiefly in villages along the road linking the capital to the international airport."

Syrian state television meanwhile reported that a rebel attack on a school near Damascus on Tuesday killed nine students and their teacher.

In the face of deteriorating security, the United Nations on Monday suspended operations in Syria and said it would pull out non-essential staff, while the European Union reduced its activities in Damascus to a minimum.

Against this backdrop, Syria and Turkey's request for help to boost its defence was dominating the two-day NATO meeting in Brussels, which was to dedicate some time also to strained ties with Moscow.

Military sources in Turkey have said NATO is considering the deployment of up to six Patriot batteries and some 300-400 foreign troops to operate them.

The Patriot, designed mainly to bring down missiles but effective also against aircraft, would likely be supplied by Germany, The Netherlands or the United States.

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Gunmen kill 10 in Nigerian pub

GUNMEN said to be dressed as soldiers have opened fire on a central Nigeria pub, killing 10 people in a region hit by waves of clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups, authorities say.

The incident occurred in the Barkin Ladi area of Plateau state late on Monday and saw gunmen storm the pub then open fire indiscriminately on customers, according to a military spokesman who denied soldiers were involved.

Barkin Ladi is a mainly Christian area of the region which lies on the fault line between the mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.

"The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on customers, killing eight on the spot, while two others died later as a result of the gunshot wounds they sustained," Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha said.

"In protest to the killings, some members of the community barricaded the highway, preventing commuters from using the road."

Some residents claimed the gunmen were wearing army uniforms, while a Christian activist from the Stefanos Foundation made the same accusation.

"There was an attack on a drinking spot in Heipan last night by five gunmen dressed in army uniform," Mark Lipdo told AFP, referring to the neighbourhood in Barkin Ladi.

Mustapha denied any soldiers were involved. Criminals have in the past dressed as soldiers or police to carry out crimes or commit violence.

Nigeria's Plateau state has been hit by waves of clashes that have left scores of people dead in recent years. Policies favouring ethnic groups considered to be indigenous to the area have worsened the conflict.

The violence has often involved clashes between mainly Christian Beroms and Hausa-Fulani Muslims.

However, in addition to the ethnic clashes, Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has also carried out a number of attacks in the region as part of its insurgency.

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Gunmen on the run after fatal shooting

POLICE are still searching for the gunmen who shot one man dead and seriously injured another in Sydney's southwest on Tuesday.

Police found the dead man's body at the back of a house in Lumeah Avenue at Punchbowl after receiving reports of multiple shots around 4.10 pm (AEST).

Another man was found at the front of the home with at least five gunshot wounds and was rushed to St George Hospital.

The man, who remains in a serious but stable condition, reportedly suffered gunshot wounds to the back of his legs, hands and the back of his head.

Both men were shot inside the home, which was being renovated.

A woman who arrived on the scene told AAP she owned the property where the shootings took place.

She declined to comment other than to say the victims were "family friends".

It is believed the men, both aged in their 30s, were of Middle Eastern appearance and not known to police.

A manhunt for at least two suspects is continuing after the dog squad and police helicopter scoured the area shortly after the incident.

"We will be seeking further persons who are believed to have left the premises shortly after the shooting," Superintendent Michael McLean told reporters at the scene.

Police have established three crime scenes: where the shooting took place in Lumeah Avenue; in Christian Road where the incident may have spilled into; and in nearby Werona Ave where at least two spent shell casings were found on a nature strip.

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France to vote for Palestinian state

THE French foreign minister says France plans to vote in favour of recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

Laurent Fabius has told parliament that France has long supported Palestinian ambitions for statehood and "will respond 'yes'" when the issue comes up for a vote "out of a concern for coherency."

With the announcement, France - a permanent member of the Security Council - becomes the first major European country to come out in favour. It amounts to a setback for Israel.

The Palestinians say the assembly is likely to vote Thursday on a resolution raising their status at the United Nations from an observer to a nonmember observer state, a move they believe is an important step toward a two-state solution with Israel.

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Portuguese MPs clear austerity budget

BAILED-OUT Portugal's MPs have given final approval to a 2013 budget imposing an unprecedented austerity squeeze even as protesters massed outside.

