Tear gas fired at teenager's funeral

CLASHES broke out overnight at the funeral of a teenager killed in demonstrations to mark the second anniversary of Bahrain's Shiite-led uprising.

The security forces blocked access to the funeral of Hussein al-Jaziri in the Shiite-populated village of Daih near the capital Manama, firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse dozens of people trying to push their way through.

Jaziri died on Thursday after being shot in the stomach by security forces, according to Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc, during Shiite-led protests against the kingdom's Sunni rulers, in which a policeman also died.

Earlier, the authorities said four people were arrested after an overnight attack on security forces that wounded four policemen.

The attack took place during unrest that began on Friday when protesters blocked a highway linking a string of Shiite villages with the capital.

The interior ministry said in a statement that it had "arrested four terrorists possessing weapons with which they had fired on security forces in Karzakan," a Shiite village southwest of Manama.

A police officer and three policemen were taken to hospital after being wounded "by buckshot fired by a terrorist group," police chief Tarek al-Hassan said in statement.

The security forces "had to respond to the attack to defend themselves," Mr Hassan added, without giving further details of the attack or the police response.

Bahrain has seen two years of political upheaval linked to opposition demands for a real constitutional monarchy, with the unrest claiming at least 80 lives, according to international rights groups.

Thursday's violence, in which Jazira and police officer Mohamed Atef were killed, began with demonstrations to coincide with the actual anniversary of the start of the uprising on February 14, 2011.

Clashes raged sporadically in Shiite villages through the night and into the early hours of Friday.

The latest unrest comes amid a fresh round of a national dialogue between opposition groups and the government.

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'We won't devalue currency' - G20

G20 finance ministers moved to calm fears of looming "economic warfare" on the currency markets.

The jitters - similar to previous disputes with China -- have been set off by Japan's plan of monetary easing to boost inflation and activity by reducing the value of the yen under new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We will refrain from competitive devaluation. We will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes," said the communique after the G20 finance meeting meeting in Moscow under Russia's presidency.

It echoed a similar recent statement by the G7 richest nations which like the G20 statement was also approved by Japan, whose monetary policy has been vehemently criticised by the West in recent weeks.

The statement made clear that forex rates should be set by markets, and not intervening governments.

It affirmed the G20's commitment to move "more rapidly toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals."

Striving to give the impression of a united front among the world's top 20 economies, the G20 ministers vowed to "work more closely with one another so we can grow together.

British Finance Minister George Osborne had earlier warned of the dangers of slugging out "economic warfare" as countries tried to outdo eachother with successive devaluations.

"Currencies should not be used as a tool of competitive devaluation. The world should not make the mistake that it has made in the past of using currencies as the tools of economic warfare," the British chancellor of the exchequer said.

European capitals fear that devaluations of currencies like the yen would make their own exports less competitive and harm extremely fragile economic recoveries at home.

For the first time in several international meetings, the concerns over currencies have overshadowed the economic troubles of the debt-ridden euro zone which leaders hope is heading to a gentle recovery.

All the G20 states are to a greater or lesser extent faced with the same dilemma - how to boost fragile growth rates without overextending budget deficits or alienating international partners.

The final communique - as expected - stopped short of giving precise budget deficit targets which many governments would have found too tough to stomach.

But it said that "credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plans will be put in place" and implemented taking into account the economic conditions and fiscal possibilities.

Earlier, Britain, France and Germany also launched a new drive to help national budgets by making big business pay full taxes and not minimise payments through schemes such as offshore companies.

The G20 ministers agreed to take measures to combat corporate tax avoidance in coordination with the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) which is preparing an action plan on measures to be taken in a coordinated move by national governments.

"We are determined to develop measures to address base erosion and profit shifting, take the necessary collective action and look forward to the comprehensive action plan the OECD will present to us in July," the final statement said.

Profit shifting is the practice of shifting profits from the company's home country to pay less tax under another jurisdiction.

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Big swing against NT govt in by-election

THE Northern Territory government says it has heard the message, after a big swing against it in the by-election for the seat of Wanguri.

Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate Nicole Manison secured her place in the NT parliament after capturing 69.7 per cent of the two-party vote, late counting showed.

The result was about a six per cent swing towards the ALP from the last election, making the seat now the safest ALP electorate in the NT.

The ALP had called on voters to send a message to the Country Liberal Party (CLP) that rules the NT, and the government said it had heard it.

"This government acknowledges the message contained in the result tonight," NT Chief Minister Terry Mills said.

"We will continue to work with, and engage the community in this period of change."

Commentators had thought it would be tough for the CLP to win Wanguri, which Labor has held since 1989, particularly after recent 30 per cent electricity price hikes and government cutbacks.

The CLP had said the price rises were needed to alleviate the debt held by the public-owned Power and Water Corporation.

But Ms Manison said the result was Territorians sending Mr Mills a message he couldn't ignore.

"People are unhappy with his broken promises and unfair price hikes," she said.

The by-election was sparked by the resignation of former chief minister Paul Henderson.

Counting will continue on Sunday with about 89 per cent of the vote counted so far.

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Pistorius is 'numb with shock and grief'

OSCAR Pistorius' uncle says the Olympic athlete is "numb with shock, as well as grief" over the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Arnold Pistorius spoke with The Associated Press and two South African journalists about his nephew's arrest for the killing of Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius remains held at a Pretoria police station over the slaying.

