Quake near Iran nuclear plant kills 20

A POWERFUL earthquake has struck near Iran's Gulf port city of Bushehr, killing at least 20 people and injuring 650 but leaving Iran's only nuclear power plant intact, officials say.

Shocks from the quake were felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, provoking panic and the brief evacuation of some office towers, residents and media said.

At least 20 bodies had been taken to the morgue in the city of Khormoj, an unnamed hospital official told Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Khormoj, east of provincial capital Bushehr, is about 35km from Kaki.

Bushehr provincial Governor Fereydoon Hasanvand said at least 650 people needed medical help.

There were no immediate details on where the casualties occurred, but the head of Iran's Red Crescent rescue corps, Mahmoud Mozafar, said it appeared at least one village near Khormoj had been razed.

Media reports said search and rescue teams had been sent to the area, where telephones and electricity had been cut.

Meanwhile, Hasanvand told state television "no damage at all has been caused" to the nuclear plant.

The facility's chief engineer, Mahmoud Jafari, told Arabic-language Al-Alam television "no operational or security protocols were breached".

The 6.1 magnitude quake hit at 4.22pm (2152 AEST) with a depth of 12 kilometres, in the area of Kaki, nearly 90km southeast of Bushehr, the Iran Seismological Centre said.

The agency has so far reported more than a dozen after shocks, the strongest at 5.3 magnitude.

The US Geological Survey ranked the quake at a more powerful 6.3 magnitude.

In Dubai, hundreds of kilometres down the Gulf from Bushehr and home to the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, local media reported that several high-rise buildings were briefly evacuated.

"Chandeliers were shaking," tweeted one resident.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes.

A double earthquake struck northwest Iran last August, killing more than 300 people.

In December 2010, a big quake struck the southern city of Bam, killing 31,000.

The long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant is yet to become fully operational.

Iran is at loggerheads with world powers over its development of a controversial nuclear program, which the Western and Israel suspect is aimed at military objectives despite Tehran's denials.

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US nun admits taking $125K from churches

A ROMAN Catholic nun with a gambling addiction has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $US130,000 ($A125,430) from two parishes in rural western New York state.

The Daily News of Batavia reports 68-year-old Sister Mary Anne Rapp pleaded guilty Monday in Orleans County Court to grand larceny

She admits she stole the money from St Mary's Church in Holley and St Mark's Church in Kendall from March 2006 to April 2011.

Rapp faces up to six months in jail when she's sentenced July 1.

She'll also be required to pay restitution that would be worked out at a later date.

Rapp was arrested in November after discrepancies were found during an audit.

Investigators said she stole the money to feed a gambling addiction and spent the money at western New York casinos.

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Killer mum on her way back to Sydney

KILLER mum Allyson McConnell is set to touch down in Sydney this morning, leaving behind shattered lives and a political firestorm in Canada.

McConnell, 34, who was sentenced to six years' jail for drowning her two young sons in a bathtub in her adopted home town of Millet, Alberta, was taken through a non-public security checkpoint at Edmonton airport on Monday night.

According to Canadian media reports, she flew from Edmonton to Vancouver, where she caught a Sydney-bound Air Canada flight.

Her mother, Helen Meager from Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, was reportedly accompanying McConnell on the 15.5 hour journey from Vancouver to Sydney.

McConnell's former husband, Curtis McConnell, along with prosecutors and the Alberta Justice Minister, fought to keep McConnell in Canada until the appeals for her six-year sentence and acquittal on second-degree murder charges were heard.

"We fear that if Allyson Meager McConnell is deported to Australia, we will never see her face justice for the horror and terror she inflicted on two innocent babies before killing them," Mr McConnell's family said in a statement released on Sunday.

"How can we be assured that this case will not get swept under the rug when we have not been kept in the loop up to this point?"

McConnell admitted she drowned her sons, two-year-old Connor and 10-month-old Jayden, in the bathtub in 2010 and at her trial last year she was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter, but not second-degree murder.

