Nigeria gunmen kill six at Christmas mass

GUNMEN have attacked a church in northern Nigeria during midnight mass on Christmas Eve, killing six people including the pastor, before setting the building ablaze, residents and police say.

"A group of gunmen came into the village at midnight and went straight to the church," said Usman Mansir, a resident of Peri village near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state.

"They opened fire on them, killing the pastor and five worshippers. They then set fire to the church," he added, specifying that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was targeted.

A senior police official in Yobe confirmed the details to AFP, but declined to be named.

Yobe police chief Sanusi Rufa'i said "this is a security issue" and refused to comment further.

Boko Haram Islamists have carried out several attacks in Yobe, which borders the state of Maiduguri, where the insurgent group is based.

The Islamists are blamed for killing hundreds of people in northern Nigeria since 2009. It was not clear who was behind the latest violence.

While Yobe's population is overwhelmingly Muslim, the commercial hub of Potiskum has a significant Christian minority. Peri is just two kilometres outside the city.

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Queen calls for togetherness at Christmas

LOOKING past the scandal which has at times shaken the royal family in 2012, a humble Queen has sent out a global thanks to those who helped celebrate her 60-year reign.

During the monarch's Christmas message, in which she became the first royal to appear in 3D format, the 86-year-old sovereign touched on friendship, sport, duty and religion.

In her address, the Queen recognised the efforts of those serving in the armed forces and emergency services.

Grandson Prince Harry, 28, continues to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan in his role as a British Army apache helicopter co-pilot.

Earlier in the year, the playboy prince attracted unwanted exposure when caught short of clothing on camera during a game of strip billiards in Las Vegas.

Prince William's much-adored wife Catherine also made global headlines as topless photos taken during a holiday in France popped up in tabloids and glossy magazines. The surrounding hubbub soon came to an end with the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge, 30, is expecting her first baby.

However, news of the royal pregnancy led to further controversy with the death of a nurse working at a hospital where Catherine was being treated for acute morning sickness after a prank call by Australian DJs.

While there was no mention of her own family in her address, the Queen focused on community spirit and support.

"It's important at this time of year to reach out beyond our familiar relationships to think of those who are on their own," she said.

The Queen sent her thanks to those who helped celebrate her Diamond Jubilee Year.

"It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations," she said.

She labelled the London 2012 Games as a "splendid summer of sport", with mention of the dedicated volunteers who contributed to the city's successful role as Olympics host.

"It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others," the Queen said of Jesus Christ.

"I wish you all a very happy Christmas."

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Fukushima kids getting fatter

CHILDREN in Fukushima are getting fatter as outdoor activities have been cut in the area due to radiation fears after last year's nuclear disaster, a Japanese government report said.

The education ministry said it had surveyed the heights and weights of about 700,000 children, aged between five and 17, at schools and kindergartens across the country this year.

It compared the number of obese children, defined as weighing at least 20 per cent more than the average for their age and height, among the 47 prefectures.

Fukushima registered the highest rates in seven of the 13 age groups, the ministry said. In 2010, the prefecture on the north of the main island Honshu topped the table only in the 10th year of school.

"The amount of exercise has declined in Fukushima, mainly among elementary school pupils, as outdoor activities in some locations have been restricted after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident," a ministry official told a news conference.

In Fukushima, 449 - or 56 per cent of public schools - curbed outdoor activities during school time as of June last year due to radiation concerns, Kyodo news agency said.

Such restrictions remained in place at 71 elementary and junior high schools as of September this year, Kyodo said.

In the accident of March last year, an earthquake-triggered tsunami smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking meltdowns and explosions.

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Morocco busts Qaida recruitment cell

MOROCCAN authorities said they had broken up a recruitment cell for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in the central Fez region, after announcing the discovery of a jihadist network last month.

"The police, in coordination with the leadership of territorial surveillance, have dismantled a cell with six members, originating from the city of Fez," the interior ministry said in a statement.

The aim of the cell was to "enroll and recruit young Moroccans who have embraced jihadist ideas, in order to send them to camps of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Algeria," it added.

Among those arrested was a "former prisoner detained under the anti-terrorism law," who had been "extradited from Algeria in 2005 after he attempted to join the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)."

AQIM, the global terror network's north African branch, evolved from the GSPC, a breakaway group of militant Algerian Islamists who refused to lay down their weapons when Algeria's civil war ended.