Prosecutors say they will pursue a charge of premeditated murder against him.

Arnold Pistorius said the family "strongly refutes" any murder charge against him, though he did not elaborate on what sparked the shooting on Valentine's Day.

Arnold Pistorius said: "They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time."

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Vatican could hold early Pope vote

THE Vatican says it could speed up the election of a new Pope as lobbying for Benedict XVI's job intensified amid speculation over who had the best chance to succeed him.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, who earlier said the conclave would probably start on or after March 15 after the Pope resigns on February 28, said the issue of bringing forward the date "has been raised by various cardinals".

Benedict's decision to step down for age reasons has revealed tensions at the heart of the Church, emphasised by a battle between top cardinals over whose candidate should be appointed to head up the Vatican's scandal-hit bank.

The choice of German financier Ernst Von Freyberg on Friday was seen by some as a snub to the Vatican's powerful number two, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who had backed another candidate, religious watchers said.

"The appointment is fruit of a bitter compromise," Il Messaggero daily said.

It appeared to bring to the fore a power struggle between Bertone's allies and his rivals reminiscent of Renaissance conspiracies -- a bid to shape the hierarchy within the Vatican first revealed in a leaks scandal last year.

In an interview carried out 10 weeks ago but published on Saturday, Benedict spoke about the scandal, which some believe was a factor in his resignation.

"I simply couldn't understand it," he told his biographer Peter Seewald in the interview published in Focus magazine, referring to his former butler Paolo Gabriele's decision to leak secret memos revealing intrigue at the Vatican.

"I don't know what he was expecting. I can't understand his thought process," said the 85-year-old, who pardoned Gabriele just before Christmas.

Seewald had also asked Benedict six months ago what people could expect from the rest of his papacy: "From me? Not much. I am an old man, running out of energy. I also think what I have done is enough," he replied.

On Saturday, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said that once Benedict steps down, he will stay in the papal summer seat in Castel Gandolfo near Rome for around two months before moving to a monastery within the Vatican walls.

He is expected to take some of his current household to the modern monastery, which is currently undergoing restoration works.

Thousands of faithful are expected to flock to St Peter's Square on Sunday to pay tribute to the German pontiff in one of his last public appearances.

The secret conclave set to meet under Michelangelo's famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel to select a new Pope had been scheduled for mid-March, but could be brought forward as long as cardinals from around the world are in Rome.

Rules laid down by John Paul II stipulate that between 15 and 20 days must pass after the end of the pontificate before the conclave meets.

But a clause in the constitution allows exceptions in case of an agreement between the cardinals, who are already gathering at the Vatican. Most are expected at a final audience with Benedict on February 28.

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US will be out of Pacific by 2033: report

A HIGH-RANKING Chinese military officer says the US will be forced out of the western Pacific within two decades, according to a report.

Fairfax Media reported on Saturday that Colonel Liu Mingfu, at the People's Liberation Army's National Defence University, predicted that American strategic influence would be confined "east of the Pacific midline" as China's role as a power centre in east Asia grows.

His comments clash with those of university colleague General Zhu Chengdu, who told a conference in Atlanta earlier this week that China had "no intention of driving the US out of east Asia or the western Pacific".

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Cars shot at in inner west Sydney

SHOTS have been fired at cars in Sydney's inner west.

Police investigating reports of shots fired at the intersection of Livingstone Road and Stanley Street, Marrickville, say they found bullet casings on the road and several cars with gunshot damage.

No one was injured during the incident on Friday.

A crime scene is in place and part of Livingstone Road has been shut off since the shots were fired about 10pm (AEDT).

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Meteor strike in Russia hurts almost 1000

A PLUNGING meteor exploded with a blinding flash above central Russia on Friday, setting off a shockwave that shattered windows and hurt almost 1000 people in an event unprecedented in modern times.

The extraordinary event brought morning traffic to a sudden halt in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk as shocked drivers stopped to watch the falling meteor partially burning up in the lower atmosphere and light up the sky.

It appeared the meteor's entry into the atmosphere was not linked to the asteroid 2012 DA 14 which is expected to pass about 27,000km above the Earth later on Friday in an unusually close approach.

But experts said that the fall of such a large meteor estimated as weighing dozens of tonnes was extremely rare while the number of casualties from its burning up around a heavily-inhabited area was unprecedented.

Chelyabinsk regional governor Mikhail Yurevich, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, said 950 people were injured, with two-thirds of the injuries light wounds from glass shards and other materials blown out by the shockwave.

Windows were blown out by the shockwave across the city's region with the ministry saying almost 300 buildings were damaged including, schools, hospitals, a zinc factory and even an ice hockey stadium.

"At 0920 (1420 AEDT Friday) an object was observed above Chelyabinsk which flew by at great speed and left a trail behind. Within two minutes there were two bangs," regional emergencies official Yuri Burenko said in a statement.

The office of the local governor said in a statement that a meteorite had fallen into a lake outside the town of Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk region and television images pointed to a six-metre hole in the frozen lake's ice.

However it has yet to be finally confirmed if meteorite fragments made contact with the Earth and there were no reports that any locals had been hurt directly by a falling piece of meteorite.

Schools were closed for the day and theatre shows cancelled across the region after the shock wave blew out windows amid temperatures as low as -18C.

