'Frevo' Carnival tradition a world treasure

THE Frevo, the frenetic musical tradition associated with Brazil's Carnival, has been designated by UNESCO as an intangible world heritage treasure.

The music and dance, common in the city of Recife, will now stand alongside the likes of the Argentine Tango and the French gastronomic meal under U.N. safeguarding.

A committee of the U.N. culture agency wrapped up an annual week-long session Friday. It was tasked with designating for protection endangered elements of global culture - such as non-material rituals and traditions.

Other "intangible" treasures picked this year include the "Fest-Noz," the traditional dance from Brittany, France, and "Arirang," the Korean national folk song.

Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, says "The concept of intangible heritage, poorly understood just a few years ago, has gained ground everywhere."

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Belgium raises terror level over film

BELGIUM has raised its terror threat level to the second-highest ahead of the release of a new home-made film on the internet next week criticising the Prophet Mohammed.

Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said on Friday the decision by a terror analysis and coordination unit was "a simple preventative measure", taking the level of threat up from two to three out of a maximum of four.

The decision was taken ahead of the release, planned for December 14, of The Innocent Prophet which an online trailer says is "from the point of view of an ex-Muslim".

The film is presented as the work of a man living in Spain called Imran Firasat and said to be inspired by The Innocence of Muslims, a film released in September that triggered a wave of anti-US protests across the Middle East and blamed for more than 30 deaths.

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Troubled UN climate talks stall

UN climate negotiators have locked horns on the final day of talks in Doha to halt the march of global warming, deeply divided on funding for poor countries and extending the greenhouse gas-curbing Kyoto Protocol.

Delegates knuckled down for a late night of final haggling to find consensus on an interim plan to rein in climate change and smooth the way to a new deal that must enter into force in 2020.

Funding to help poor countries deal with the fallout from global warming and convert to planet-friendlier energy sources remained a key sticking point between negotiators from nearly 200 countries gathered in the Qatari capital.

"We cannot close the (negotiations) without... finance," Gambian negotiator Pa Ousman Jarju told a late-afternoon press conference.

"We cannot leave here with a financing cut."

Developed countries are being pressed to show how they intend to keep a promise to raise climate funding for poorer nations to $US100 billion ($96 million) per year by 2020 - up from a total of $US30 billion in 2010-2012.

Developing countries say they need at least another $US60 billion between now and 2015, starting with $US20 billion from next year, to deal with increased droughts, floods, rising sea levels and storms.

But the United States and European Union have refused to put concrete figures on the table for 2013-2020 funding, citing tough financial times.

"The EU cannot accept a text that includes a commitment to $60 billion in public money in 2015 considering the budget constraints that we face," French development minister Pascal Canfin told journalists.

Also in dispute is "hot air," the name given to Earth-warming greenhouse gas emission quotas that countries were given under the first leg of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and did not use - some 13 billion tonnes in total.

The credits can be sold to nations battling to meet their own quotas, meaning greenhouse gas levels decrease on paper but not in the atmosphere.

Poland and Russia emitted much less than their lenient limits, and insisted in Doha on being allowed to bank the difference beyond 2012 - a move most other parties vehemently oppose.

Agreement on hot air is key to the Doha delegates extending the life of the Kyoto pact, whose first leg expires on December 31.

The protocol is the world's only binding pact on curbing greenhouse gases, but it locks in only developed nations and excludes major developing polluters such as China and India, as well as the United States, which refused to ratify it.

A new 2020 deal, due to be finalised by 2015, will include commitments for all the nations of the world.

The duration of an interim "second commitment period" of Kyoto is also in contention.

"I understand that every party may not be fully satisfied with the individual outcomes that you are considering," conference president Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah of Qatar told delegates.

"I would like to ask you not to see any of these in isolation but rather consider them all part of an overall, balanced package that allows Doha to be a gateway to increased climate action."

NGOs and delegates have expressed frustration at the pace of negotiations that coincided with a slew of fresh scientific warnings that Earth faces a calamitous future of more frequent extreme weather events.

"This is about human survival," Greenpeace chief executive Kumi Naidoo said in the final hours of the talks.

The Philippines urged bickering climate negotiators Thursday to take heed from the deadly typhoon that struck the archipelago this week and wake up to the realities of global warming.

"As we sit here, every single hour, even as we vacillate and procrastinate here, the death toll is rising," said climate envoy Naderev Sano.

But France's Canfin said the talks could still drag out.

"We have not advanced much since this morning."

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Monti teeters as Berlusconi party attacks

PRIME Minister Mario Monti's government hangs by a thread as Silvio Berlusconi prepares to return to the fray, with his supporters arguing that Italy is economically now far worse off than before.

"We believe the experience of the Monti government is over," Angelino Alfano, leader of Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, told parliament on Friday.

But he said the PDL wanted an "orderly conclusion" to the legislature, meaning the party will not try to bring down the government.

PDL MPs on Thursday abstained from confidence votes in the government in protest at Monti's policies, but stopped short of bringing down the executive they have supported until now.

