Vatican welcomes Obama gun control stance

THE Vatican has praised US President Barack Obama's proposals for curbing gun violence, saying they are a "step in a right direction".

Vatican's chief spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi, in an editorial on Saturday, said 47 religious leaders had appealed to members of the US Congress "to limit firearms that are making society pay an unacceptable price in terms of massacres and senseless deaths".

"I am with them," Lombardi declared, lining up the Vatican's moral support in favour of firearm limits.

"The initiatives announced by the American administration for limiting and controlling the spread and use of weapons are certainly a step in the right direction."

Obama is trying to rally support for reinstating a ban on assault weapons and requiring background checks on all gun sales.

He faces stiff opposition in the US Congress and from powerful gun lobbies.

Considering that Americans possess "about 300 million firearms," Lombardi said, "people cannot fool themselves that it is enough to limit the number and use (of guns) to impede in the future horrendous massacres like that of Newtown that shook the conscience of America and world, as well as that of children and adults".

He was referring to the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school where 20 children and six adults were killed by a sole attacker last month.

"But it would be worse to be satisfied with words" of condemnation alone, Lombardi said.

And while massacres are "carried out by unbalanced or hate-driven persons, there is no doubt that they are carried out with firearms".

Lombardi renewed Vatican appeals for disarmament and encouragement for measures to fight "the production, commerce and contraband of all types of arms," an industry fuelled by "enormous economic and power interests."

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Taxi driver punched unconscious: police

A TAXI driver has been punched unconscious and his windscreen smashed on the Gold Coast, police say.

Around 7.30pm (AEST) on Saturday, a taxi driver was returning property to an address in Nyrang Court, Palm Beach, when he was punched in the face, rendering him unconscious.

The offender also smashed the front windscreen of the taxi and kicked the rear driver's side panel before leaving the scene on foot.

The driver was treated in hospital.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or noticed suspicious behaviour in the area at the time is urged to contact police.

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France says no more of its nationals held

FRANCE says no more of its nationals are being held hostage in Algeria by Islamist gunmen holed up at a desert gas plant.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on France 3 television that a Frenchman had been killed in the attack and other captured French nationals had been freed.

Le Drian said he could not confirm that a French national, who he said used the surname Le Guen, was among the attackers at the Algerian gas plant but that he expected to find out soon.

He said Le Guen had been in neighbouring Mali for the past several weeks.

The French national killed in the assault has been named as Yann Desjeux, a former special forces soldier who was also the co-owner of a restaurant in the southwestern beach town of Anglet.

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Man caught almost 'eight times over limit'

A MAN has allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading almost eight times above the legal limit, Queensland police say.

Around 6.40pm (AEST) on Saturday police were called to Deagon, in Brisbane's north, after reports an intoxicated man may try to drive his vehicle.

A short time later police allegedly found a man in a utility with the keys in the ignition. He allegedly returned a reading of 0.397 per cent.

The 38-year-old NSW man was charged with being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor.

He is due to appear in the Sandgate Magistrates Court on February 25.

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Rhino named S Africa newsmaker of 2012

THE rhino has been named South Africa's newsmaker for 2012, based on the extensive media coverage around the slaughter of the creature for its horn.

It is the first time that such recognition has gone to an animal, as poaching figures reach all-time highs.

"Stories of rhino poaching dominated the headlines throughout the year, the story was covered extensively locally and internationally," said Antoinette Slabbert, chairperson of South Africa's National Press Club.

Poachers are increasingly targeting South Africa's rhinos, and last year killed a record 668 of them in parks across the country.

"We made this decision after a long and serious thought," Slabbert said, adding "there wasn't any other bigger story than this."

The plight of the pachyderm eclipsed the shooting of 34 mineworkers by police during a strike at Lonmin platinum mine in August, and a host of prominent political news.

"People need to understand that we selected a newsmaker not a news event, the Marikana shooting was a news event, with many faces," Slabbert said.

South Africa is home to about three-quarters of Africa's 20,000 or so white rhinos and 4800 critically endangered black rhinos.