"Thank God that nothing fell onto inhabited areas," President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with the Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, ordering him to look into how to warn citizens about such events.

The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that it estimated the body to be several metres long and weighing several dozen tonnes. "It burned up at a height of 30-50km ... but pieces could have fallen to Earth as meteorites."

The meteor explosion appears to be one of the most stunning cosmic events above Russia since the 1908 Tunguska Event, when a massive blast most scientists blame on an asteroid or a comet impact ripped through Siberia.

"I am scratching my head to think of anything in recorded history when that number of people have been indirectly injured by an object like this ... it's very, very rare to have human casualties," Robert Massey, deputy executive secretary of Britain's Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), told AFP.

But he stressed that he saw "absolutely no connection" between the Chelyabinsk event and asteroid 2012 DA 14, which was to skim the Earth later on Friday at a distance of around 27,700km.

With the meteor already becoming a leading trend on Twitter, locals posted amateur footage on YouTube showing men swearing in surprise and fright, and others grinding their cars to a halt.

"First I thought it was a plane falling, but there was no sound from the engine ... after a moment a powerful explosion went off," said witness Denis Laskov.

"In a lot of the houses on our street the windows were blown out," he told state television.

The Chelyabinsk region is Russia's industrial heartland, filled with smoke-chugging factories and other huge facilities that include a nuclear power plant and the massive Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.

A spokesman for Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy state corporation, said that its operations remained unaffected.

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Rebels bikie had loaded semi: police

A MAN with links to the Rebels bikie gang has allegedly been caught with a loaded handgun in western Sydney.

Officers from Operation Apollo say they stopped the 27-year-old man on Friday night in a Subaru Impreza and discovered he was driving with a suspended licence.

Police say they found a gram of methamphetamine in his pocket and a loaded semi-automatic in his car.

The man is alleged to be an associate of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang.

He has been charged with possession of a loaded firearm in a public, possession of an unauthorised and unregistered firearm, possession of a prohibited drug and driving while suspended.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

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BMW recalls more than 30,000 SUVs

BMW is recalling more than 30,000 SUVs to fix an oil leak that can knock out the power-assisted braking.

The German automaker says the recall covers X5 SUVs in the US from the 2007 through 2010 model years. The vehicles were made between September 12, 2006, and March 18, 2010. They have eight-cylinder engines.

The company says a small amount of oil can leak from a brake hose and cause the power-assisted braking to fail. Brakes would still work, but the problem could increase stopping distances and cause a crash.

BMW says it has no reports of crashes or injuries. The problem was discovered when warranty claims increased.

The company will replace a brake vacuum line hose for free. The recall is expected to start this month.

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Health group calls for booze law review

A PUBLIC health group says time is running out for the NSW government to get its review of alcohol laws under way.

The NSW and ACT Alcohol Policy Alliance (NAAPA), which represents 30 health, community, law enforcement, emergency services and research groups, on Friday said a five-year statutory review of the Liquor Act 2007 needed to be conducted and tabled in parliament by the end of the year.

Spokesman Michael Thorn, chief executive of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, said the review needed to start immediately or the consultation process would suffer.

"If there's going to be a proper and thorough review of the legislation then government needs to set up the processes around that now," he told AAP.

"Otherwise, there will be no time for debate."

NAAPA wants to see the liquor licensing laws revised to give communities more say in restricting the granting of new licences, and would allow them to voice fears about alcohol-related violence, antisocial behaviour or poor health outcomes.

"(Ideally) licensees would need to show that the licence that they seek won't result in any additional harms in the community," he said.

Mr Thorn said the group was likely to call for measures including "risk-based licensing", which would force prospective alcohol suppliers to pay more for their licences if, for instance, they wanted to have longer trading hours.

His comments came hours after Ralph Kelly opened up publicly for the first time about the death of his 18-year-old son while he enjoyed a night out at Sydney party spot Kings Cross.

Thomas Kelly was punched in the head during a Saturday night out with his girlfriend and friends and his family made the "agonising decision" to shut down his life support system two days later.

Mr Kelly told a group of schoolchildren on Thursday that alcohol-related violence ruined lives.

"The hole in our hearts and lives - I can't begin to explain to you," he told them.

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UK abattoir has deal with Grand National

THE owner of an abattoir embroiled in the horsemeat scandal has a deal to dispose of horses fatally injured in the Grand National race, the racecourse says.

Peter Boddy, whose slaughterhouse was raided by the Food Standards Agency on Tuesday, removes the carcasses of some horses that have been put down during the meeting, Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool said.

The racecourse said it was "confident" that no "unfit meat" had ever entered the food chain.

It is alleged that Boddy's plant in West Yorkshire supplied horse carcasses to a food processing plant in Wales where operations have also been suspended.

They are the first suppliers in Britain suspected of passing off horsemeat as beef.

A spokesman for Aintree said the racing industry took every possible measure to ensure that horses put down after they are injured in races cannot enter the food chain.

"Aintree Racecourse follow these guidelines to the letter and can confirm that Peter Boddy ... is contracted by Aintree to remove carcasses if required.

Aintree added: "By the time these carcasses are returned to the disposal organisation's premises they are totally unsuitable for consumption.

"They are fully signed off as unsuitable.

"Indeed it is illegal for horses humanely put down by injection on the racecourse to enter the food chain.

"We are as confident as we possibly can be that no unfit meat ever reaches the human food chain."