"We backed the government thinking that things would get better, but they got worse," Alfano said.

"Public debt has risen, there is no development strategy, GDP has gone down, industrial production has plunged, unemployment has gone up, taxes have gone up, the construction sector and the property market have collapsed," he said.

Alfano said on Thursday Berlusconi would run for office again although the 76-year-old three-time prime minister himself has made no announcement.

It would be his sixth bid to become prime minister in two decades of political life for the billionaire media tycoon.

"I am being assailed by requests to return to the field as soon as possible," Berlusconi said in a statement Wednesday after meeting party leaders.

"Italy today is on the edge of a cliff. I cannot allow this," he said, adding: "The situation now is far worse than when I left office last year."

Renewed political tensions in Italy spooked the financial markets but commentators said a major crisis was unlikely since Monti's government was already coming to an end.

President Giorgio Napolitano has also sought to reassure the public, saying these were only "pre-election tensions" ahead of a general election expected to be held in March or April next year.

The yields between benchmark Italian and German 10-year sovereign bonds meanwhile widened to 330 points on Friday from around 300 points on Monday.

A poll by the SWG Institute on Friday gave Berlusconi's PDL just 13.8 per cent of the vote - compared to the 38 per cent it won in the 2008 general election.

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Chemical weapons watchdog concerned

THE world chemical weapons watchdog has asked Syria to sign up to a convention banning their use, expressing "serious concerns" that for the first time in the agreement's history they might be used.

The announcement by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) came amid speculation that Syria is considering using chemical weapons in its war with rebel forces.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Friday any such move would be an "outrageous crime". On Monday, US President Barack Obama warned Assad of "consequences" if he used chemical weapons against his people.

"For the first time in the history of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in April 1997, there are serious concerns that chemical weapons might be used," OPCW director general Ahmet Uzumcu said in a statement.

Uzumcu said he had written to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem "urging his government to accede to the convention without delay".

The Hague-based OPCW has in the past repeatedly asked Damascus to sign up to the convention, but to no avail.

"Syria has an opportunity to assure the international community that it repudiates chemical weapons by agreeing to join the Chemical Weapons Convention," Uzumcu said.

Signatories of the convention grant the OPCW access to a country's facilities, including verifying the destruction of chemical weapons that they might possess.

US officials said privately this week the Syrian regime had begun mixing precursor chemicals that could be used for sarin, a lethal nerve agent. Some media reports said the substance had been loaded into bombs for warplanes.

The comments came amid fierce fighting on the outskirts of Damascus and growing fears in Western capitals that the increasingly desperate regime might decide to use some of its chemical arms.

Washington worries that battlefield advances by rebels could prompt Assad to use chemical weapons; or that such stocks could become insecure or find their way into the hands of groups hostile to the United States and its allies.

UN chief Ban told journalists at a Syrian refugee camp in the Turkish border town of Islahiye that the use of chemical weapons would be "outrageous".

"If it is the case, then it will be an outrageous crime in the name of humanity," he said Friday.

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Homeless man charged in NY subway death

US authorities have charged a homeless man in the death of a New York resident pushed in front of an oncoming subway train and killed as onlookers watched.

Naeem Davis, 30, was arraigned on Wednesday night on a second-degree murder charge and ordered held without bail in the death of 58-year-old Ki-suck Han on Monday. He is due back in court on December 11.

As the handcuffed defendant walked past reporters, he blamed the victim for what happened.

"He attacked me first. He grabbed me," Davis said.

Asked by a television news reporter if he meant to kill Han, Davis replied "No."

Prosecutor James Lin told the judge that Davis saw the train strike Han before leaving the Times Square station.

"The defendant never once offered any aid to the victim as the train approached the platform and in fact, this defendant watched the train hit the victim," Lin said.

But Davis' Legal Aid lawyer, Stephen Pokart, said outside court that his client reportedly "was involved in an incident with a man who was drunk and angry."

A witness, Leigh Weingus, told The New York Times that Han appeared to be aggressive towards Davis.

Han's wife had said she had argued with her husband that morning and that he had been drinking.

Han's death got widespread attention not only for its horrific nature, but because he was photographed a split-second before the train trapped him and seemingly no one attempted to come to his aid.

A freelance photographer for the New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, was waiting for a train on Monday afternoon when he said he saw a man approach Han at the Times Square station, get into an altercation with him and push him into the train's path.

The Post photo in Tuesday's edition showed Han with his head turned towards the train, his arms reaching up but unable to climb off the tracks in time.

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, told NBC's Today show on Wednesday that he was trying to alert the motorman to what was going on by flashing his camera.

He said he was shocked that people nearer to the victim didn't try to help in the 22 seconds before the train struck.

"The people who were standing close to him ... they could have moved and grabbed him and pulled him up. No one made an effort," he added.

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US stocks open flat

US stocks are mixed in early trade as markets continue in their generally sideways drift in a patient wait for a political deal in the fiscal cliff deficit talks.