"While the rhino has dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons, the media has played a fundamental role in informing not only South Africans, but the world, about the massive tragedy that is unfolding in our country," Slabbert said.

Rhinos are victims of a surging demand for their horns, which some people in Asia think have medicinal properties. The claim is widely discredited.

South Africa and Vietnam last year signed a deal to tackle the trade and several Asian nationals have been arrested for involvement in poaching.

The number of rhinos poached in the country rose sharply over the last five years, from 13 in 2007 to 448 in 2011.

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Syria's Kurds urge opposition to stop Isla

SYRIAN Kurds have urged the opposition to halt a siege against them by Islamist rebels, as the UN condemned the killing of dozens of children across the country over the past week.

The Kurdish National Council, a pro-opposition umbrella group of Syrian Kurdish parties, condemned what it said was an ongoing assault "against unarmed civilians" by jihadist insurgents on the northern town of Ras al-Ain.

It said the rebels, who came across the border from Turkey, were shelling the town indiscriminately, and called on the main opposition National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army to "pressure these militants to stop this criminal war which is detrimental to the Syrian revolution."

On Saturday, one rebel was killed in shelling and fierce clashes that pitted the jihadist Al-Nusra Front against Kurdish fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A resident of Ras al-Ain told AFP both sides appeared to be preparing for a fierce battle, with Kurdish fighters building fortifications and digging trenches, and rebels bringing in reinforcements from across the border.

Turkey, which supports the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is home to a sizeable Kurdish minority whose demands for greater independence it has moved to suppress, notably in air strikes on Kurdish militants groups.

Activists say Turkey may be using jihadists in Syria to fight its own battle against the Kurds.

Elsewhere, Syrian warplanes raided the eastern outskirts of Damascus as army reinforcements arrived in Daraya, a key battleground near the capital, the Observatory said.

The violence came a day after 149 people were killed, according to the Observatory, including 103 civilians and 18 children.

The United Nations Children's Fund condemned the killing of children in Syria.

"A series of reports from Syria this week underlines the terrible price children are paying" in a conflict that has ravaged the country for 22 months and killed more than 60,000 people, UNICEF said.

"Media reports (Friday) from the scene of mass killings in the village of Hasawiya outside Homs said whole families were among the dead," it added.

"UNICEF condemns these latest incidents in the strongest terms, and once again calls on all parties to ensure civilians - and children especially - are spared the effects of the conflict."

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics for its information, says 3,538 children have been killed since the start of the revolt in March 2011.

Meanwhile, Syria's foreign ministry criticised a petition by UN rights chief Navi Pillay and 58 countries calling for a war crimes case against Damascus to be opened at the International Criminal Court.

"The Syrian government regrets the persistence of these countries in following the wrong approach and refusing to recognise the duty of the Syrian state to protect its people from terrorism imposed from abroad," it said.

Those countries, are "hindering the Syrian national dialogue for a peaceful settlement of the crisis as proposed by Assad on January 6." Those talks would only include opposition forces tolerated by the regime, disqualifying the vast majority of the country's rebels.

Rebels offered a stark reply on Saturday by assassinating Khaled al-Hilal, a local official responsible for arranging any such talks in the southern province of Daraa.

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Gas pistol pointed at Bulgaria politician

BULGARIAN police have detained a man after he pointed a gas pistol at an ethnic Turkish party leader delivering a speech at a party caucus in the capital.

No shots were fired from the self-defence device, which is not lethal but can cause serious injuries if fires at close range.

The video from the Saturday event in Sofia shows the man climbing the podium where Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, was speaking, and pointing the gun to his face.

Dogan struck the man before he could pull the trigger, while other delegates wrestled the assailant to the ground. TV footage showed several people punching, kicking and stomping on the man when he was on the ground.

Police arrested him and took him to a hospital. It wasn't immediately clear if he sustained serious injuries, or how he got past security to enter the hall with nearly 3000 people attending.

Eventually, the attacker was identified by police as 25-year-old Oktai Enimehmedov, a Bulgarian national and ethnic Turk, from the coastal city of Burgas.

He was carrying the gas pistol and two knives.