During last year's Grand National race, joint favourite Synchronised and According to Pete were both put down following falls, and four horses died at the meeting in 2011.

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Rebels shoot down two warplanes in Syria

SYRIAN rebels have shot down two military warplanes over the northwestern province of Idlib, says a monitoring group.

Both jets were hit with fire from heavy machine guns while the air force was carrying out a series of raids in the area, much of which is under the control of the rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The warplanes were shot down in separate strikes, several hours apart on Thursday, near the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan.

An Islamist rebel group, Ahfad al-Rasul (Grandchildren of the Prophet), claimed in an amateur video posted online to have brought down one of them, a Russian Sukhoi fighter jet, using anti-aircraft weaponry.

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US stocks fall despite giant M&A deals

TWO giant M&A deals, the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, and Berkshire Hathaway's takeover of ketchup maker Heinz, have failed to lift US stocks in opening trade.

Fifteen minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32.64 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 13,950.27.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 3.82 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 1,516.51.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 9.84 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 3,187.04.

US Airways shares fell 1.9 per cent to $US14.33 after the official announcement of its long-awaited merger with American Airlines, creating the largest US carrier. American parent AMR Corp is under bankruptcy reorganisation.

Heinz shares though soared nearly 20 per cent to $US72.51 after the shock announcement that billionaire Warren Buffett's investment firm would partner with 3G Capital to buy Heinz in a deal worth $US28 billion ($A27 billion).

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GM earnings jump 89% in fourth quarter

GENERAL Motors' fourth quarter earnings jumped 89 per cent but were held back by $US700 million ($A680 million) in losses on its European operations, the company says.

The top US automaker earned a net $US892 million in the quarter to December 31, compared to $US472 million a year earlier.

The figures were buoyed by a turnaround in South America, where the company swung from a loss in the year-earlier quarter to a $US99 million gain, and in its Asia-Africa division, where earnings jumped $US100 million to $US473 million.

Earnings per share came in at 54 cents for the quarter, compared to 28 cents a year ago.

For the full year 2012 GM reported $US4.86 billion in net income - down 36 per cent from a year earlier, with special items having boosted 2011 earnings sharply and also taking nearly $US500 million from 2012's final figure.

"We recorded another solid year in 2012 as we grew the business, delivered a third straight year of profitability and took significant actions to put the company on a solid path for future growth," said Dan Akerson, chairman and chief executive.

"This year our priorities will be executing flawless new vehicle launches, controlling costs and delivering more vehicles to our customers at outstanding value."

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Qld sex offender's release to be appealed

AFTER spending almost half his life in jail, one of Queensland's most notorious sex offenders will have to wait a little longer to see if he will be released.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie will lodge an appeal on Thursday morning against a Supreme Court decision to set Robert John Fardon free.

Justice Debbie Mullins decided Fardon should be released as any risks to the community could be managed.

She imposed 34 conditions for his release.

Her reasoning did not convince Mr Bleijie, who will apply for an immediate stay of the order to release the 64-year-old serial rapist.

Mr Bleijie has also instructed Crown Law to appeal the Supreme Court decision to release Fardon from jail.

Child protection advocates, and former victims have denounced the decision by Brisbane Supreme Court Judge Debbie Mullins to release Fardon on Thursday afternoon.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnson says Justice Mullins' decision trashes the notion of community safety.

"Fardon is not a changed man; he's a psychopath.

"He's only ever going to be one breath away from snapping ... and will be back in jail in 12 months."

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US stocks open higher after Obama speech

US stocks have headed higher in opening trade after President Barack Obama laid out economic stimulus plans in his State of the Union address to Congress.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.91 points (0.02 per cent) at 14,021.61.

The S&P 500, a broad measure of the markets, rose 3.63 points (0.24 per cent) to 1523.06.

Both indexes were extending five-year highs reached on Tuesday.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite climbed 10.06 points (0.32 per cent) to 3196.55.

The positive sentiment on the market followed Tuesday's State of the Union address by Obama, Wells Fargo Advisors said in a market note.

"President Obama's annual agenda included a minimum-wage hike, a boost in infrastructure spending and calls for reducing the budget deficit through tax increases and spending cuts," it said.

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France's Total reports strong profits

FRENCH oil giant Total has reported an 8.0 per cent rise in net profit to 12.4 billion euros ($A16.30 billion) in 2012, excluding the change in value of oil in stock.

This is the measure, known as the current-cost accounting basis, which is most closely watched in the oil sector.

Net profit on an overall basis, the historic-cost method, fell by 13.0 per cent to 10.7 billion euros.

The statement said that a fall in production had been counter-balanced by high oil prices and a temporary rally of margins for refiners in Europe.

The results were in line with forecasts by analysts who had expected a net profit on a current-cost accounting basis of 12.4 billion euros.

Oil prices were high last year owing largely to tension over supplies from Iran which is the target of economic sanctions against its nuclear program.

These high prices offset a drop in Total's overall hydrocarbon output which fell 2.0 per cent in 2012 to 2.3 million barrels per day in oil equivalent.

The company said it was targeting a two to three per cent boost in output for 2013, which chief executive Christophe de Margerie said would require a special effort.

The group said it was well advanced in an asset divestment program set to unload between $US15 billion ($A14.63 billion) and $US20 billion by 2014.