The judge found McConnell was suffering psychological issues and there was reasonable doubt she had the specific intent to kill Connor and Jayden.

While McConnell was sentenced to six years, with time already served credits, she spent just 10 months in the psychiatric ward of Alberta Hospital.

The trial heard how the McConnells' marriage had broken down in 2009, Mr McConnell moved out of the family home and filed for divorce and a judge ordered McConnell could not take her sons back to Australia.

Mr McConnell found his two sons floating in the bathtub, with his former wife's wedding ring sitting on the toilet seat next to the bath.

McConnell's release after 10 months has led to a war of words between Alberta politicians, and their federal counterparts, with each side blaming the other for McConnell's release ahead of the appeals and exit to Australia.

Alberta's Justice Minister Jonathan Denis has vowed to extradite McConnell from Australia if the appeals for a stiffer sentence are successful.

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Reagan-Thatcher: allies but often at odds

WHEN US president Ronald Reagan ordered the 1983 invasion of the small Caribbean island of Grenada after a coup, he got an earful from an angry world leader: his closest ally, Britain's Margaret Thatcher.

Friends with her fellow conservative confidante since the mid-1970s, the prime minister was furious she had not been consulted ahead of the US storming of a territory in the British Commonwealth.

Thatcher and Reagan were ideological soul mates, after all - two Western giants who were staring down the Soviet empire while sharing free-market and anti-communist convictions that led to startling shifts in the political and economic landscapes of their countries.

That did not stop Reagan from what he described in his diary at the time as his need for operational secrecy.

A livid Thatcher summoned assistant secretary of state Richard Burt, who "just let her yell at us for a couple of hours", he recalled to AFP after Thatcher died of a stroke on Monday aged 87.

The episode illustrates the complexities of the deep but volatile friendship between the leaders that endured a pinballing of crises and lasted well beyond Reagan's 1981-1989 presidency and Thatcher's 1979-1990 premiership.

Fierce defenders of their own interests, together they ushered in dramatic turnarounds from the economic malaise gripping their countries and rolled back the welfare state movement as they pushed to shrink government and grow the global free market.

US lawmakers bent over with praise of Thatcher and the relationship she cultivated with the man she called her "dear friend".

President Barack Obama was reminded of her "standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan," while Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner spoke of Thatcher's "loyalty to Ronald Reagan and their friendship that we all admired".

Looking back, Burt said the two leaders "had a very warm relationship. They saw the world in similar ways."

Nancy Reagan agreed, telling MSNBC on Monday: "I loved it that she and Ronnie were as close as they were."

But while images of "The Gipper" driving a beaming "Iron Lady" around Camp David in a golf cart filled newspapers, they masked crucial disagreements about Cold War flashpoints like the Falklands, the Soviet Union, nuclear threats and the Middle East.

"On all these things we now know they disagreed, and very often Margaret Thatcher would tear a strip off the president during their phone calls," said Bard College professor Richard Aldous, author of Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship.

"So I think that the very kind of 'flowers and champagne' image that they very often liked to present is very far from the much harder political reality."

But such shrewdness hardly undermined the most storied trans-Atlantic partnership of the last 70 years.

"It just shows how incredibly clever they were at ... marketing their relationship in a kind of political marriage," Aldous said.

They came from similarly humble backgrounds, and each grew up far from their nations' capitals, wary of big government.

Reagan wrote in his memoirs after hosting Thatcher for his first White House state dinner that he was "immediately" smitten.

"She was warm, feminine, gracious and intelligent - and it was evident from our first words that we were soul mates when it came to reducing government and expanding economic freedom," Reagan noted.

Thatcher later returned the compliment, praising Reagan for having "won the Cold War without firing a shot".

But in private they were often at odds.

When Thatcher ordered British troops deployed to the windswept Falkland Islands in April 1982 amid a sovereignty dispute with Argentina, Reagan spoke with his friend several times by phone in an effort to avoid war.

He dispatched his top diplomat Alexander Haig on a mission of shuttle diplomacy between London and Buenos Aires, but the talks fizzled.