After 30 minutes of trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18.97 points (0.15 per cent) to 13,015.52.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.94 (0.14 per cent) to 1,407.34, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.57 (0.02 per cent) at 2,974.27.

US weekly jobless claims did not surprise at 370,000, settling back to the year's general range after spiking higher for three weeks because of superstorm Sandy.

Fiscal cliff talks continued, with both sides moving slightly closer via hints at compromise but no real news to confirm that the sharp tax hikes and spending cuts programmed for January 1 will be averted.

Apple, which took its sharpest fall in four years on Wednesday, opened more than two per cent lower before rebounding; it was down 0.3 per cent at $US537.23.

Investors continued to dump shares of miner Freeport-McMoRan after it announced a $US9 billion ($A8.65 billion) deal to buy two US oil and gas firms at hefty premiums.

Investors criticised the deals, saying they appeared to heavily benefit the board members and top shareholders in Freeport that also had interests in the other two companies, McMoRan Exploration and Plains Exploration.

Freeport shares were down 4.0 per cent, after losing 16 per cent Wednesday.

Plains lost 2.3 per cent and McMoRan 0.2 per cent.

Bond prices gained. The 10-year US Treasury yield dipped to 1.57 per cent from 1.59 per cent late Wednesday, while the 30-year fell to 2.76 per cent from 2.78 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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Bus driver finds, hands in $500,000

VIENNA'S transport authority says a city bus driver checking a bag left behind by a passenger had the surprise of his life - 390,000 euros ($488,000) in neatly stacked 500-euro bills.

Transit authority spokeswoman Anna-Maria Reich says the driver handed the stash to police who tracked down the owner, an unidentified elderly woman.

But the driver has nothing to show for his honesty beyond praise from superiors. Weeks later, the owner has not contacted him to offer a reward.

The incident happened last month and Ms Reich confirmed details first reported by several Austrian tabloids.

It was unclear why the woman was carrying so much cash.

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Tough Aussie's visa battle to stay in UK

AN Australian man recognised for his bravery after suffering knife wounds while protecting elderly women on a London bus has been refused the right to remain in the UK, a newspaper reports.

Tim Smits, 33, from Melbourne, was stabbed and punched when he stood up to thugs on a bus in September 2011, Britain's Evening Standard newspaper reported.

His actions earned him a local council citizenship award and an honour from the Carnegie Hero Trust Fund.

However, the UK Border Agency has rejected the graphic artist's application for a compassionate extension to his visa.

Mr Smits spent months recovering from the violent attack for which two men were jailed.

"What needs to happen before it's compelling and compassionate?" Mr Smits told the Standard on Thursday of his visa extension application.

"The refusal letter was a massive hammer blow - a kick in the balls I just didn't need.... I had dealt with so much already.

"All the appreciation I have had from the community has really kept up my spirits, but the coldness of the Border Agency and lack of compassion has made me sick.

"It's made me question if I want to live in a country that wants to kick me out, even though I love it here. It doesn't give you much faith in humanity."

Mr Smits, who has appealed the rejection of his visa application, stood up to two 19-year-old men who began abusing fellow bus passengers on a suburban London route. He was knifed by one of the teens and punched by another.

A

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US unemployment aid applications drop

THE number of people seeking US unemployment aid fell sharply last week as a temporary spike caused by superstorm Sandy has faded. Weekly applications have fallen back to a level consistent with modest hiring.

The Labour Department said on Thursday that applications dropped 25,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 370,000.

Unemployment aid applications spiked a month ago after Sandy shuttered businesses in the Northeast. Applications jumped to 451,000 in the week ended November 10. People can claim unemployment benefits if their workplaces are forced to close and they aren't paid.

Some analysts were encouraged by how quickly applications have returned to pre-storm levels. Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics, said the rapid drop suggests companies are quickly re-hiring workers displaced by the storm. Rebuilding and repair efforts could also be creating jobs, he said.

The early impact of Sandy can still be seen in the four-week average. It rose to 408,000 last week.

Before the storm hit on October 29, applications had fluctuated this year between 360,000 and 390,000. They topped 400,000 for most of last year.

The storm is also likely to depress November's job figures, which the government will report on Friday. And fears over looming tax increases and spending cuts, known as the "fiscal cliff," may have also dragged on job gains last month.

Economists think the unemployment rate will remain 7.9 per cent. Most analysts say the underlying economy remains healthy and is creating jobs at a modest but steady pace.

Without the depressive effects of Superstorm Sandy and the cliff, many think employers would have added up to 200,000 jobs last month - even stronger than the solid 171,000 jobs added in October. And it would be better than the 174,000 jobs a month averaged in the July-September quarter.

The number of people continuing to receive unemployment aid also fell. Total recipients dropped almost 225,000 to just under 5 million in the week ended November 17, the latest data available.

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Somali Islamists attack Puntland troops

SOMALIA'S Islamist Shebab have killed at least ten soldiers from the northern Puntland region, an area where the al-Qaeda linked militants are feared to be carving out new bases, officials say.