Total expects to shed assets worth $9.0 billion in 2013, after ceding about $6.0 billion in 2012.

Total is Western Europe's third biggest oil producer, behind Shell and BP, and France's biggest company by market capitalisation, just ahead of former subsidiary Sanofi, the drugmaker.

Total's shares were up by 0.20 per cent in afternoon trading on Wednesday, slightly lower than a Paris market rising by 0.36 per cent.

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Five WA towns under bushfire threat

A BUSHFIRE that has destroyed two homes in Western Australia's southwest is threatening five towns in the Donnybrook and Bridgetown areas.

A string of bushfires sparked by lightning strikes on Tuesday have swept through the region.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said homes in Greenbushes, Hester Brook, Wandillup, Maranup and Southampton are under direct threat by fire and has warned residents to act immediately.

An emergency warning has been issued for these towns.

Bridgetown and Balingup residents have been placed on a watch and act alert, meaning they should leave or get ready to actively defend their properties as the bushfire approaches.

The bushfire started west of the Blackwood River in Southampton and crossed the river, moving in a north easterly direction.

A homestead in Southampton, 12km south of Balingup and built in 1862, has burnt down.

A home some 900 metres away has also been destroyed.

More than 200 firefighters are working to contain the fire, assisted by six water bombers and two helicopters.

About 3000 hectares have been burnt so far.

Greenbushes and Balingup primary schools will be closed on Thursday because of the fire.

A bushfire advice has also been issued for people in the Blackwood Valley between Balingup and Nannup.

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First German horsemeat case suspected

GERMANY has been dragged into the horsemeat scandal in Europe, announcing its first suspected case of horsemeat being mislabelled as beef.

The product was delivered to at least one trader in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Documents had indicated that products had been delivered via a distributor in Luxembourg suspected of mislabelling horsemeat.

As a precautionary measure, the German supermarket chain Kaiser's Tengelmann has taken its home brand frozen lasagne off the shelves.

European Union farm ministers will hold crisis talks in Brussels, after France became the second EU nation after Britain to find horsemeat being passed off as beef in frozen foods.

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World powers condemn N. Korea nuclear test

THE United States, China and Russia have led a chorus of global condemnation after North Korea defied months of stark international warnings and carried out a third nuclear test.

US President Barack Obama called for "swift and credible" action after the underground blast as even Pyongyang's top ally China voiced "firm opposition" to the nuclear test and Russia urged a halt to its "illegal actions."

The UN Security Council met in emergency session early on Tuesday, after last month passing a resolution threatening "significant action" in the event of a new nuclear test.

"We certainly hope that the council will be able to send a clear message of strong condemnation," Philip Parham, Britain's deputy UN ambassador, told reporters as he entered the closed meeting in the UN's New York headquarters.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned the test was a "grave threat" to his country that "cannot be tolerated," while Britain called for a "robust response" and Germany said further sanctions should be considered.

Even Iran - under harsh UN sanctions over its own controversial nuclear program - used the occasion to call for a nuclear weapons-free world, while defending its own atomic program, which it claims is entirely peaceful.

And nuclear-armed Pakistan, widely believed to have been the source of key technology in the 1990s that allowed North Korea to develop the bomb, said it regretted the action.

"Pakistan believes that all countries should comply with their respective international obligations," a spokesman for the foreign ministry said.

The North Korean test came just hours before Obama was to deliver his annual State of the Union address later on Tuesday.

The US president called the test a "highly provocative act" that - following the North's December 12 ballistic missile launch - undermined regional stability and violated UN Security Council resolutions.

"North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to US national security and to international peace and security," Obama said in a statement.

"The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community," he said, adding the United States would do whatever was necessary to defend its allies.

The United States, China, Russia and the other major powers face intense pressure to act over North Korea's defiance of sanctions imposed after previous tests in 2006 and 2009.

North Korea said it staged a successful test of a "miniaturised" bomb, and the US intelligence community said Pyongyang had "probably conducted an underground nuclear explosion" of "approximately several kilotons."

The office of the Director of National Intelligence said it was continuing to analyse the event that happened at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon also condemned the test as "a clear and grave violation" of the resolutions and called on North Korea to "reverse course."

China, the isolated North's closest ally providing trade and aid, expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" when it summoned Pyongyang's ambassador.

Beijing urged its neighbour "to honour its commitment to denuclearisation, and not to take any actions which might worsen the situation."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he expected the UN Security Council to agree on "an adequate response" to the test.

"North Korea should stop its nuclear program and should get back onto the non-proliferation treaty," Lavrov said. "Then it will stop its international isolation."

Rounding out the opposition of all five permanent members of the Security Council, France's President Francois Hollande condemned the blast "in the strongest terms" and said France would back "strong action" by the council.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said the test showed "the North Korean regime's reckless disregard for the global will" adding it was "unconscionable" that Pyongyang "squanders limited resources" while its people starve.

In the Asia-Pacific region, nuclear-armed India called the test a "matter of deep concern," while Australia, the Philippines and Taiwan condemned the blast.

Beijing had made a special effort to try to head off the move, according to a UN diplomat who has taken part in recent consultations.

"The Chinese gave the North Koreans a strong warning against carrying out a test as it became apparent that it was imminent," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"What the North Koreans have done now is a big challenge to the Chinese," the diplomat said.

Brazil meanwhile said it was deeply concerned and urged Pyongyang to comply with UN resolutions.