After a May 13 call to Thatcher, Reagan wrote in his diary: "I talked to Margaret but don't think I persuaded her against further action."

In 1986 the tension rose again, after the Reykjavik Summit where Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev pressed for a dramatic reduction in their nuclear arsenals.

Thatcher two years earlier had met with Gorbachev and famously said that "we can do business together", but after Reykjavik she went to Camp David and quietly berated the US president for exposing Western Europe's defensive flank with his nuclear stance.

"When Margaret Thatcher got upset, people noticed in Washington," Burt said.

"She had a credibility that nobody else in Europe had with people in the White House."

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UN peacekeepers, staff killed in Sth Sudan

FIVE Indian peacekeepers and at least seven UN civilian workers have been killed in an ambush in South Sudan with others still missing, a day after warnings about spiralling violence.

Hilde Johnson, the top UN official in South Sudan, "condemns the strongest terms the killing today of five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) in an ambush by unidentified assailants", she said in a statement.

"At least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured in the attack, and some remain unaccounted for," she added.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin blamed unknown "rebels" who attacked while the soldiers were "escorting a UN convoy".

The volatile eastern state of Jonglei has been the scene of widespread ethnic conflict since South Sudan became independent in July 2011, with bloody battles between rival tribes, including the Dinka, Lou Nuer and Murle people.

Clashes between the army and a former theology scholar turned rebel called David Yau Yau from the Murle people have devastated large parts of this troubled region.

Still reeling from more than two decades of civil war that left this region awash with guns and riven by ethnic hatred, traditional cattle raiding between rival tribes has escalated into a wave of brutal killings.

South Sudan army spokesman Philip Aguer blamed Yau Yau for the attack, which took place close to an army base near Gumuruk, a remote village in the restive Pibor region.

Amid renewed clashes between ethnic groups and government forces, UN troops have recently stepped up their patrols to deter violence and fulfil their mission of protecting civilians.

An Indian soldier was shot and wounded in Jonglei in March amid high tensions about an imminent government crackdown on rebels, while the army shot down a UN helicopter in December by mistake, killing all four Russians on board.

Johnson warned on Monday about the "destabilisation" of the region.

"Without stability and peace in Jonglei, the largest state in South Sudan, in the long run stability also in the country could be at risk," she told reporters.

"I urge the Murle, Lou Nuer and Dinka communities, their leaders, and the governments of Jonglei and South Sudan to resume and sincerely engage in peace initiatives," she added.

South Sudan's army launched the latest offensive against Yau Yau's rebels in March.

At the end of 2011, barely six months after South Sudan declared independence after decades of civil war with the north, some 8,000 armed Lou Nuer youths rampaged through Pibor County, vowing to exterminate their cattle-keeping rivals, the Murle.

The UN estimated that over 600 people were killed and around 300 in smaller revenge attacks.

A subsequent disarmament campaign led by security forces, mired in claims from rights groups of abuses against civilians, pushed some residents towards Yau Yau's militia.

India is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world and has suffered losses in the past.

In 2010, rebels hacked to death three Indians in their camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Akbaruddin said that the Indian foreign ministry was arranging for the bodies of its peacekeepers in South Sudan to be returned home.

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European equities diverge on data

EUROPEAN stock markets have ended mixed, with London gaining on data showing Britain may escape a triple-dip recession while Frankfurt retreated on disappointing trade figures.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies ended on Tuesday with a gain of 0.58 per cent to 6,313.21 points, Paris' CAC40 edged out an 0.11 per cent rise to 3,670.72 points in choppy trade, while in Frankfurt the DAX 30 dropped 0.33 per cent to 7,637.51 points.

"A weaker than expected Chinese inflation number and a better than expected earnings report from Alcoa in the US has given basic resource stocks a lift today, helping push the London market higher however broader European markets have struggled for traction, with the DAX in particular underperforming," said CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson.

Beijing unveiled data showing inflation at 2.1 per cent in March, well down from the 10-month-high of 3.2 per cent seen the month before and below forecasts for 2.4 per cent.