The budget, aimed at saving 5.3 billion euros ($A6.63 billion), passed easily with the support of the centre-right government, which has an absolute majority.

The government says the plan, which relies on higher taxes for 80 per cent of the savings, is vital to Portugal's recovery.

"The state budget for 2013 is a determined step on the road to recovery," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar said. But "the risks and uncertainties surrounding the 2013 budget year are great."

Portugal's new budget stipulates a broad rise in income tax to 14.5 per cent for the most vulnerable and 48 per cent for the most wealthy. It also reduces the number of tax brackets from eight to five, with the tax rate in each band raised by 3.5 percentage points.

Unemployment benefits are sliced by five per cent and sickness payments by six per cent.

"We have to finish with this policy before it finishes with us!" declared one banner unfurled at a rally outside parliament called by the main union, the General Federation of Portuguese Workers.

Protesters aimed their fire at the "troika" of creditors behind Portugal's 78 billion euro bailout: the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank.

"We say no to the troika and its policies!" said one banner carried by activists, while others declared: "It's robbery, it is the people who pay!" and "Salaries frozen, future mortgaged!"

The tight-fisted budget has sparked multiple street protests including one on November 14 that degenerated into clashes between baton-wielding police and stone-throwing demonstrators.

The main opposition Socialist Party has opposed the budget, saying the austerity policies are "exaggerated", even though it was in power when Lisbon sought the rescue in May 2011.

While recognising the enormous sacrifices by his compatriots, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho says austerity policies are the only path to economic recovery.

With its draconian budget, the government expects to trim the annual budget deficit to the equivalent of 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product next year from a target of 5.0 per cent in 2012.

The budget-trimming efforts come as the economy is expected to shrink three per cent in 2012, with a jobless rate already nearing 16 per cent.

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US stocks open lower despite Greek deal

US stocks have opened lower after Greece secured a revised bailout deal that will help it again avert a default on its huge debt load.

Doubts remained about the new deal, which allows Athens to trim its debt load through bond buybacks and reduced rates and promises new rescue loan instalments of 43.7 billion euros ($A54.63 billion) through March.

Five minutes into trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27.19 points (0.21 per cent) at 12,940.18.

The broad-market S&P 500 lost 2.37 (0.17 per cent) at 1403.92, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 4.26 (0.14 per cent) to 2972.52.

European markets were mostly higher after the deal, but critics said the European Union and the International Monetary Fund had again "kicked the can down the road" with the new arrangement.

"We think that Greece will eventually need a much larger debt relief, but any agreement on this is unlikely to happen before German elections next fall," said Tullia Bucco of UniCredit Research.

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Pot-loving defendant asks for final toke

AN AVID marijuana user has agreed to give up his favourite pastime to avoid a jail sentence, but not before asking a judge if he could have just one more toke.

Nineteen-year-old Damaine Mitchell got credit for time served for marijuana possession, ending that case. Mitchell first had to pledge to stop smoking marijuana and to seek treatment.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh convicted him of possession Monday after ruling him not guilty of trafficking. He remains jailed on a trespassing charge.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Mitchell told her in an earlier court appearance that he doubted he could stop smoking marijuana, which he'd been doing since age 10. She had denied his request to smoke one more joint before he gave it up.

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Amazon deforestation at record low

DEFORESTATION of Brazil's Amazon has slowed for a fourth consecutive year to its lowest rate since authorities began monitoring the world's largest rainforest, officials said.

The National Institute of Space Research found that the Amazon lost 4656 square kilometres of rain forest over a period running from August 2011 to July 2012, 27 per cent less than the previous year.

"It is the lowest deforestation rate since Brazil began its monitoring" in 1988, said Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira.

"I believe that it is the only good piece of environmental news," she told a press conference called to unveil a new electronic system to slap fines on those found guilty of deforesting the Amazon.

A year ago, INPE reported that the Amazon lost 6238 square kilometres of rainforest between August 2010 and July 2011, 11 per cent less than the previous year.

Declines in the extent of deforestation have been registered in each of the past four years.

Destruction of forests releases large quantities of CO2, which account for 17 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Large-scale deforestation has made Brazil one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, but the government has made significant strides in curbing it over the past decade.