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US stocks flat ahead of Obama speech

US stocks have opened flat on Tuesday as markets looked ahead to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address in the evening.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 7.99 points (0.06 per cent) to 13,979.23.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.28 point (0.02 per cent) to 1517.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 0.61 (0.02 per cent) to 3191.40.

Investors will be watching Obama's nationally televised speech at 9:00 pm (1300 AEST Wednesday) to gauge "content and tone as a guide for assessing the likelihood of avoiding sequestration slated to go into effect March 1," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

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Disabled cruise ship still drifting

A CRUISE ship packed with 4200 travellers is adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for a third day, waiting to be towed into the US port of Mobile, Alabama, a company spokesman says.

None of the 3143 passengers and 1086 crew aboard the 272-metre Carnival Triumph was injured in the fire that crippled the vessel on Sunday.

It is due to be taken into port in Mobile on Thursday instead of Progreso, Mexico, Vance Gulliksen, a spokesman for Carnival Cruise Lines, told AFP.

"We have been told that there is running water in the cabins, albeit cold water, so guests are able to shower. Some toilets are operational in the public areas and some cabins," the spokesman said.

"There was a period last night that the toilets were down but technicians were able to get some of them back on line this morning," he said.

Passengers are able to dine in the poolside restaurant, he added.

"We're in constant contact with the ship and have been told that overall mood with guests is good under the circumstances and guests are making the most of the situation," Gulliksen said.

The company had said earlier that passengers will receive a full refund and transportation expenses.

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34,000 US troops home from Afghanistan

US President Barack Obama will announce in his State of the Union address that he will pull 34,000 US troops home from Afghanistan in the next year, a source familiar with his speech says.

The long-awaited move will effectively halve the size of the current 66,000-strong US force in Afghanistan, ahead of a final withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to preempt Obama's remarks, said the president would undertake to complete the withdrawals by around the time of his next State of the Union speech next year.

There were no immediate details of how quickly the drawdown would take place. The timetable will impact the number of troops NATO will have in place to fight the Taliban after the spring thaw in Afghanistan.

A senior US official said that Obama had telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to inform them of his decision.

Debate is also taking place within the administration on the size of a residual force, to train Afghan soldiers and to conduct anti-terror missions, that will remain behind after the formal withdrawal.

Last month, US officials suggested it was theoretically possible that Washington would leave no troops in the country, though some observers saw that move as a negotiating tactic with Karzai in town.

The senior official said Washington remained committed to a long-term strategic partnership with Afghanistan, and reiterated that talks on a bilateral security agreement were still taking place.

Afghanistan has committed to taking full responsibility for its own security by the end of 2014 and the White House said there are now 352,000 troops in new Afghan security forces, thanks to a broad NATO training effort.

NATO says it will no longer lead combat operations in the next two years, but will provide support to Afghan soldiers.

Obama has made ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the centrepiece of his presidency, and often declares a long decade or more of American war is almost over.

He announced after talks at the White House last month that progress in Afghanistan wrought by the sacrifices of US and allied troops would allow a speeded up transition to take place.

"We've pushed the Taliban out of their strongholds," Obama said.

"And our core objective - the reason we went to war in the first place - is now within reach: ensuring that al-Qaeda can never again use Afghanistan to launch attacks against America."

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Gay marriage passes French lower house

FRANCE'S lower house of parliament has approved a sweeping bill to legalise gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children.

President Francois Hollande's Socialists have pushed the measure through the National Assembly and put France on track to join about a dozen, mostly European nations that grant marriage and adoption rights to homosexuals.

The measure, approved in a 329-to-229 vote on Tuesday, comes despite an array of demonstrations in recent weeks by opponents of the "marriage for all" bill. Polls show most French support legalising gay marriage, though that backing softens when children come into play.

The Assembly has been debating the bill and voting on its individual articles in recent weeks. The overall bill now goes to the Senate, which is also controlled by the Socialists and their allies.

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US student in Italy murder in TV interview

AMANDA Knox, a US student who spent four years in jail in Italy on charges of murdering her British roommate before she was acquitted, is to give her first television interview.

"Now, after the dramatic Italian trial, conviction, and the court appeal that finally acquitted and freed her she will speak to ABC News," the US network said, announcing the interview will be broadcast on April 30.

The interview comes just as Knox, who was a college junior at the time of the incident, launches a media tour promoting her memoir Waiting to Be Heard, which will be published by HarperCollins on April 30.

HarperCollins, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, did not reveal financial details, but The New York Times has said Knox sold the rights to her story for nearly $US4 million ($A3.9 million).

In October 2011, and appeal court in Perugia, northern Italy, freed the American Knox and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, after acquitting them of the 2007 killing of British student Meredith Kercher.

Knox and Sollecito had initially been sentenced to 26 and 25 years.

According to the Times, HarperCollins acquired the rights after a "heated auction among publishing houses that stretched for days".

The Times said several publishers had submitted bids for the book, including Crown, part of Random House; St Martin's Press, a Macmillan unit; Simon & Schuster's Atria; and Penguin Group USA's Dutton.

Knox had hired Washington lawyer Robert Barnett of the law firm Williams and Connolly to negotiate the deal.

She returned to her home town of Seattle, Washington after her acquittal.

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Three wounded in US courthouse shooting

A SHOOTING has erupted at a courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, leaving three people dead, including a gunman, police say.