Khalif Issa Mudan, defence minister of the semi-autonomous region, said that ten of his troops "were killed by Shebab after a roadside bomb exploded by their vehicle" on the road to the mountainous Galgala area late on Tuesday.

"We killed seven of the Shebab... and now our troops are now hunting down the others who carried out the attack," Mudan said.

The Shebab, who claimed to have also raided an army base, said they had killed 29 soldiers, with four of their own fighters killed.

"We attacked a military camp near Bossaso," Shebab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab said, referring to the main port in the region.

Shebab fighters, long active mainly in southern and central Somalia, are on the back foot, reeling from a string of losses as they battle a 17,000-strong African Union force as well as Ethiopian troops and Somali forces.

But as the fighters flee a series of once powerful strongholds - including most recently the strategic and lucrative southern port of Kismayo - Galgala in the northern Golis mountains has provided refuge.

The Golis mountains, straddling the porous border between the autonomous state of Puntland and self-declared independent Somaliland, is honeycombed with caves and difficult to access.

The northern mountains have been under the longtime control of warlord, arms dealer and Shebab ally Mohamed Said Atom, on UN Security Council sanctions for "kidnapping, piracy and terrorism."

Puntland forces battled Atom's troops in 2010-2011, damaging his militia force but failing to crush the militants, and the Shebab have since bolstered the fighters in the region.

The Shebab, who abandoned fixed positions in the war-torn capital Mogadishu last year, have also carried out a series of guerrilla attacks there, including suicide bombings.

AFP a

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US stocks mixed in opening trade

US stocks have opened mixed after a weak November private-sector jobs report reflected the impact of the devastating superstorm Sandy.

After five minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.62 points (0.32 per cent) at 12,993.40.

The S&P 500-stock index edged up 1.52 points (0.11 per cent) to 1408.57 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 5.74 (0.19 per cent) to 2990.95.

Before the opening bell, payrolls firm ADP reported businesses added just 118,000 jobs in November to the economy, down from 157,000 in October.

Moody's Analytics estimated that Sandy, which battered the Northeast in late October, had sliced 86,000 jobs from the total.

"Abstracting from the storm, the job market turned in a good performance during the month," said Marc Zandi, Moody's chief economist.

US stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday as Washington continued to wrangle over a budget plan that would avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff."

The Dow slipped 0.11 per cent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.17 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 0.18 per cent.

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Israel advances settlement plan

AN Israeli plan to build new settler homes in a sensitive area near Jerusalem has passed a first hurdle, sparking fury from the Palestinians, who said building there would end all hopes of peace.

Israel's plan for construction in a strip of West Bank land outside Jerusalem called E1 has sparked a major diplomatic backlash, with experts warning it could wipe out hopes of establishing a viable Palestinian state.

"If Israel decides to start building in E1 and approves all the settlements in it, we consider it to be an Israeli decision to end the peace process and the two-state solution, which ends any chance of talking about peace in the future," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP on Wednesday.

He spoke shortly after Israeli radio stations said a defence ministry planning committee which met on Wednesday gave its green light for the plan to be deposited for public approval, pushing it one step ahead in the planning process.

The Civil Administration's planning committee "approved the program for new building in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim," public radio said.

Maaleh Adumim is a settlement some five kilometres from the eastern edge of Jerusalem.

Public radio said the committee had approved plans for 3200 homes in E1 and in annexed east Jerusalem, which would now be made available for public objections.

"For two months the public will be able to submit objections to the project and after that the debate on continuing it will continue," it said.

Army radio ran a similar report, saying the Civil Administration had "approved moving ahead with the project to build in E1 between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim."

Observers say Israeli plans to build in E1 and connect Maaleh Adumim with east Jerusalem would effectively prevent the future establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state, dooming the two-state solution.

Earlier, an Israeli official confirmed that the defence ministry committee had begun examining plans to build in E1 that have been on hold since 2005 following heavy US pressure.

"After that it will need to go through another few stages," he told AFP.

"Final approval for the plan will have to come from the political level. There won't be any bulldozers going in any time soon. It will take at least several months, if not years."

News of Israel's intention to push ahead with plans to build in E1 emerged on Friday, a day after the Palestinians won UN non-member state observer status, in what was a major diplomatic blow to the Jewish state as it tried to block the move.

It sparked an immediate outcry from top diplomats in Washington and Brussels, with at least six governments summoning the Israeli ambassador to protest at the move.

The UN warned the plan could deal an "almost fatal blow" to the two-state solution.

Earlier, Israel's Haaretz newspaper said that the committee was examining plans to build 1200 homes in the southern sector of E1 and another 2176 in the eastern part.

Construction there has been on Israel's radar since the early 1990s, but the plans were never implemented because of heavy pressure, largely from Washington.

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EU, US in alliance to hit web child sex

THE 27-nation European Union, the United States and a score of other countries including Australia have launched a "global alliance" to stamp out trade in online images and videos of child sexual abuse.