Key causes of Amazon deforestation are fires, the spread of agriculture and stockbreeding and illegal trafficking in timber and minerals.

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Blast hits Jerusalem as Egypt talks truce

A ROCKET fired from Gaza has struck near Jerusalem as Egypt, which has been leading efforts to broker an end to nearly a week of cross-border violence, said the Israeli "aggression" would end on Tuesday.

A loud boom was heard in Jerusalem shortly after air raid sirens wailed, with the Israeli police and army saying a rocket had crashed into an open area near Gush Etzion without causing any casualties.

The attack was claimed by Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "an M75 rocket at the occupied city of Jerusalem".

The second such attack in five days, it came with Hamas engaged in Egyptian-led talks with Israel for a ceasefire on the seventh day of the Jewish state's bombing campaign against rocket-firing militants in the enclave.

In Cairo, Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi struck an upbeat note, saying Israel's "aggression" against Gaza would end on Tuesday and Egyptian-mediated efforts would produce "positive results" within hours.

"The farce of the Israeli aggression will end today, Tuesday, and the efforts to reach a ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israelis will produce positive results within a few hours," the official MENA news agency quoted him as saying.

A Hamas official said chief Khaled Meshaal and his negotiators were currently in a meeting with the intelligence chief. "But it's no secret we're on the verge of an agreement," he said.

Earlier, in a rare statement aired on Hamas television, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif said that "the enemy will pay a heavy price if it thinks of entering Gaza."

The warning came after Israel halted a threatened ground offensive to give talks a chance to end the conflict that flared on Wednesday when an Israeli strike killed Deif's deputy, Ahmed Jaabari, before launching its bombing campaign.

After the first night of the conflict without Palestinian deaths, the toll rose to 116 on Tuesday when another six people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy who was trying to catch birds, medics said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his key ministers took the decision to put off plans for a ground assault at a meeting overnight, a senior official told AFP.

"A decision was taken that for the time being, there is a temporary hold on a ground incursion to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," he said.

The move came as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in Cairo for Egyptian-led talks on a truce, travelled to Jerusalem and urged both sides to stop their fire "immediately".

The flurry of diplomatic activity will also see US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cutting short a tour of Asia to head to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo, and Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi leading a delegation of 12 ministers on a solidarity visit to Gaza.

Israel is looking for a 24 to 48-hour truce as a buffer to work out a more permanent arrangement, with Tuesday's talks "expected to be decisive," Haaretz newspaper said.

But it is pressing on with its troop buildup along the Gaza border regardless, said the official.

"If we see that diplomacy does not bear fruit - and the time we've given to diplomacy is limited - all the preparations are being undertaken so that if and when the order is given the ground incursion can happen expeditiously," he said.

Hamas is understood to be seeking guarantees Israel will stop its targeted killings, and end its six-year blockade on the coastal territory home to 1.6 million people.

Analysts say a ground war could draw in other regional powers, including Israel's arch foe, Iran.

Inside Gaza, where 116 people have been killed and more than 920 injured in the Israeli bombardment, many families have fled their homes in northern Gaza, which has taken the brunt of the air strikes, to seek safe haven in the south.

Since the violence erupted on November 14, Gaza militants have fired more than 1000 rockets at the Jewish state, killing three people and injuring dozens.

Of those, 715 have crashed into southern Israel and another 359 were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The violence comes as Israel heads towards a general election in January, raising the spectre of a broader Israeli military campaign along the lines of its devastating 22-day Operation Cast Lead launched at the end of December 2008.

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Foreign property buyers offered residency

FOREIGN investors will be offered Spanish residency rights in an attempt to dispose of some 750,000 unsold properties abandoned since the 2008 market collapse.

Bad debt in Spanish banks rose to a record 10.7 per cent of the loan total, about 182 billion euros ($A225.8 billion), in September, with institutions desperate to offload the crippling assets.

"We have proposed to the other ministries that for residents who acquire a home in Spain for more than 160,000 euro that will automatically entail a residency permit," Spanish Trade Minister Jaime Garcia-Legaz said in an article published by British newspaper The Times on Tuesday.