"I can confirm a shooting at 8am. Two civilians, females, were killed, two capital officers were shot. The gunman is dead inside the lobby," a police spokesman said at a news conference on Monday.

The incident took place in the New Castle county court building, which was evacuated.

The police spokesman said multiple shots were fired and police were searching the building floor by floor.

"The scene is still very dynamic inside," he said.

The area around the courthouse was surrounded by police, ambulances and fire trucks, televised images of the scene showed.

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Briton is 10th case of SARS-like virus

A BRITISH resident has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal SARS-like virus, British health authorities say, in the 10th confirmed case worldwide.

The Health Protection Agency said the person, who recently travelled to the Middle East and Pakistan, was being treated at an intensive care unit at a hospital in Manchester after contracting novel coronavirus.

"The HPA is providing advice to healthcare workers to ensure the patient under investigation is being treated appropriately," said John Watson, head of the agency's respiratory diseases department.

"Contacts of the case are also being followed up to check on their health."

He added: "Our assessment is that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low and the risk to travellers to the Arabian peninsula and surrounding countries remains very low."

Travellers who develop severe breathing difficulties within 10 days of returning from the region should seek medical advice, said Watson.

This is the second case to hit Britain after a 49-year-old Qatari man was treated at a London hospital in September for the virus.

The HPA said five patients had died worldwide as a result of the disease.

Five cases have been confirmed in Saudi Arabia resulting in three deaths, while two patients treated in Jordan have died, the agency said. A patient from Qatar was treated for the virus in Germany and given the all-clear.

Coronaviruses cause most common colds but can also cause SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

The SARS epidemic killed more than 800 people when it swept out of China in 2003, sparking a major international health scare.

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Tornadoes strike southern US states

SEVERAL powerful tornadoes have ripped through the southern US states of Mississippi and Alabama injuring at least 60 people and destroying hundreds of homes at the weekend, emergency officials say.

The city of Hattiesburg in Mississippi's Forrest County bore the brunt of the storms, with heavy rain continuing to lash the region and create a risk of flooding.

"Two people were critically hurt in Lemar County right next to Hattiesburg, but no deaths have been reported at this stage," Greg Flynn, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), told AFP.

"Around 60 people are reported injured, but fortunately most injuries are minor," he said.

The bad weather, however, destroyed hundreds of homes and caused damage to the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, authorities said.

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) said that while the area was hit by bad weather on Sunday it had so far received no reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service said flooding and flash flooding will become a concern if rainfall continues to add up across the lower Mississippi valley.

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Shock in St Peter's Square as Pope resigns

CATHOLIC faithful in St Peter's Square have reacted with amazement and emotion at Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that he will resign later this month, though some say they hope his successor will be more progressive.

Hundreds of believers converged on the heart of the Catholic church after hearing the historic news, swelling the usual small huddles of tourists on an overcast and chilly winter day in Rome.

"I love Benedict. We're really shocked he's resigning because he wasn't pope for long enough," said Sebastian Mazur, a seminarian from Poland.

"He hasn't finished his plan," the 21-year-old said.

Father Aaron Melancon, a 43-year-old priest from the United States, said: "The news is quite shocking. We have love and affection for Pope Benedict. I loved his writing as a cardinal and as a pope. I loved the leadership under him.

"He is the second pope in history to break the tradition and I am not in favour of this decision, but it is his own," Melancon said.

Marta, a 38-year-old Spaniard on holiday in Rome with her husband, said: "It's a really bad thing."

"He should have stayed for life, you can't just leave when you want to," she said.

Jennifer, 30, from Colorado in the United States, said: "I was really shocked. In our media-dominated culture, it's a unique challenge for the Pope to be so available constantly so if he has lost some of his faculties, I guess he's done the right thing."

"It's sadder today than when Pope John Paul II died because at least that was natural," she said.

Others were more critical of Benedict's pontificate.

Louisa, a 38-year-old from the Netherlands, said: "It's OK for him to resign, he's very old. And he wasn't as kind as John Paul II. We had the same discussion about our Queen, who is very old and resigned at 75."

Sally Baker, 23, from Britain, said: "I actually respect him more for stepping down. It's a responsible act to be so honest to say you're not capable any more."

"I wasn't his biggest fan even though I'm German," said Eric, a 40-year-old tourist.

"It's an interesting time to resign, what with the child abuse scandal; I wonder if it was all just too much for him?"

Bart Vanhatten, 20, an Erasmus exchange student also from Germany, said: "I didn't like him at all. I expected more from him, especially on homosexuality. I hope the next pope will be more progressive."

Dorina, a 22-year-old Swiss woman on holiday, was equally hopeful for change in the church.

"I hope that the next pope will be black; that would really make mentalities evolve," she said.

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Mali troops, rebels battle in Gao

A GUN battle between Malian soldiers and suspected Islamist rebels has erupted in the streets of Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, which has been rocked by suicide bombings each of the past two days.

The two groups were trading gunfire in the centre of the city, near the central police station, an AFP correspondent said.

French-led forces reclaimed Gao on January 26 from al-Qaeda-linked rebels who had seized control of northern Mali for 10 months in the wake of a military coup.

The street battle comes after a suicide bomber blew himself up late Saturday at an army checkpoint at the entrance to the city, following a similar attack on the same spot the day before.