"Child sexual abuse online is a hideous crime and it is also a hidden crime, often perpetrated in the darkest corners of the web," the EU's home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said at a joint news conference with US Attorney General Eric Holder.

"It is very hard and painful to talk about it. It is such a horrible thing that sometimes we just want to close our eyes in front of it," she said.

The launch follows an agreement a year ago between Holder and Malmstroem to try to place the fight against the "disgusting crimes" of online child abuse high on the global agenda.

She said images of helpless children being tortured and raped were increasingly circulating on the web, with an estimated one million such images available online and 50,000 new pictures uploaded every year.

"This is why we are here today: to say loud and clear that we are serious about combating child sexual abuse online," she said.

"When these images are circulated online, they can live on forever. Our responsibility is to protect children wherever they live and to bring criminals to justice wherever they operate. The only way to achieve this is to team up for more intensive and better coordinated action worldwide", said Malmstroem.

Holder said the initiative "will strengthen our mutual resources to bring more perpetrators to justice, identify more victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that they receive our help and support,"

Along with the 27 EU members and the US, the members of the Alliance include Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

One of the aims of the alliance is to establish dedicated law enforcement units for these crimes in all countries and make it easier to initiate joint cross-border police investigations.

Countries also committed to making sure that the Interpol international database of child abuse material grows by 10 per cent annually.

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Starbucks to open 1500 more cafes in US

STARBUCKS, the world's biggest coffee company, is planning to add at least 1500 cafes in the US over the next five years.

The plan, which would boost the number of Starbucks cafes in the country by about 13 per cent, was announced at the company's investor day in New York on Wednesday.

In addition, the Seattle-based company says it will eventually serve a new brand of tea in its cafes. Rather than its Tazo tea, Starbucks is turning its attention to Teavana, which it announced it would acquire last month.

Worldwide, the company says it will have more than 20,000 cafes by 2014, up from its current count of about 18,000. Much of that growth will come from China, which the company says will surpass Canada as its second-biggest market.

Although Starbucks has been intensifying its growth overseas and building its packaged-goods business back at home, the majority of its revenue still comes from its more than 11,100 cafes in the United States.

In an interview ahead of its investor day, CEO Howard Schultz said the US expansion plans are based "on the current strength of our business"

Just a few months ago, the company had predicted it would open just 1000 new cafes in the country over the next five years.

The upbeat expansion plans mark a turnaround from Starbucks' struggles during the recession. After hitting a rough patch, the company brought back Schultz as CEO in 2008 and embarked on massive restructuring effort that included closing 10 per cent of its US stores.

The picture isn't rosy around the globe, however. Europe remains a sore spot for Starbucks, with a key sales figure falling in the region of one per cent during the latest quarter. In an effort to boost results, the company has been closing underperforming stores and licensing off some of its cafes in the region.

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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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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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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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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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Clinton lobbies Czech govt on power plant

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lobbied the Czech government on Monday to approve an American bid for a $US10 billion ($A9.63 billion) expansion of a nuclear power plant amid fierce competition from a rival Russian offer.

Clinton made her pitch for the American energy giant Westinghouse Electric Co. in meetings with Prime Minister Petr Necas and other senior Czech officials in Prague. Speaking to reporters, she stressed the need for the Czech Republic to wean itself off of a dependency on Russia for fuel.

"We are encouraging the Czech Republic to diversify its energy sources and suppliers," Clinton said. "Given how long-term and strategic this investment is, the Czech people deserve the best value, the most tested and trustworthy technology, an outstanding safety record, responsible and accountable management."

The Czechs get 60 per cent of their oil, 70 per cent of their natural gas and all of their nuclear reactor fuel from Russia. That leaves the NATO member highly susceptible to economic and political pressure from Moscow, which dominated the Central European country from the end of World War II to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Revitalising the Temelin nuclear power plant is a big part of the Czech agenda to radically boost its nuclear power production, defying global scepticism about the use of atomic energy in the aftermath of last year's meltdown at Japan's Fukushima plant. And the Obama administration is hoping to get some of the windfall by securing Westinghouse's bid. The project could generate 9,000 American jobs, US officials said.

For the United States, the battle for the Temelin contract is an example of an increasingly prominent element of foreign policy: Going to bat for American companies. If this was once a less-promoted if widely understood element of private diplomatic relations, what Clinton calls "economic statecraft" has now become an endeavour US officials proudly promote as part of their jobs-building effort for the United States.

"We are not shy about pressing the case for Westinghouse," Clinton said. "We believe that company offers the best option for the project in terms of technology and safety. It would clearly enhance Czech energy security and further the nuclear cooperation between our countries, and it would create jobs and economic opportunity for Czechs and Americans."

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Ukraine's government, PM resign en masse

UKRAINIAN Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire government resigned on Monday in a surprise move after controversial elections as the economy teeters on the brink of recession.

The presidency said President Viktor Yanukovych had accepted Azarov's request to give up his post and become an MP, a move expected to be repeated by several cabinet ministers.

