Rand hit as S.Africa fiscal woes deepen

SOUTH Africa's currency and equities markets have slumped after revised figures showed the country's current account in late 2012 was worse than first thought.

The South African Reserve Bank revised the third quarter deficit up to 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product and reported that it hit 6.5 per cent of GDP in the final quarter of the year.

Shortly after the news, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's All Share Index fell by a third of a per cent, but recovered slightly before the close.

The dollar rose by 0.8 per cent against the rand meanwhile, with one greenback fetching 9.1810 rands, though it later trimmed those gains.

But the figures will only add to the pressure on the South African economy, which is already struggling under a toxic mix of slow growth and high prices.

South African Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus recently expressed concerns that the rand weakness was "overdone".

The continued weakness of the South African currency risks fuelling price inflation, which is already hurting poorer consumers.

With inflation approaching six per cent, it is also brushing the upper end of the central bank's own inflation band, leaving little room for the bank to stoke growth by cutting interest rates.

Analyst Peter Attard Montalto of Nomura warned the worst might be still to come with deficits set to rise further, and added: "The currency is still very much overvalued.

"We think the first quarter deficit could be as large as 7.3 per cent of GDP," or gross domestic product, he told clients in a research note.

"In the fourth quarter there were actually outflows of net (foreign direct investment) thanks to divestment by foreign companies."

Confidence in Africa's largest economy has cratered owing to deadly mining strikes and slow implementation of policies designed to bring down unemployment and boost growth.

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Cardinals to begin historic conclave

CARDINALS are preparing for the start of an historic conclave to elect a new pope after Benedict XVI's shock resignation, with the odds favouring a Western conservative to lead the Catholic world.

At a grandiose mass in St Peter's Basilica the cardinals prayed for unity in the Church - a stark reminder of the infighting that often overshadowed Benedict's eight-year pontificate.

The 115 scarlet-robed cardinals burst into thunderous applause when the dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano, publicly thanked the "beloved and venerable" Benedict in his homily.

As the cardinals prepared for the conclave, rainstorms drenched thousands of pilgrims watching the momentous event on four giant screens in St Peter's Square.

One barefoot man in a sackcloth habit knelt on the cobblestones in the pouring rain and was joined by another pilgrim who bowed his head in prayer, as a hymn echoed across the square.

The Princes of the Church will be cut off from the outside world inside the Vatican walls until they have made their choice in a centuries-old ritual - much of it carried out in Latin.

They took to Twitter to say their goodbyes to their online flock before the conclave, where jamming devices will block any communications.

"Last tweet before conclave: May Our Father hear and answer with love and mercy all prayers and sacrifices offered for fruitful outcome. God bless!" South African cardinal Wilfrid Napier said.

The cardinals have to swear not to reveal anything about their talks on pain of excommunication.

They will enter the Sistine Chapel in a procession under Michelangelo's famous frescoes starting at 1530 GMT (0230 AEST), chanting to invoke divine guidance.

The cardinals are then set to hold a first round of voting after which the ballots will be burnt in a special stove in the chapel.

The smoke famously turns white if there is a new pope but the Vatican has already said it expects the smoke from the burning of Tuesday's ballots to be black, indicating no pope has been elected.

Among the candidates, three have emerged as favourites - Italy's Angelo Scola, Brazil's Odilo Scherer and Canada's Marc Ouellet - all of them conservatives like "Pope Emeritus" Benedict XVI.

But there are more names in the rumour mill including cardinals from Austria, Hungary, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States.

Bookmakers said Scola was the favourite, followed by Ghana's Peter Turkson and Scherer.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and Britain's William Hill said Scola's chances had improved dramatically and both gave the Milan archbishop odds of 9/4 to be the next pope.

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Hackers post 'private data' of celebrities

THE US Secret Service has launched an investigation after hackers posted what they said was personal data and credit information of celebrities including first lady Michelle Obama online.

The probe was opened over files which included personal information purportedly from FBI chief Robert Mueller, Vice President Joe Biden, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and celebrities Beyonce and Jay-Z.

"We are investigating, but we will not comment due to... an ongoing investigation," said Secret Service spokesman Max Milien.

