Crisis widens job market gap for women

WOMEN have always faced higher unemployment rates than men, and the sluggish global economy in recent years has only made the situation worse, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says.

On a global scale, women saw their unemployment rate close somewhat on that of men in the 1990s, but the financial crisis since 2008 has reversed that trend, the UN's labour organisation said in a report.

"Gaps that already existed before the crisis have increased after the crisis," said former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who heads the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

She presented with the ILO the Global Employment Trends for Women 2012 report, which showed that women's worldwide unemployment rate from 2002 to 2005 stood at 5.8 per cent, while 5.3 per cent of men were registered as unemployed.

By 2011, 6.4 per cent of women were unwillingly out of work, compared to just 5.7 per cent of men, the report showed.

"The crisis raised this gap from 0.5 to 0.7 percentage points and destroyed 13 million jobs for women," the report said, adding that "projections do not show a significant reduction in this elevated gap by 2013, or even 2017."

This is bad news for the world economy, the organisation said, pointing to an OECD report indicating that a quarter of annual economic growth in Europe in the 1990s was due to increasing employment among women.

Narrowing the gap "is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do," Bachelet said.

The gender gap in unemployment meanwhile varies widely in different regions, with countries in central and eastern Europe for instance seeing higher unemployment among men than women.

This, the ILO explained, is due to the fact that "initially the crisis hit the male-dominated sectors such as construction."

Globally, however, women are harder hit by crises, the ILO explained, since they are more likely to be working on temporary contracts or to have lower education levels.

Women are also more likely than men to exit and re-enter the labour market or to be forced to take part-time work for family reasons.

"Today in the world, in unemployment. . . women are in a very unequal situation," Bachelet said.

"It's not only about glass ceilings, it is also about leaking pipelines," she said, stressing that women in all positions "have to face. . . invisible barriers."

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Egypt seeks to delay loan request: IMF

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

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

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

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

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

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

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US stocks gain in opening trade

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

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

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

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

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

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Fallen police officer to be honoured

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Yemeni offensive on al-Qaeda kills 24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ghana opposition to challenge vote results

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

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

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

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

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

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Egypt protesters breach president's palace

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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US blacklists key Syria rebel group

WASHINGTON has put a key Syrian rebel group on its terror blacklist, citing al-Qaeda links, a day after the jihadist faction showed its power in the battlefield by capturing a key army base.

The US move came amid growing Western concern that al-Qaeda loyalists have been hijacking the 21-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule and could turn any weaponry supplied to the rebels against Western targets.

Washington balanced its move with the announcement of fresh sanctions against pro-Assad militias.

But the blacklist of the Al-Nusra Front marked a major shift in US policy towards the rebels which had previously been tolerant of the large Islamist element within their ranks.

The US State Department said that despite its efforts to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition, Al-Nusra was a front for the al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) organisation that mounted a deadly insurgency against US troops in Syria's eastern neighbour which peaked in 2006-7.

"It is, in fact, an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes," it said.

The Al-Nusra Front's fighters, many of them jihadist volunteers from around the Islamic world, were instrumental in the fall of the army's massive Sheikh Suleiman base in northern Syria on Monday after a months-long siege.

Its role in the seizure of the garrison, the government's last between second city Aleppo and the Turkish border, undercut the military influence of the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) which the West has been counting on to rein in the jihadists.

An AFP journalist who witnessed the clashes around Sheikh Suleiman said many fighters were from other Arab countries and Central Asia.

The US Treasury Department designated two of the Al-Nusra Front's senior leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al-Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, for sanctions.

It also imposed sanctions on two armed militias supporting the Assad regime - Jaysh al-Sha'bi and Shabiha - as well as two Shabiha commanders.

"These militias have been instrumental in the Assad regime's campaign of terror and violence against the citizens of Syria," the Treasury Department said.

The United States "will target the pro-Assad militias just as we will the terrorists who falsely cloak themselves in the flag of the legitimate opposition," said David Cohen, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

At the same time Washington said that it had reason to ease the urgent concerns it had expressed in recent weeks about the dangers of Damascus resorting to use of its chemical weapons stockpiles against the rebels.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Syria had not taken any new steps in recent days that signal a readiness to use its arsenal.

"At this point the intelligence has really kind of levelled off. We haven't seen anything new indicating any aggressive steps to move forward in that way," Panetta told reporters aboard his plane before landing in Kuwait.

"But we continue to monitor it very closely and we continue to make clear to them that they should not under any means make use of these chemical weapons against their own population."

Inside Syria, Islamist rebels loyal to Muslim Brotherhood-backed Liwa al-Tawhid assaulted a military school in battlefield Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The school is very important for its size and location," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that it schooled some 3000 cadets.

In footage posted on the internet with the group's logo, five gunmen were seen firing automatic weapons from behind a hill toward a building in a wooded area, as explosions are heard in the background. The video's authenticity could not be verified.

With the death toll now topping 42,000, according to the Observatory's figures, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and the wider Arab world had now passed half a million.

"And these numbers are currently climbing by more than 3000 a day," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

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