It remained unclear who would fill the powerful post of premier, with some analysts speculating it could go to a member of the elite close to Yanukovych known as the "Family".

"President Viktor Yanukovych accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, satisfying the demand of the latter," the statement added.

The move comes as a new parliament prepares to meet after October 28 legislative elections which raised new concerns about democratic standards under Yanukovych.

The ruling Regions Party appears to have retained control of the Verkhovna Rada with the help of independents despite a strong challenge from the opposition parties of boxer Vitali Klitschko and imprisoned ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

OSCE observers slammed the polls as a setback for Ukraine, marred by the absence of Tymoshenko who is serving a seven-year sentence on abuse of power charges she says were trumped up by Yanukovych.

But economists also fear the country is entering troubled times and could be on the brink of a new recession that would see it seek billions of dollars in disbursements from an IMF standby package.

Ukraine's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, and several banks fear the country is heading for zero growth in 2012, not to mention a sharp devaluation of the local currency.

"This (the resignation) is linked to a number of economic challenges which Ukraine has fallen into thanks to this president and this government," said opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

A Russian-speaking bureaucrat mocked by many in Ukraine for his dry and humourless image, Azarov took office in 2010 shortly after Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko in a fiercely contested presidential election.

Azarov has always been seen as a close ally of Yanukovych, but some analysts believe his power base has been undermined by the recent rise of a "Family" of close acquaintances of the president into top positions.

Possible successors to Azarov could include First Deputy Prime Minister Valery Khoroshkovsky and National Bank chief Sergiy Arbuzov, analysts said.

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Putin holds talks in Turkey

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Monday on a trip focused on resolving sharp differences over the near 21-month conflict raging in Syria.

Protesters chanted anti-Putin slogans outside Erdogan's office and another demonstration was staged outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul before the two leaders began their meeting.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Russian strongman will raise with Erdogan the planned deployment by NATO of Patriot missiles along Turkey's volatile border with Syria, the Interfax news agency reported.

The missile deployment "worries Russia and does not facilitate stability of the already fragile situation" in the region, Peskov said.

Turkey insists the US-made Patriots would be used for purely defensive purposes but Russia has warned that such a move could spark a broader conflict that would draw in the Western military alliance.

NATO's response is expected this week.

"Russia's position is consistent and absolutely transparent: one cannot support one side in the conflict, this cannot facilitate the settlement of the situation," Peskov was quoted as saying. "Active support of one side only provokes a conflict."

Putin was originally due to travel to Turkey in early October, but the visit was postponed because of tensions over the conflict in Syria and amid speculation about Putin's health.

Turkey, once an ally of the Damascus regime, has become one of its fiercest critics over the bloody crackdown on a rebellion that has developed into civil war and that monitoring groups say has killed more than 40,000 people.

But Moscow remains one of the few allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, routinely blocking resolutions against his regime at the UN Security Council.

Last month, Erdogan said Russia held the key to the Syrian conflict, and that if Moscow took a "positive" stance in the Security Council it could push another key Damascus ally Iran to review its policies.

Russian-Turkish tensions came to a head in October when Turkey intercepted a Syrian plane en route from Moscow to Damascus on suspicion that it had military cargo, drawing an angry response from Russia.

In Istanbul on Monday, Putin and Erdogan will co-chair a high-level cooperation council meeting, a mechanism established between the two countries to foster ties.

Putin is also due to speak by telephone with Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

It is Putin's first trip outside Russia since he visited Tajikistan on October 5 and follows speculation that the normally globe-trotting leader is having health problems.

Official pictures handed out to the press for the Istanbul meeting showed the Russian leader in good health.

Russian media reports have said Putin is suffering from a back injury, caused possibly by a bad fall while playing his favourite sport judo or falling off his horse.

His aides admitted Putin was suffering from a light sports injury when he was spotted limping at an Asian summit in September, but have denied this had had any impact on his schedule.

Putin's absence from long distance travel has also dented his strongman image.

"I ask you not to be concerned. Not to worry. Everything is fine with his health," Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said on Friday, quoted by Russian news agencies.

"He had a minor sports injury," Ivanov added. "No one is immune from sports injuries."

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RBA to deliver a pre-Christmas rate cut

CONCERNS about slowing domestic growth should move the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to deliver an interest rate cut in time for Christmas.

The RBA board meets on Tuesday (December 4) for its last monthly rate decision until February next year, and an AAP survey of 15 economists shows that most expect a cut of 0.25 percentage points.

At its last board meeting on November 6, the RBA kept the cash rate unchanged at 3.25 per cent.

But data since, showing a slowdown in planned mining activity, plus continued weakness in the housing, manufacturing and retail sectors, are likely to push the central bank over the line, economists say.

The RBA cut the cash rate in May, June and October, but it appears the effect of this easing is only starting to be felt in the economy.

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Duchess of Cambridge pregnant

KATE Middleton is expecting a baby and has been admitted to hospital with acute morning sickness, St James' Palace has announced.

The BBC reports that members of the royal family are delighted by the news.