Last month, the Moroccan authorities said they had dismantled several "terrorist" cells that were planning to attack strategic targets in the kingdom.

More than 2000 Islamists were arrested and sentenced after 2003 suicide bomb attacks in Morocco's second city of Casablanca that killed 45 people including the 12 attackers.

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Egypt court frees Mubarak-era Senate chief

AN Egyptian court has freed the former Senate leader under ousted president Hosni Mubarak on bail, after spending the maximum permitted 18 months in jail awaiting his corruption trial, the official MENA news agency reports.

Safwat al-Sherif, one of the top-ranking members of Mubarak's National Democrat Party, was allowed out on payment of the equivalent of $US8100 ($A7830).

He is one of several Mubarak-era officials facing charges of corruption and abuse of power.

In October he and other former regime officials were acquitted of charges of ordering horse- and camel-riders to attack protesters in Cairo during the country's uprising.

Mubarak himself is serving a life sentence for the deaths of some of the 850 protesters in the revolution. He is appealing the conviction, and a court will decide on January 13 whether or not to order a new trial.

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Iran begins naval war games

IRAN has launched naval manoeuvres in the Gulf, and announced plans for another exercise in the strategic Strait of Hormuz later this week, media reports said.

Revolutionary Guards naval units began a four-day exercise inside Iranian waters at South Pars, a joint gas field between Iran and Qatar, a Guards spokesman was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

The drill, dubbed "Fajr 91," is aimed at honing "capabilities in executing defensive and security scenarios," Admiral Alireza Nasseri said without elaborating.

The Guards are tasked with defending Iran's territorial waters in the Gulf.

The regular navy, meanwhile, on December 28 begins an exercise dubbed "Velayat 91," covering an area that includes the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean, navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari said in remarks reported by the ISNA news agency.

Warships, submarines and missile defence systems will be used and tested during the exercise, Admiral Sayari said.

"We will definitely respect the maritime border of our neighbours, and conduct the manoeuvres based on international law," Admiral Sayari said.

"Iran aims to demonstrate its defensive naval capabilities by conducting this exercise, and send a message of peace and friendship to regional countries."

Iran frequently conducts missile tests and manoeuvres to underline its military muscle and has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic should it be attacked.

The strait is a narrow channel at the entrance of the Gulf through which a third of the world's traded oil passes.

The US has warned Iran that any attempt to close the strait would be viewed as a "red line" - grounds for US military action.

Iran's navy, with 17,000 servicemen, is tasked with defending Iranian interests in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Its offshore forces are limited to half a dozen small frigates and destroyers, and three Russian Kilo class submarines.

Iran regularly denounces the regional presence of foreign forces, including the US, particularly those stationed in the Gulf. It says the security of the region must be ensured "by regional countries."

Arab monarchies on the opposite side of the Gulf from Iran are worried by what they see as territorial ambitions by the Islamic republic, which frequently stresses Persia's historic dominance over the waterway.

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17 killed as Yemen army, tribesmen clash

YEMEN'S army has launched an offensive against tribesmen suspected of repeatedly sabotaging an oil pipeline in the country's east, sparking clashes that left 17 people dead, tribal sources say.

The dead included 10 tribesmen and seven soldiers, said the sources, who added the offensive in Marib province's Habab valley, 140 kilometres east of the capital Sanaa, was launched in the early hours of Tuesday and backed by air raids.

The sources said the army was "randomly shelling" the area where some al-Qaeda militants joined tribesmen battling Yemeni troops. Marib is a major al-Qaeda stronghold.

Tribesmen, of whom 18 were also wounded according to the same sources, fought back with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, one source said.

According to official figures, lost production because of attacks on the oil pipeline in the east cost the government more than $US1 billion ($A965 million) in 2012, while oil exports fell by 4.5 per cent.

A tribal source told AFP the offensive was targeting prominent figure Salah bin Hussein al-Dammaj, who has allegedly blown up the pipeline several times to pressure the authorities to pay him 100 million riyals ($A465,000) in compensation for land he claims was taken from him in Sanaa.

The 320-kilometre pipeline carries oil from Safer oilfields in Marib to an export terminal on the Red Sea. It carries about 180,000 barrels per day.

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Military plane crashes, killing 27

KAZAKHSTAN'S acting border service chief was among 27 people killed in a military plane crash near a southern city, authorities said.