The two suicide blasts were the first such attacks in Mali.

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Islamist groups that had occupied the north before being pushed out by the French intervention launched on January 11, claimed the first attack, and had threatened earlier Saturday that there would be more.

"We are dedicating ourselves to carrying out more attacks against France and its allies. We ask the local population to stay far away from military zones and avoid explosions," spokesman Abou Walid Sahraoui said.

The two suicide bombers were the only fatalities in the attacks.

One soldier was slightly wounded in Friday's bombing.

No one else was wounded in Saturday's attack, a soldier at the checkpoint said.

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Foodmaker to sue supplier over horsemeat

FROZEN food producer Findus Nordic says it will sue French firm Comigel and its suppliers after horsemeat was found in its beef lasagnes.

"This is a breach of contract and fraud," the head of Findus Nordic, Jari Latvanen, said in a statement on Sunday announcing the legal action.

"Such behaviour on the part of a supplier is unacceptable," he added, noting the meat in its lasagnes was supposed to be French, German or Austrian beef.

Findus has asked its suppliers to certify their meat, but Comigel was the only one to report irregularities, he said.

According to Latvanen, the system had actually worked well because it uncovered the fraud.

"No law can prevent someone from intentionally carrying out fraud, using horsemeat and falsifying documents," he said.

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Five dead in cruise ship accident in Spain

SPANISH officials say five people have been killed and three injured when a lifeboat fell into the sea off a cruise ship that was tied up at the port of Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands.

Citing the islands' Emergency and Security Co-ordination Centre, a government statement said rescue personnel were called to the dockside at 1205 GMT (2305 AEDT) on Sunday after "a lifeboat with occupants had fallen overboard from a cruise ship docked at the pier of Santa Cruz port in La Palma".

The nationality or sex of those who died was not known, the statement said, adding the injured were all men, two aged 30 and another, a Greek national, was 32 years old.

National broadcaster RTVE said the cruise ship was British registered.

British company Thomson Cruises issued a statement after the incident, saying it "is aware of an incident involving the ship's crew on board Thomson Majesty, in La Palma, Canary Islands".

"We are working closely with the ship owners and managers, Louis Cruises, to determine exactly what has happened and provide assistance to those affected by the incident," the statement added.

A reporter at the dockside said all of those in the lifeboat at the time of the accident were crew members.

Television images showed a small, white two-hulled lifeboat capsized beside the ship.

It was not immediately clear if there were any other people in the lifeboat when it crashed into the sea, or whether the Thomson Majesty ship had any passengers on it.

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Twins confound French police in rape case

FRENCH police investigating a series of rapes in the southern city of Marseille are confounded after tracing DNA evidence to a set of twins but not knowing which one may be to blame.

With telling the difference between the twins' DNA extremely difficult and expensive, police have in the meantime charged both men, 24-year-olds identified only as Elwin and Yohan, and are holding them without bail.

"It's a rather rare case for the alleged perpetrators to be identical twins," chief investigator Emmanuel Kiehl said.

Police admit that without far more extensive tests it will be difficult to figure out which of the twins was possibly behind the attacks or whether both men were indeed involved.

The two, both unemployed delivery drivers, deny any involvement in the rapes of six women between between September and January.

Police tracked them down through video footage recorded on a bus and a mobile telephone allegedly taken from one of the victims and found in the brothers' possession.

The victims' mobile phones were taken in each of the attacks, which took place in the corridors of buildings and involved women aged 22 to 76.

Police said the victims were also able to identify the suspects, but not to tell them apart.

Kiehl said DNA evidence was found at some of the crime scenes but that regular tests were incapable of differentiating between the twins. The cost of extensive-enough tests would be "onerous", he said.

Local newspaper La Provence reported that police were told it could cost up to 1 million euros ($A1.3 million) for the necessary tests.

It quoted a DNA expert saying that only the smallest of differences exist in the DNAs of identical twins.

"For a normal analysis we compare 400 base pairs," the expert said, adding that with twins: "We would be looking at billions."

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Afghan boy jailed for having sex with men

HUMAN rights campaigners have voiced outrage over a 13-year-old Afghan boy jailed for having sex with two adult men, urging the government to release him and punish his abusers.

The boy, accused of having sex with two men in a public park in the western province of Herat, was sentenced to one year in juvenile detention, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Sunday.

Afghan law bans "pederasty", sex between a boy and a man, but HRW said "moral crimes" charges, which include all sexual relations outside of marriage, have been used to punish the victim of a criminal offence.

"When a man has sex with a 13-year-old child, the child is a victim of rape, not a criminal offender," Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW, said in a statement.

"The Afghan government should never have victimised this boy a second time, but instead should have released him immediately with urgent protection and assistance."

The statement said the two men involved in the incident, which took place in September but only recently came to light, were also arrested and charged but their case was unknown.

Justice officials in Herat were unable to give details of the case when contacted by AFP.

The rights group quoted an Afghan prosecutor involved in the case as saying that the boy was convicted "because he said he had consented to engaging in sexual relations with several adult men".

There is no age of consent for sex under Afghan law, HRW added.

HRW also slammed the practice of "bacha bazi", or "boy play", in which boys or male teenagers dressed like girls dance in parties attended by men and are frequently abused afterwards.

The culture is strictly banned under Afghan laws but is known to be practised often by powerful militia commanders in much of the country.

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