A Palace spokesman said the duchess was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in central Lnodon with very acute morning sickness and is expected to stay for several days.

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Israel called to explain targeting reporters

ISRAEL must provide an "immediate and detailed explanation" for its targeting of journalists during last month's Gaza conflict.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "gravely concerned that Israeli airstrikes targeted individual journalists and media facilities in the Gaza Strip between November 18 and 20."

The New-York based CPJ noted that two cameramen for Hamas's Al-Aqsa television station and the director of the private Al-Quds Educational Radio were killed by Israel during its eight-day military campaign to halt rocket fire from Gaza.

At least three media buildings, including one housing AFP's Gaza office, were hit during the conflict.

"Israeli officials have broadly asserted that the individuals and facilities had connections to terrorist activity but have disclosed no substantiation for these very serious allegations," the letter reads.

The group says it has made repeated requests to Israel's military and defence ministry seeking explanations.

"We request your government provide an immediate and detailed explanation for its actions," CPJ executive director Joel Simon wrote.

Mr Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev said Israel would reply to the CPJ's letter via Israel's US ambassador.

He stressed to AFP that "Israel made every effort possible to avoid killing journalists caught up in the crossfire."

"There were a number of situations where terrorist operatives used journalists as human shields, in those cases we acted as surgically as humanly possible," he said.

He blamed Gaza rulers Hamas, as well as militant group Islamic Jihad for adopting "a deliberate policy of using journalists as human shields."

"People concerned about the wellbeing of journalists should possibly raise these concerns with both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but I suppose one doesn't have high expectations of terrorist groups," he said.

CPJ said all journalists "regardless of the perspective from which they report" were entitled to protection under international law.

"The Israeli government does not have the right to selectively define who is and who is not a journalist based on national identity or media affiliation," the group wrote.

Mr Regev said "nobody is targeted because of their opinions," but his office and the Israeli military could not provide details on the alleged non-media activities of the journalists targeted.

"Many times we cannot share sensitive information with the broad public," army spokesman Aryeh Shalicar said, insisting those targeted were militants.

"Not only were they terrorists, they were using the cover of the press to continue their actions," he said. "Based on our sources, we know exactly who we hit, and stand behind our actions."

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'Now we have a state,' Abbas says

PALESTINIAN president Mahmud Abbas returned to the West Bank on Sunday after winning upgraded UN status for the Palestinians, telling cheering crowds: "Yes, now we have a state."

"Palestine has accomplished a historic achievement at the UN," Abbas added, three days after the United Nations General Assembly granted the Palestinians non-member state observer status in a 138-9 vote.

"The world said in a loud voice... yes to the state of Palestine, yes to Palestine's freedom, yes to Palestine's independence, no to aggression, no to settlements, no to occupation," Abbas told the ecstatic crowd.

Abbas pledged that after the victory at the United Nations, his "first and most important" task would be working to achieve Palestinian unity and reviving efforts to reconcile rival factions Fatah and Hamas.

"We will study over the course of the coming days the steps necessary to achieve reconciliation," he said, as the crowd chanted "The people want the end of the division."

The return was a moment of triumph for Abbas, who last year tried and failed to win the Palestinians full state membership at the United Nations.

The bid stalled in the Security Council, where the veto-wielding United States has vehemently opposed it.

The United States, Israel and a handful of other countries also opposed the Palestinian bid to upgrade their status to that of a non-member observer state, but with no vetoes available in the General Assembly, the measure easily passed.

The move gives the Palestinians access to a range of international institutions, including potentially the International Criminal Court, and raises their international profile after years of stalled peace talks with Israel.

Abbas was received with a full honour guard, descending from his car to walk along a red carpet at the Ramallah presidential headquarters known as the Muqataa, where he shook hands with waiting dignitaries.

He laid a wreath and said a brief prayer at the grave of the iconic late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is buried within the presidential complex, later dedicating the UN victory to the former president's memory.

Abbas called the approval a milestone in Palestinian history, saying it was the achievement of Palestinians everywhere.

"Our people everywhere, raise your heads up high because you are Palestinians," he said. "You are stronger than the occupation... because you are Palestinians.

"You are stronger than the settlements because you are Palestinians," he added. "You are making history and Palestine will be drawn on the map very soon."

Abbas's return drew supporters from across the West Bank, including Bajis Bani Fadl, from the northern town of Nablus.

"I came to celebrate this day because the Palestinian leadership accomplished a great achievement, and this is a joy we haven't experienced in our lives," he told AFP.

"President Abbas... took us from a historical stage to a new stage, although it won't be easy to become a state on the ground," Mohammed Bani Audeh, 54, added.

"I know that the pressures will increase on us now, but these pressures don't mean anything, particularly if we achieve our unity."

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Rudd, Turnbull voters' choice, poll shows

ABSENCE has made voters' hearts grow fonder for Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull, who hold big leads over Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, a Galaxy poll shows.