Russian and Chinese buyers are understood to be targeted in the initial real estate scheme, and it is unknown if the subsequent residency will be for Spain alone or the entire European Union.

With some five million Spaniards out of work, the number of people unable to maintain repayments and forced to leave their homes continues to rise, with reports claiming 300 evictions per day in the first half of 2012.

In November Spain's government announced a two-year halt to evictions of vulnerable home owners after the practice was linked to acts of suicide.

Spain's residency offer, which aims to revive the construction industry, is more attractive than similar schemes in Ireland and Portugal where buyers are offered such rights only after buying houses worth more than 400,000 euro or 500,000 euro respectively.

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Hamas kills six suspected collaborators

WITNESSES say masked gunmen have publicly killed six suspected collaborators with Israel at a busy Gaza City intersection.

The Hamas military wing claimed responsibility.

Witnesses said the six men were pulled out of a van on Tuesday, forced to lie face down on the street and then shot dead.

Five bodies lay in a pile as a mob stomped and spit on them. A sixth body was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets as people screamed, "Spy! Spy!"

Hamas posted a sign on an electricity pole, naming the six alleged informers.

The public killings came during an Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 120 people, both militants and civilians.

Israel relies on a network of local informants to identify its targets.

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One dead in fresh Kenya violence

FRESH violence has broken out in Kenya's restive northeast, with one person killed and seven others shot and wounded, officials say, a day after security forces cracked down on rioters.

Several other people were also hospitalised, some of them after being beaten with clubs by security forces in a crackdown following the killing of three soldiers in Garissa, a garrison town near the border with war-torn Somalia.

Kenya Red Cross said one person had died and 48 others - including seven with gunshot wounds - were being treated at Garissa hospital.

However, "relative calm and normalcy" had returned to the town by late afternoon, it added in a statement.

Garissa's main market was torched during the violence that broke out on Monday, after unknown gunmen killed three soldiers in town, sparking a security crackdown that provoked violent protests.

The violence is separate from riots that shook the capital Nairobi on Monday, although both broke out following attacks that resembled a recent string of grenade blasts and shootings blamed on supporters of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.

Small scuffles were also reported on Tuesday in Nairobi's Eastleigh district, a predominantly ethnic Somali neighbourhood, but on a far smaller scale than Monday, when street battles took place the day after a bomb blast on a bus killed nine people.

Garissa MP Adan Duale warned of the potential for further clashes between the military and residents if the garrison is not moved away from the town.

"The soldiers need to be moved out of Garissa, the lost lives and property need to be compensated and a commission of inquiry needs to be set up," Duale said, confirming that a woman had died of gunshot wounds.

Senior Shebab official Abduaziz Abu Musab denied involvement in Sunday's bomb blast in Nairobi, but said it was possible "some sympathisers of our cause acted alone" in the shooting of the soldiers in Garissa.

"We are categorically denying any involvement in the bus attack in Eastleigh at the weekend," Musab told AFP, blaming the violence on Kenya's elections due in March 2013.

"The violence is instead related to the upcoming election in Kenya and was masterminded to harm the Muslims in Kenya," he told AFP.

The Shebab have vowed revenge after Kenya invaded southern Somalia last year to chase out the Islamist fighters, although the group has not claimed direct responsibility for any attack.

Violence in Kenya - ranging from attacks blamed on Islamists to inter-communal clashes to a police crackdown on a coastal separatist movement - have raised concerns over security ahead of next year's elections.

Five years ago, elections descended into deadly post-poll killings that shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of regional stability.

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US stocks open lower after HP loss

US stocks have opened lower after Hewlett-Packard reported a quarterly loss due in part to a massive writedown, offsetting fresh data signalling recovery in the housing market.

After a triple-digit gain on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52.60 points (0.41 per cent) to 12,743.36 in the first 15 minutes of trade.

The S&P 500-stock index dropped 4.17 points (0.30 per cent) to 1382.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slipped 6.21 (0.21 per cent) to 2909.86.

Charles Schwab & Co analysts said stocks were lower after Dow member HP announced an $US8.8 billion ($A8.49 billion) charge related to alleged accounting improprieties at Autonomy Corp, which HP acquired in August 2011 for over $10 billion.