The An-72 crashed at 1255 GMT (11.55pm AEDT) about 20 kilometres away from the city of Shymkent near the border with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan's Committee for National Security said in a statement.

The fatalities included a crew of seven and 20 border guards, including the acting head of the ex-Soviet nation's border protection service, Col. Turganbek Stambekov, the statement said. Without specifying further details, authorities said an investigation was opened into the crash.

Stambekov was appointed acting head of the border service in June, after a mass killing of 14 frontier troops in a remote Kazakh outpost near China the month before. Vladislav Chelakh, a 20-year-old conscript, was sentenced earlier this month to life in prison after being found solely responsible for the killings.

The border service has come under close scrutiny in Kazakhstan since the killings, which many argued showed the lack of readiness and professionalism among serving troops. Legislation approved Thursday by the upper house of parliament and supported by Stambekov was designed to improve the process for selecting conscripts for the service.

The Kazakh-Uzbek border stretches 2200 kilometres of Central Asian steppes and deserts.

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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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Crude oil prices fall on US data

CRUDE prices have fallen after data showed US manufacturing activity contracted last month, while dealers grow concerned at the lack of progress on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Brent North Sea crude for January dropped $1.04 to $US109.88 ($A105.89) per barrel in London early afternoon deals.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, shed 72 cents to $88.37 a barrel.

"Crude oil prices continue to be on a consolidation mode, as mixed macroeconomic data from the United States and eurozone, and uncertainty about a potential 'fiscal cliff' dominate the markets," said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.

She added: "Due to the lack of US economic indicators, we expect thin trading conditions and further consolidation in the oil market today."

Crude oil prices had diverged on Monday as a weak reading in US manufacturing data for November offset an encouraging rebound in China's manufacturing sector.

The US Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity contracted in November in the world's biggest oil consumer, after two straight months of gains. The reading was also the lowest level of activity since July 2009.

Adding to concerns about the United States, Democrats and Republicans blamed each other over their proposals on action to close the huge US deficit.

If a deal is not reached to address the huge tax hikes and spending cuts that are due to come into effect on January 1, the world's biggest economy will likely tip into recession next year - and this would ravage global energy demand.

The White House late on Monday laid into a proposal tabled by the Republicans as not meeting "the test of balance".

The Democrats days before submitted a proposal that Republicans derided as "ridiculous".

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US stocks open mixed amid budget impasse

US stocks have opened mixed, getting a lift from European market gains while US politicians continued to wrangle over a budget plan that would avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.40 points (0.10 per cent) to 12,978.00 in the first few minutes of trade.

The broad-market S&P 500 edged down 0.72 point (0.05 per cent) to 1408.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 5.13 (0.17 per cent) to 2997.07.

The action came after the stock indexes started December in loss mode on Monday, with Washington's budget impasse weighing on sentiment.

"With the economic calendar empty, the unresolved fiscal cliff is likely to continue to command the lion's share of the Street's attention," said Charles Schwab & Co analysts.

On Monday, Republicans responded to President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction proposal with their own plan that raises half the income proposed by Obama and opposes a tax rate increase for the rich.

The White House swiftly rejected the counter-offer, leaving a stalemate less than a month ahead of the sharp automatic tax increases and spending reductions that take effect in January.

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Police arrest 2 linked to Toulouse gunman

FRENCH police have arrested two people in connection with the attacks by extremist gunman Mohamed Merah, whose shooting spree in and around the southern city of Toulouse left seven people dead.

A man described by police as a 38-year-old member of the traveller community who converted to Islam was detained on suspicion of having provided aid to Merah in carrying out the March attacks that shocked France.

He was arrested without incident at his home in the town of Albi, about 70 kilometres from Toulouse, where he was to be taken for questioning, police sources said.

His ex-girlfriend, also 38, was arrested separately at her home in Toulouse, in the same neighbourhood where Merah lived.

She was questioned shortly after her arrest. Police said she may have been aware of her ex-boyfriend's alleged involvement with Merah and failed to inform authorities.

The nature of his alleged involvement was unclear, but investigators have been searching for a suspected "third man" believed to have been with Merah and his brother Abdelkader during the theft of a scooter used in the attacks.

The detained man was known to police, a source said.

Merah shot a rabbi, three Jewish schoolchildren and three French paratroopers in March before being shot dead in a police siege in Toulouse.

Abdelkader was arrested after the attacks and remains in custody.