After a brutal week in federal parliament, Mr Rudd is preferred leader by 27 per cent of voters, followed by Mr Turnbull with 23 per cent.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard trails with 18 per cent support as better leader and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at 17 per cent, according to the poll published in The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Rudd and Mr Turnbull enjoy the most support from each others' parties with 18 per cent of coalition supporters tipping Mr Rudd as the better leader while 13 per cent of Labor people think Mr Turnbull is the better leader.

Both former leaders' popularity with voters has bounced back after their standings sank before each was rolled by their parties.

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No US budget deal without tax hikes

LEAD White House negotiator Timothy Geithner insisted Sunday there would be no deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" unless Republicans allowed tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to rise.

Talks to avoid the dreaded "fiscal cliff" are at a dangerous impasse after President Barack Obama's opening gambit in the high-stakes negotiations was shot down by leading Republicans on Thursday as "ridiculous."

Markets are jittery as, without a deal by the year-end, a poison pill of tax hikes and massive spending cuts, including slashes to the military, comes into effect with potentially catastrophic effects for the fragile US economy.

Budget negotiations go right to the heart of ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans on the size and scope of government, but the biggest sticking point has clearly been on tax rates for high-earners.

Obama campaigned on a platform of raising taxes on individuals who make more than $200,000 per year and on families that rake in more than $250,000, as a way of raising extra revenue to tame the deficit.

Republicans insist that raising taxes on the wealthy would be counter-productive, hurt small business owners, slow economic growth and dampen job creation.

"There's not going to be an agreement without rates going up. There's not," Geithner told CNN's State of the Union program, saying the ball was in the Republicans' court to propose a counter-offer to the Obama plan.

Republicans say they are ready to raise more revenue from wealthy Americans, but want to do so by closing tax loopholes and limiting deductions rather than by raising income tax rates.

"Increasing tax rates draws money away from our economy that needs to be invested in our economy to put the American people back to work," Republican House Speaker John Boehner said on Friday. "It's the wrong approach."

Geithner, the tough-talking treasury secretary chosen as Obama's pointman in the talks, took to the Sunday morning news shows to step up pressure on Republicans to propose a plan that embraces the spirit of compromise.

"What we did is put forward a very comprehensive, very carefully designed mix of savings and tax rates to help us put us back on a path to stabilising our debt, fixing our debt and living within our means," he said.

"We don't expect them to like all of those proposals. But all we can do is lay out what we believe in and then ask them to come back to us and tell us what they would prefer to do."

Geithner said the two sides were still "far apart," but expressed hope they were moving closer together.

Former Republican president George W Bush introduced across-the-board tax cuts that were framed as "temporary" measures back in 2001 and 2003.

The top income tax rate, which now stands at 35 percent, will automatically revert to 39.6 percent at the beginning of 2013 unless there is a new budget deal.

Obama is urging the Republicans to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for all but the top bracket, roughly 98 percent of Americans, and campaigned on this promise before winning re-election on November 6.

Republican soul-searching in the wake of Mitt Romney's decisive electoral defeat has seen several leading figures indicate a willingness to accept a deal that includes more revenue, but only by ending loopholes in the tax code and in return for cuts in funding to Democrats' beloved welfare programs.

"They're in a hard place. And they're having a tough time trying to figure out what they can do, what they can get support from their members for," Geithner said.

"If they are going to force higher rates on virtually all Americans because they're unwilling to let tax rates go up on 2 percent of Americans, then, I mean that's the choice they're going to have to make," said Geithner.

"But they'll own the responsibility for the damage."

The year-end deadline is the result of legislation passed when Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a previous long-term deficit and budget deal, and was meant to concentrate minds of lawmakers and spur compromise.

The parties are also feuding about where to cut expenditures, with some Republicans opposed to any trimming of the military budget and Democrats guarding social safety net entitlement programs.

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WikiLeaks suspect's trial date postponed

THE trial date for a US Army private accused of passing a trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks has been pushed back from February to March next year, a military judge said Sunday.

The court-martial of Bradley Manning, 24, charged with the most serious security breach in American history, previously had been scheduled to begin on February 4.

But the judge, Colonel Denise Lind, announced at a pre-trial hearing north of Washington in Fort Meade, Maryland that more time was needed to handle various motions from both the defence and prosecution.

Due to last about six weeks, the court-martial could begin March 6 or 18, depending on the pace of legal proceedings, the judge said.

The latest round of pre-trial hearings that began Tuesday has focused on Manning's detention for nine months at a brig in Quantico, Virginia.

The defence argues the case should be dismissed because of what it calls unduly harsh treatment Manning received at the US Marine Corps jail, where he was held under strict "suicide watch" measures against the advice of two military psychiatrists.

The government maintains he did not suffer illegal punishment and that commanders wanted to ensure Manning did not take his life.

Legal experts say it is unlikely the charges will be dismissed based on the allegations over Manning's detention, but the judge could take the issue into account during sentencing, if the army private is found guilty as charged.

If convicted on all 22 counts, including a charge of "aiding the enemy," Manning could spend the rest of his life in prison.

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