On Monday, stocks scored solid gains on upbeat housing data and hopes that politicians will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.

The jump was underpinned by Apple, the most valuable public company, which took a 7.2 per cent bounce to $565.73, following weeks of losses.

The Dow rose 1.65 per cent, the S&P 500 added 1.99 per cent and the Nasdaq leapt 2.21 per cent.

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UBS rogue trader jailed for 7 years

A ROGUE trader who lost $US2.2 billion ($A2.12 billion) in bad deals at Swiss bank UBS has been sentenced to 7 years in prison after being convicted in what prosecutors called the biggest fraud case in UK banking history.

Ghanaian-born Kweku Adoboli, 32, exceeded his trading limits and failed to cover his losses, allegedly faking records to hide his tracks at the bank's London office. At one point, Adoboli risked running losses of up to $12 billion.

"There is a strong streak of the gambler in you," Judge Brian Keith told Adoboli. "You were arrogant to think the bank's rules for traders did not apply to you."

Adoboli wiped away tears as Keith handed down his sentence.

A conviction for fraud carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

The 10-person jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found Adoboli guilty of two counts of fraud and innocent of four other false accounting charges.

The trader ran into trouble dealing in exchange traded funds, complex financial products that track stocks, bonds and commodities. Adoboli admitted the losses, but said he was pressured by staff to take risks.

He also testified last month that he had been trying to help UBS survive after it amassed losses of $52 billion during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.

"There were times we thought there was no way the organisation would survive," said Adoboli, who joined UBS as a trainee in 2003 and rose quickly to become a senior trader. "I grew up with UBS. I felt very loyal to UBS."

Detective Chief Inspector Perry Stokes of City of London Police, who led the investigation of Adoboli, had a different view, believing the trader's motive was "to increase his bonus, his status, his job prospects and his ego."

"Adoboli was a sophisticated fraudster," Stokes said. "He was one of the most accomplished fraudsters that I've seen in my time investigating serious fraud."

After questions were raised about his trading, Adoboli walked off the job and sent an email to colleagues saying what he had done.

"I take full responsibility for my actions and the s-- storm that will now ensue. I am deeply sorry to have left this mess for everyone and to have put my bank and my colleagues at risk," he wrote.

The conviction on the second fraud count came on a 9-1 vote after the judge said he would accept a majority verdict. The sentences, to be served concurrently, were seven years on the first charge and four years on the second.

"We are glad that the criminal proceedings have reached a conclusion and thank the police and the UK authorities for their professional handling of this case," UBS said in a statement. "We have no further comment."

Prosecutors said it was the biggest fraud in British banking history, but it wasn't the largest trading loss. US-based JPMorgan Chase lost at least $5.8 billion through bad trades at its London office, the bank's CEO Jamie Dimon said in July.

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Syria troops besiege town near Damascus

SYRIAN troops have besieged Daraya and rained shells on the town near Damascus, killing a woman and a child, in a fresh attempt to storm it, activists and a watchdog say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that at least 29 people have died over the past 24 hours in clashes between Kurdish militiamen and rebels in the northern Syria town of Ras al-Ain, near the Turkey border.

"We have been under constant rocket and artillery fire," Abu Kinan, an activist from Daraya southwest of Damascus, told AFP via Skype, adding that troops had rigged the area with checkpoints and arrested scores of people.

"There is no life in all of Daraya," he said, estimating that 90 per cent of the residents had fled the town in panic.

"The clashes are some of the heaviest we have seen. The Republican Guard came to reinforce the regime army," he said.

Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters are locked in fierce battles with regime troops on the edge of the town, he added.

At least two civilians, a woman and a child, were killed by army bombardments on Daraya, the Observatory said, in the latest of several attempts to storm the town over the past few days, the watchdog said.

Considered a heartland of non-violent activism, Daraya was the site of the worst massacre in Syria's 20-month conflict, with more than 500 people killed there in late August, according to monitors.

The Observatory also reported shelling attacks across the eastern outskirts of Damascus while state media said two mortars hit the ministry of information in the west of the capital, causing no casualties.