Sources close to the investigation warned against concluding that the suspect arrested on Tuesday was the "third man". He can be held for questioning for up to 96 hours without charge.

Merah's elder brother Abdelghani previously told French media that someone from the traveller community may have been involved in stealing the scooter.

Investigators are also probing whether any possible accomplices may have provided funds or weapons used by Merah.

A petty criminal who was lured into Islamic extremist circles in Toulouse, Merah visited Afghanistan and Pakistan before his attacks.

Since his shooting spree, it has become clear that Merah had been on the radar of France's security services for years and that authorities under-estimated the extent of his radicalisation following his trips abroad.

French intelligence services have been heavily criticised for failing to realise the threat posed by Merah.

His attacks prompted a rethink of French security policies, with legislation being considered that will allow authorities to prosecute citizens who attend militant Islamist training camps abroad and to boost monitoring of extremist sites on the internet.

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Exports, spending cuts to hurt GDP growth

WEAKER exports and government spending cuts are likely to have slowed the pace of economic growth in the September quarter.

The median market forecast is for the Australian economy to have grown by 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, according to an AAP survey of 13 economists last week.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to report on Wednesday that over the year to September, the economy is to have grown by 3.1 per cent.

This will be a considerable slowdown compared to the 3.7 per cent growth recorded in the 12 months to June.

TD Securities Asia-Pacific macro strategist Alvin Pontoh said weaker exports and spending cuts from state and federal governments were expected to weigh on economic growth.

"It's lower than the first half of the year but it is not a bad rate of growth," he said.

"In the first half of the year, you had strong consumption but that is partly because of a number of temporary factors, including retailers' discounting and carbon tax compensation, but those effects are going to fade."

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One dead in violent clashes in Bangladesh

PROTESTERS from Bangladesh's largest Islamic party have clashed with security forces in cities across the country in violence that has left one dead, police say.

Jamaat-e-Islami called a strike on Tuesday to protest against the arrest and trial of its leaders, who face charges of war crimes during the country's 1971 liberation struggle.

An 18-year-old youth was shot dead on Monday night during clashes in the northern town of Chirirbandar, 300 kilometres from the capital Dhaka, and unrest spread to other cities on Tuesday.

Jamaat supporters torched and damaged about 20 vehicles including a car belonging to the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday and 69 people were detained on charges of violence, police said.

"Jamaat activists hurled bricks at a US embassy car which was coming from the airport after dropping a foreigner. They also tried to torch the car," police sub-inspector Abu Saleh told AFP.

In a statement posted in the party's website, Jamaat's acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman said "sorry" for the incident saying they were ready to pay compensation for the damaged car and to the injured driver.

Violence was also reported in the eastern town of Brahmanbaria and in the cities of Sylhet, Rajshahi and Narayanganj.

The dead 18-year-old was admitted to hospital on Monday with a gun shot wound to the head after a demonstration at which police admitted firing live ammunition to control the crowd, hospital and police sources said.

"We fired seven rounds of live bullets, rubber bullets and tear gas shells," local police chief Tariqul Islam told AFP, saying that the cause of the activist's death was unclear.

Shihidul Islam, a nurse at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, said the activist died as he was brought to the clinic. "He has a bullet shot in his head," he told AFP.

The government blames Jamaat for much of the killing in the bloody nine-month war against Pakistan, in which it says about three million people died.

But the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), created in 2010 to try war crimes suspects, has been widely criticised as being a political tool for the ruling Awami League government to target its opponents.

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West warns Damascus on chemical weapons

WESTERN powers have warned Damascus there will be an immediate reaction to any use of chemical weapons as NATO prepares to approve a Turkish request for missiles to protect its border with Syria.

"The possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable to the whole international community and I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community," NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles were "a matter of great concern," Rasmussen said, adding: "This is also the reason why it is a matter of urgency to ensure effective defence and protection of our ally Turkey."

Turkey's request for US-made surface-to-air Patriot missiles on its border is worrying Russia, but both NATO and Ankara insist they would be purely defensive.

US President Barack Obama on Monday issued a new warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons against his own people, as the conflict approaches the 21-month mark with more than 41,000 people killed.

"I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command, the world is watching, the use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable," Obama said.

"If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."

France, with traditional interests in the region, made a similar point.

"The leaders in Damascus must know the international community is watching them and will react" if chemical weapons are used, French foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani said.