Interior Minister Tsvevtan Tsvetanov told journalists the assailant had a criminal record for drugs possession, robberies and hooliganism.

The liberal MRF party mainly represents ethnic Turks and other Muslims in Bulgaria, who make up 12 per cent of its 7.3-million population.

The conference had to elect a new leader to succeed Dogan, who is one of the Balkan country's most influential political figures. The 58-year-old has been at the helm of the party since founding it in 1990.

Saturday's assault was the gravest attack on a politician in post-communist Bulgaria after the 1996 killing of ex-prime Minister Andrei Lukanov.

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Same driver caught twice for drug driving

A BMW driver has allegedly been caught driving under the influence of drugs twice within three hours.

State Highway Patrol intercepted the black BMW sedan at Melton northwest of Melbourne, just after 8.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday, police say.

The 28-year-old Brookfield man returned a positive reading for methamphetamine and was fined for driving an unregistered vehicle and banned for driving for 12 hours.

Police say the same vehicle was stopped at 11.30pm (AEDT) at Melton South by another patrol unit, where the Brookfield man allegedly again tested positive for drugs.

He is expected to be charged on summons with a number of traffic related offences, and if the test results are confirmed, he will face a $366 fine, and three month suspension of his licence.

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Single parents to protest over payments

WELFARE advocates are planning to protest around Australia next month over the government's cuts to single parent benefits.

From January 1, single parents have not been eligible for the Parenting payment once their youngest child has turned eight years old and have been transferred to the lower Newstart allowance.

More than 60,000 single parents now receive between $60 to $100 a week less under entitlement changes.

The single parents action group (SPAG) are organising rallies in all major cities on February 5 to push for the government to reverse its decision, with the main protest at Parliament House in Canberra.

Protest organiser Samantha Seymour said the payment changes would have a detrimental impact on single parent families.

"Our purpose is to show the government that we will not tolerate their decision to further deprive and isolate Australians whose only crime is being single parents," Ms Seymour said in a statement on Sunday.

Families spokeswoman for the Australian Greens, Rachel Siewert, said she was concerned about the long-term impact of the lower Newstart payments on parents and their children.

"We shouldn't be condemning people to poverty," Senator Siewert said in a statement.

She said the government should reverse these payment cuts and also boost the Newstart allowance by $50 a week.

The government introduced the changes, worth around $728 million in savings over four years, in its bid for a budget surplus in 2012/13.

Last December, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government was unlikely to have a surplus this financial year due to lower than forecast tax revenue.

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Savile's victims set to seek damages

AROUND 50 victims of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile are set to seek damages from the late broadcaster's estate and from organisations including the BBC and Britain's health service, their lawyer said.

A report by British police on Friday said Savile "groomed the nation" over six decades, hiding behind his fame to assault girls, boys and adult women on BBC premises and in schools and hospitals.

Liz Dux, a lawyer representing more than 50 of Savile's victims, said that because Savile had died in 2011 aged 84, civil claims were the only way that they could get justice.

"Compensation is not at the forefront of their mind, but of course it's the only method of recompense that we can get for them now, given that he can't be prosecuted," she said.

Dux said they would consider making claims against Savile's heirs, against the BBC -- the publicly funded UK broadcaster that made Savile one of its biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s -- and the state-run National Health Service.

"We now have to look at what was known in the organisations. Once these inquiries have taken place then we will be able to make progress with the civil claims.

"Those inquiries are hugely important to the evidence and it will be foolhardy to press ahead straight away with the civil claims now without that evidence coming forward.

"A moratorium has been agreed in respect of the majority of the potential defendants to await the outcome of the inquiry."

In the three-month investigation by police and the NSPCC children's charity, it emerged that Savile used his fame as presenter of BBC TV's Top of the Pops chart show and children's program Jim'll Fix It to rape and assault victims on BBC premises as well as in schools and hospitals where he did charity work.

The report recorded 214 criminal offences, including 34 rapes -- 28 of them of children. Three-quarters of the victims were children, mostly girls aged between 13 and 16, but the youngest was an eight-year-old boy.

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