In the northern province of Aleppo, rebels attacked the Sheikh Suleiman air defence battalion, less than two days after a military source said the insurgents took control of the sprawling Base 46 in the same province.

The Observatory said casualties from clashes in Ras al-Ain included four Kurdish fighters, a local Kurdish official, and 24 members of the Islamist Al-Nusra Front and Gharba al-Sham rebel battalions.

The Kurdish fighters are members of the People's Defence Units, the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is linked to Turkey's rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said the British-based watchdog.

A Ras al-Ain activist, who gave his name only as Hevidar, said that tension has been high between rebels an the PYD since the insurgents took the town last week.

The clashes on Monday erupted after a Kurdish demonstration, which demanded that all rebels not from the town leave, was met with refusal.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and medics in civilian and military hospitals, gave an initial toll of at least 30 people killed across Syria on Tuesday.

The dead include nine soldiers who died in the central town of Mahin, east of Homs, when a truck rigged with explosives was detonated near a weapons depot. At least 20 soldiers were wounded in the blast.

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Myanmar quake toll 26: Red Cross

THE Red Cross says the death toll has risen to 26 from an earthquake that damaged homes and ancient Buddhist pagodas in northern Myanmar.

The Red Cross said in a statement on Tuesday another 231 people were hurt in Sunday's magnitude-6.8 quake in the underdeveloped mining region.

Myanmar has a poor official disaster response system and lost upward of 140,000 people to a devastating cyclone in 2008.

The Red Cross says it provided aid to some families and is still assessing needs but that no external assistance will likely be needed.

Myanmar's second-biggest city of Mandalay is the nearest population centre to the quake but reported no casualties or major damage.

It is 117 kilometres south of the epicentre near the town of Shwebo.

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Warhols fetch $16.3m at Christie's

A PLAN to sell off the Andy Warhol Foundation's entire collection of works by the Pop artist has gotten off to a $US17 million ($A16.37 million) start at Christie's in New York.

The sale on Monday in Manhattan saw 91 per cent of lots going under the hammer. The 354 works auctioned were led by Endangered Species: San Francisco Silverspot, which sold for $1.26 million, in the range of the pre-sale $1-1.5 million estimate.

Endangered Species: Bighorn Ram, which had been estimated at $US700,000 to $US1 million, sold for $US842,500. Jackie doubled its high estimate, going for $US626,500.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced in September it was dispersing of its collection to bolster its grant-making capabilities, with Christie's the long-term partner. Some of the works will be donated to museums.

Amy Cappellazzo, head of contemporary art development at Christie's, said Monday's first sale "was met with enthusiasm by established and new collectors globally, including successful bidders from mainland China, Russia, the European Union, the Middle East and the Americas."

"Today's sales have set the stage beautifully for the next offering of works from the Collection of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which includes a selling exhibition in Hong Kong and the debut of online-only sales in February."

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Tassie premier Giddings celebrates 40th

TASMANIAN Premier Lara Giddings will celebrate her 40th birthday on Wednesday with a quiet dinner at the state's Parliament House with her family.

The youngest woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, Ms Giddings reaches the milestone after two years as a 30-something in the state's top job.

"I think I saw it more as a significant birthday when I was 39 and I saw it as the slippery slope to turning 40," Ms Giddings said in a statement to AAP.

"I have gotten so used to the idea of turning 40 that it is just another day. I have loved my 30s and I think my 40s will be great too.

Ms Giddings lost her seat in 1998 before being re-elected in 2002. She became a front-bencher in 2004 and deputy premier, under David Bartlett, in 2008.

As a 38-year-old, she became the state's 44th premier, and the first woman in the job, in January 2011, inheriting the Labor-Green power-sharing government.

Born Larissa Tahireh Giddings in Goroka, Papua New Guinea, in November 1972, the premier moved back to Tasmania, her family's home, in 1990 after completing school in Melbourne.

She studied arts and law at the University of Tasmania.

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Thousands gather for solar eclipse

ABOUT 60,000 enthusiasts, scientists and astronomers are set to gather in northern Australia to watch Australia's first full solar eclipse for a decade.