The Syrian government, fighting to prevent the capital Damascus from falling to rebel forces, on Monday reiterated it would never resort to chemical weapons.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile urged the international community to take a unified position on Syria after the rebel groups formed a coalition last month.

"We see in forming the new Syrian coalition an important positive step towards uniting the opposition under one banner," Prince Saud al-Faisal said.

"We hope to see a similar step towards uniting the positions and views of the international community in dealing with the Syrian issue," the foreign minister added.

Saudi Arabia has openly called for arming the Syrian rebels.

On the ground on Tuesday, the Syrian army blasted a string of rebel zones on the eastern and southwestern outskirts of Damascus.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said "the army is trying at all costs to keep the rebels out of Damascus.

"The rebels are pushing hard to enter into the city but they have not been able to make the advance they are hoping for," he added.

Pro-regime daily Al-Watan reported that the army is "making progress in all directions in Damascus province, chiefly in villages along the road linking the capital to the international airport."

Syrian state television meanwhile reported that a rebel attack on a school near Damascus on Tuesday killed nine students and their teacher.

In the face of deteriorating security, the United Nations on Monday suspended operations in Syria and said it would pull out non-essential staff, while the European Union reduced its activities in Damascus to a minimum.

Against this backdrop, Syria and Turkey's request for help to boost its defence was dominating the two-day NATO meeting in Brussels, which was to dedicate some time also to strained ties with Moscow.

Military sources in Turkey have said NATO is considering the deployment of up to six Patriot batteries and some 300-400 foreign troops to operate them.

The Patriot, designed mainly to bring down missiles but effective also against aircraft, would likely be supplied by Germany, The Netherlands or the United States.

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Egypt opposition march on palace

OPPONENTS of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi have marched on the presidential palace to protest his power grab and a controversial draft charter, as the country plunged deeper into crisis.

Thousands took to the streets waving Egyptian flags, chanting for the downfall of the regime and denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi emerged, for having "sold the revolution" that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

A November 22 decree issued by Morsi expanding his powers and enabling him to put to a mid-December referendum a draft constitution - rejected by liberals, leftists and Christians - has sparked strikes and deadly protests.

"I'm not going to vote. Morsi and the committee (drafting the constitution) are void," said protester Mohammed.

The charter has become the focal point of a political and ideological battle in Egypt between Islamists and the largely secular-leaning opposition.

"Egypt is a country where all religions should live together. I love God's law and Sharia (Islamic law) but I will vote against the constitution because it has split the people," said Bassam Ali Mohammed, a professor of Islamic law, as he neared the presidential palace.

Thousands also gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square - where protesters have been camping out since Morsi issued his decree - with the numbers expected to swell later in the evening.

Morsi's decree not only placed his decisions beyond judicial oversight but also barred any judicial body from dissolving the Islamist-dominated panel that drafted and approved the new constitution, sparking a conflict with the country's judges.

Security measures were tightened around the capital, with some schools and businesses closing on Tuesday.

Independent and opposition newspapers refused to publish their Tuesday editions in protest at a lack of press freedom in the constitution.

The move was in order to "stand up to tyranny," independent daily Al-Tahrir said on its website.

"The Egyptian Independent objects to continued restrictions on media liberties, especially after hundreds of Egyptians gave their lives for freedom," read a message on that newspaper's website, its only viewable content on Tuesday.

As he faces his worst crisis since taking office in June, Morsi insists the measures are aimed at ending a tumultuous transition following the popular uprising that toppled Mubarak in early 2011.

But his opponents have accused him of choosing the same path of autocracy that finally cost Mubarak his presidency.

The decision to go to a referendum on December 15 caused further upheaval, including within the judiciary itself.

On Monday, the Supreme Judicial Council said it would ensure judicial supervision of the referendum, despite calls for a boycott by some of their colleagues including the influential Judges Club, an association that represents judges nationwide.

On Tuesday, the head of the Judges Club, Ahmed al-Zind, stuck by his group's decision to boycott the vote and said judges who supervise the referendum "would never be forgiven."

He said the number of judges who refused to supervise the election far outweighed those who agreed to take part.

The constitution itself has been criticised for failing to protect key rights and for paving the way to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Leading dissident and former Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who walked out of the constitution panel, said the charter did not reflect freedoms that should be guaranteed in the 21st century.

"The document has to be something that makes life easier for Egyptians ... not something that requires difficult interpretations, which scares people," Mussa told reporters. "We are in the 21st century."