The website, which was first reported by TMZ, posted what appeared to be reports from leading credit ratings agencies along with personal financial information and social security numbers.

Attorney General Eric Holder and celebrities including Britney Spears, Mel Gibson and Ashton Kutcher were also among those affected.

The White House declined to answer questions about the report and credit rating agencies involved - Transunion, Equifax, Experian - did not immediately comment.

The Secret Service, along with its duties in protecting the US president and his family, is also involved in investigations of financial fraud and counterfeiting.

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Litvinenko suspect 'pulls out' of inquest

THE chief suspect in the polonium poisoning of Russian dissident and ex-security agent Alexander Litvinenko says he will take no further part in the British inquest into the death, blaming London's decision to keep some sensitive material secret.

Russian MP Andrei Lugovoi said his legal representatives would no longer take part in the inquest or present evidence, claiming that he had lost faith in the British justice system.

"I am forced to announce that I am pulling out of the coroners' inquest and will not take part in it any more," Lugovoi said at a news conference, flanked by his lawyer.

The fact-finding inquest into Litvinenko's death - which does not rule on guilt - is expected to begin later this year. So far there have been pre-inquest hearings.

Lugovoi blamed his decision on British Foreign Secretary William Hague's request to keep some of the evidence secret in the interest of national security.

"There is the position of Britain to make it secret and there is my position: not to take part because it has been made secret, because I don't see the point," he said.

"The whole process looks like a farce."

Hague's decision has also prompted complaints from British media and Litvinenko's widow Marina, whose lawyers have argued the block is a cover-up to improve relations with Russia after it emerged in the pre-inquest review that Litvinenko worked for British spy agency MI6.

The inquest will examine the possible involvement of Lugovoi and another Russian, Dmitry Kovtun, in Litvinenko's death as well as the possible involvement of Russian state agencies, according to a website on the inquest set up by Britain.

The former spy and now MP for a nationalist party has been named by British police as the chief suspect in Litvinenko's 2006 murder after apparently drinking tea laced by polonium, but Russia refuses to extradite him in a row that has strained ties.

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Growing cyber threat to US infrastructure

THE United States faces a mounting danger from cyber attacks on its infrastructure while digital espionage threatens to undercut the military's technological edge, the intelligence chief says.

Citing "increasing risk to US critical infrastructure," National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in an annual report to Congress that "unsophisticated" attacks could penetrate poorly protected computer networks for power grids or similar systems.

The threat of a large-scale digital assault that could cripple a regional power network was genuine but remained a "remote" possibility, the report said.

"We judge that there is a remote chance of a major cyber attack against US critical infrastructure systems during the next two years that would result in long-term, wide-scale disruption of services, such as a regional power outage," it said.

The report placed more importance on cyber threats than previous years, with more words on the problem than on Islamist militants in Afghanistan.

Countries with advanced cyber capabilities, such as Russia and China, were unlikely to launch a massive digital assault on the United States unless there was a military conflict or grave crisis that put their national interests at risk, according to the report.

But "there is a risk that unsophisticated attacks would have significant outcomes due to unexpected system configurations and mistakes, or that vulnerability at one node might spill over and contaminate other parts of a networked system," it said.

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UN monitor alarmed by Iran media crackdown

THE United Nation's monitor for human rights in Iran has sounded the alarm over a rise in arrests of journalists, saying this was part of a pattern of increasing violations as presidential elections loom.

Seventeen journalists were arrested in the space of one week in January, Ahmed Shaheed told reporters.

In addition, some 50 journalists were already behind bars, he said.

"I'm increasingly alarmed about the plight of journalists, bloggers and others who are defenders and practitioners of freedom of expression in Iran," he said.

"They have been charged with communicating with international news organisations or communicating with human rights organisations, both of which should be protected under law rather than being penalised."

Iran's 2009 elections were marked by a crackdown on opposition and Shaheed noted that there had been little effort to offer redress for the victims and hold perpetrators to account.

The media also faced sharpened state pressure in the 2102 parliamentary elections.

"I am concerned that with elections around the corner in June, these actions against journalists do not bode well for the prospects of a free and fair election in the country," he said.

Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives who is now a human rights academic in Britain, was named the UN's Iran monitor in 2011.

On Monday he presented a report on Iran to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

He spotlighted repression of freedom of speech and a slew of other abuses, including torture, forced confessions, secret executions and the jailing of members of the political opposition.

He also pointed to violations of the rights of women and of religious and ethnic minorities.

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Late-winter snowstorm batters Europe

A HEAVY late-winter snowstorm has battered northwestern Europe, causing widespread travel chaos with the cancellation of hundreds of flights, suspension of train services and huge traffic jams.

The unseasonable snowfall - coming only eight days before the official start of spring - also knocked out power to thousands of people in France and left hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars.

France was worst affected but Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands also reported major disruptions.

Frankfurt Airport, Europe's third-busiest hub, had only one runway open for takeoffs on Tuesday afternoon, after being briefly forced to completely close due to the heavy snow.

An airport spokesman said 335 flights had been cancelled out of a scheduled daily total of 1250.

The Eurostar train between London and Paris, the Thalys line between Paris and Brussels and all other high-speed train lines in northern France were suspended until at least Wednesday.

Nearly a third of France's regions were on alert and the government activated a ministerial crisis group.

Two northern French regions, Calvados and Manche, were under a "red alert" urging resident to stay indoors - the first time such an alert was activated because of snow.

More than 2000 people were stranded in their cars overnight as heavy snow paralysed roads in Normandy and Brittany, with many spending the night in emergency shelters.

About 80,000 homes in the north and northwest of France were without power, following snowfalls of up to 30 centimetres and winds creating metre-high snowdrifts. Schools in some northern regions were closed.

The snow caused major disruptions as it moved into Paris, with authorities urging the seven million commuters who use public transport every day to stay home. Several major roads around the capital were forced to close.

The city's two main airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, said they had cancelled up to a quarter of flights and the nearby Beauvais airport, serving mainly low-cost airlines, cancelled all flights.

Hundreds were also stuck in their cars overnight in Britain, some for more than 10 hours as ice, snow and freezing winds descended on southeastern England.

Police, rescue services, snow ploughs and gritting lorries battled to help the motorists in temperatures as low as -3.0 degrees Celsius, with some areas under 10 centimetres of snow.

Public transport in Berlin was affected with several regional trains cancelled or severely delayed. There were also a spate of crashes on icy German roads with several people seriously hurt and one death, according to police.

In Belgium, the snowstorms caused massive traffic disruptions, with vehicles backed up on 1600 kilometres of freeways due to snowdrifts and ice.

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Cyprus peace push to follow bailout

CYPRUS peace envoy Alexander Downer says the UN will launch a new bid for talks on reuniting the island only after it has secured a bailout for its nearly bankrupt economy.

Downer returned to Cyprus for a first meeting with Nicos Anastasiades, the newly elected Greek Cypriot president, before holding talks in the island's north with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

"It's my judgment... that Cypriots need for the moment to conclude the negotiations - particularly the president - with the troika" of international lenders, said Downer.

"Those economic issues are bigger economic issues than most countries face. Those economic issues need to be dealt with," the UN envoy told reporters.

Cyprus needs 17 billion euros ($A21.74 billion) to save its Greek-exposed banks and keep its recession-hit economy afloat.

The Australian diplomat said he would be back in April after doing a tour of regional capitals and briefing UN chief Ban Ki-moon on the state of play.

"Next week I'll be in New York; I'll be seeing the secretary general... I think we have an increasingly clear picture about how President Anastasiades wants to take this process forward."

Downer congratulated the president on February's "decisive" election victory but said he was faced with "huge challenges" of turning the economy around.

"That's not our business but suffice it to say we are very sympathetic with the challenges he and the people of Cyprus, more broadly, have to face of an economic nature."

UN-backed peace negotiations are currently in limbo with direct talks put on hold for more than a year after a failure to bridge the gap on core issues of power sharing, property rights and territorial adjustments.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkish troops invaded in response to a Greek-inspired coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece. Only Ankara recognises the authorities in the Turkish-occupied north.

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