The eclipse, which will happen at around 6.39am (AEST) on Wednesday, is expected to be visible for about two minutes in small parts of the Cape York Peninsula and Northern Territory.

About 60,000 excited scientists, astronomers and eclipse tourists have converged on the region to watch the moon pass between the sun and the earth and cast a shadow over a 150km-wide swathe of land.

Dr Stuart Ryder, from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said it takes the moon about an hour to pass from first contact, when it begins to cross the sun's path, to totality, when the sun is completely obscured.

During those few minutes of totality, it will seem like a moonlit night.

"However, when you look at the sky in any direction for a couple of hundred kilometres, you can see parts of the atmosphere which are outside the moon's shadow," he told AAP recently.

For residents across the rest of Australia, a partial - but not total - eclipse will be visible on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world can follow the event via cyberspace, or the twitterverse.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland and NASA are providing a live stream of the full eclipse, which is expected to garner an audience of millions, with particular interest in North America, Canada and Europe.

The Slooh Space Camera will also broadcast live images via its website, slooh.com.

Wednesday's event is the first full solar eclipse visible from Australia since 2002 - and that was only visible in the nation's south.

The next solar eclipse to be visible from Australia is expected on May next year, but it will only be an annular eclipse (where the sun is still visible around the edges of the moon).

* Eclipse watchers should remember to wear safety goggles or view the event through simple projection devices, which can be made of cardboard. Even while hidden behind the moon, the sun is incredibly powerful. Just a few seconds of looking at it directly can cause blindness.

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New Israeli warnings on Gaza

DEFENCE Minister Ehud Barak is warning that a flare-up in violence with Gaza is "not over," with Palestinian militants firing two rockets and Israel carrying out air strikes overnight.

The violence that began on Saturday appeared to have slowed considerably, with Gaza militants firing two rockets into Israel on Tuesday, hours after they said they would commit to a ceasefire if the Jewish state did the same.

Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes against several targets overnight, which caused no injuries, although medics in Gaza said on Tuesday a seventh person had died in the violence, succumbing to wounds he sustained on Saturday.

Palestinian eyewitnesses on Tuesday afternoon reported new shelling in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, where AFP reporters saw damage to a house.

They also reported an Israeli air strike elsewhere in northern Gaza, although the military said it had no information on either incident.

Barak, meeting Israeli military chiefs, warned that the current round of confrontations was ongoing, adding that Israel would decide how and when to respond to the rocket fire.

"It is certainly not over and we will decide how and when to act if necessary," he said in remarks communicated by his office.

"We intend to reinforce the deterrence - and strengthen it - so that we are able to operate along the length of the border fence in a way that will ensure the security of all our soldiers who are serving around the Gaza Strip," he said.

"At this time... it is preferable to act (in a timely fashion) rather than just talk."

On Monday night, Israeli planes struck three sites in Gaza, which the military identified as a weapons facility and two rocket launch sites.

And the following morning, the army said militants fired two rockets into Israel, causing no injuries, with local media reporting one of them was a longer-range Grad rocket, which landed near the coastal town of Ashdod.

In Gaza, medics said 20-year-old Mohammed Ziad, a member of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, died on Tuesday of wounds he sustained on Saturday, after the flare-up began when militants fired at an Israeli army jeep.

That attack injured four soldiers and prompted a quick escalation in violence, with Israel carrying out air strikes and shelling that killed six other Palestinians and injured more than 30.

Gaza militants fired 123 rockets into southern Israel, lightly injuring four people. The military said 19 rockets were fired on Monday, four of which were intercepted by its Iron Dome system.

Despite Barak's comments, and a series of bellicose statements from Israeli politicians on Monday, other officials sounded a more cautious tone on Tuesday.

"I don't think it will be necessary to enter the Gaza Strip," former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told Israel's army radio.

"The army has at its disposal a series of measures that it has not yet used, it can raise the level of its response without resorting to a ground operation."

Egyptian-led efforts are still under way to secure a ceasefire, with Gaza's main militant groups, led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, on Monday saying they were ready for a ceasefire if Israel "stops its aggression" against the territory.

"The response of the resistance depends on whether the Zionist aggression against our people is continued," they said at a Gaza City news conference.

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