The news eased investor concerns that another high figure would prompt authorities to tighten monetary policy further.

"All else equal, the more growth there can be in China, the more demand there will ultimately be for basic materials," added Briefing.com's Patrick O'Hare.

London trading was also lifted by news that manufacturing output rose 0.8 per cent in February from January, dampening speculation that the economy returned to recession in the first quarter of 2013.

However, separate data showed that Britain's trade deficit widened in February, largely because of a 1.1 per cent slide in exports amid weaker demand from the crisis-hit eurozone.

Trading in Frankfurt was dampened by data showing that German exports fell in February, in another sign that Europe's biggest economy has not fully recovered from a dip at the end of last year.

The European single currency increased to $US1.3087 from $US1.3005 late in New York on Monday.

"Without momentum from the data side EUR-USD has been able to establish itself above the 1.30 mark without generating stronger momentum though," said analysts at Commerzbank.

The yen slumped further against the US dollar, after last week's Bank of Japan stimulus news. The greenback surged overnight to 99.66 yen - the highest level since May 2009. It stood at 98.93 yen in European deals, down from 99.36 late on Monday.

Asian stock markets mostly rose on Tuesday, boosted by positive inflation data from China, but Tokyo's winning streak ended on profit-taking, edging down following an almost 10 per cent rally since Wednesday fuelled by the BoJ stimulus measures.

Tokyo investors have gone on a buying spree since the Bank of Japan last week unveiled a huge stimulus package aimed at reversing decades of deflation.

On the upside, Sydney added 1.45 per cent, Seoul gained 0.11 per cent and Shanghai won 0.64 per cent, while Hong Kong increased by 0.70 per cent in value.

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US to hit NKorea missile if allies at risk

A TOP US military commander says he favours shooting down a North Korean missile only if it threatens the United States or Washington's allies in the region.

When asked by politicians on Tuesday if he supported knocking out any missile fired by North Korea, Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of US Pacific Command, said: "I would not recommend that."

But the four-star admiral told the Senate Armed Services Committee he would "certainly recommend" intercepting an incoming North Korean missile "if it was in defence of our allies" or the United States.

Amid widespread speculation North Korea could be preparing a missile launch, Locklear said he was confident the US military would be able to detect quickly where any missile was headed.

"It doesn't take long for us to determine where it's going and where it's going to land," said Locklear, who oversees American forces in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US military has a powerful radar in Japan to help track a possible missile launch as well as naval ships in the area equipped with anti-missile weaponry. Japan and South Korea also have their own missile defence systems.

The Pacific Command chief's comments underscore the delicate balancing act faced by President Barack Obama as his administration attempts to demonstrate US resolve without aggravating the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

Given North Korea's repeated violations of UN Security Council resolutions that bar the pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, Pyongyang represents "a clear and direct threat to US national security and regional peace and stability", Locklear said.

North Korea has issued dire threats it could attack the US with nuclear weapons, but experts doubt it is able to do so.

Both the admiral and lawmakers voiced concern that possible miscalculation could trigger an unintended war.

To try to manage tensions, a new joint military plan between the US and South Korea was designed to carefully counter North Korea's provocations but "without unnecessary escalation", Locklear said.

Lawmakers said China needed to use its influence with North Korea to defuse the crisis.

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Colbert lures Bill Clinton to Twitter

BILL Clinton is now on Twitter, albeit without a very presidential name.

Comedian Stephen Colbert lured the former US president to the social networking site on The Colbert Report on Monday, signing him up with the handle PrezBillyJeff.

Clinton dictated his first message to Colbert, who typed: "Just spent an amazing time with Colbert! Is he sane? He is cool!"

Whether Clinton would continue to use the account remained uncertain. Colbert's hand is clearly in the account's bio, too. It reads: "Stephen Colbert is my BFF."

By Tuesday morning, the account had amassed nearly 50,000 followers and was climbing fast.

Colbert interviewed Clinton not in his New York studio, but at the annual Clinton Global Initiative University gathering in St Louis. The interview had been taped on Saturday.

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