Tuesday's march to the presidential palace was the latest in a string of protests which the opposition said could escalate.

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Fire in Chinese clothing factory kills 14

A FIRE in a clothing factory has killed 14 people in southern China, state media reports.

The official Xinhua News Agency said one other person was injured in the fire, which broke out in Shantou city in Guangdong province and was put out after half an hour.

Senior provincial officials set up a team to investigate the cause of the fire and step up safety measures to avoid similar fatal fires, it said in a brief report.

Last month, a fire at a clothing factory in Bangladesh killed 112 people and highlighted dangerous workplace conditions. Workers who survived the fire said exit doors were locked.

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France to vote for Palestinian state

THE French foreign minister says France plans to vote in favour of recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

Laurent Fabius has told parliament that France has long supported Palestinian ambitions for statehood and "will respond 'yes'" when the issue comes up for a vote "out of a concern for coherency."

With the announcement, France - a permanent member of the Security Council - becomes the first major European country to come out in favour. It amounts to a setback for Israel.

The Palestinians say the assembly is likely to vote Thursday on a resolution raising their status at the United Nations from an observer to a nonmember observer state, a move they believe is an important step toward a two-state solution with Israel.

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Portuguese MPs clear austerity budget

BAILED-OUT Portugal's MPs have given final approval to a 2013 budget imposing an unprecedented austerity squeeze even as protesters massed outside.

The budget, aimed at saving 5.3 billion euros ($A6.63 billion), passed easily with the support of the centre-right government, which has an absolute majority.

The government says the plan, which relies on higher taxes for 80 per cent of the savings, is vital to Portugal's recovery.

"The state budget for 2013 is a determined step on the road to recovery," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar said. But "the risks and uncertainties surrounding the 2013 budget year are great."

Portugal's new budget stipulates a broad rise in income tax to 14.5 per cent for the most vulnerable and 48 per cent for the most wealthy. It also reduces the number of tax brackets from eight to five, with the tax rate in each band raised by 3.5 percentage points.

Unemployment benefits are sliced by five per cent and sickness payments by six per cent.

"We have to finish with this policy before it finishes with us!" declared one banner unfurled at a rally outside parliament called by the main union, the General Federation of Portuguese Workers.

Protesters aimed their fire at the "troika" of creditors behind Portugal's 78 billion euro bailout: the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank.

"We say no to the troika and its policies!" said one banner carried by activists, while others declared: "It's robbery, it is the people who pay!" and "Salaries frozen, future mortgaged!"

The tight-fisted budget has sparked multiple street protests including one on November 14 that degenerated into clashes between baton-wielding police and stone-throwing demonstrators.

The main opposition Socialist Party has opposed the budget, saying the austerity policies are "exaggerated", even though it was in power when Lisbon sought the rescue in May 2011.

While recognising the enormous sacrifices by his compatriots, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho says austerity policies are the only path to economic recovery.

With its draconian budget, the government expects to trim the annual budget deficit to the equivalent of 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product next year from a target of 5.0 per cent in 2012.

The budget-trimming efforts come as the economy is expected to shrink three per cent in 2012, with a jobless rate already nearing 16 per cent.

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US stocks open lower despite Greek deal

US stocks have opened lower after Greece secured a revised bailout deal that will help it again avert a default on its huge debt load.

Doubts remained about the new deal, which allows Athens to trim its debt load through bond buybacks and reduced rates and promises new rescue loan instalments of 43.7 billion euros ($A54.63 billion) through March.

Five minutes into trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27.19 points (0.21 per cent) at 12,940.18.

The broad-market S&P 500 lost 2.37 (0.17 per cent) at 1403.92, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 4.26 (0.14 per cent) to 2972.52.

European markets were mostly higher after the deal, but critics said the European Union and the International Monetary Fund had again "kicked the can down the road" with the new arrangement.

"We think that Greece will eventually need a much larger debt relief, but any agreement on this is unlikely to happen before German elections next fall," said Tullia Bucco of UniCredit Research.

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Pot-loving defendant asks for final toke

AN AVID marijuana user has agreed to give up his favourite pastime to avoid a jail sentence, but not before asking a judge if he could have just one more toke.

Nineteen-year-old Damaine Mitchell got credit for time served for marijuana possession, ending that case. Mitchell first had to pledge to stop smoking marijuana and to seek treatment.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh convicted him of possession Monday after ruling him not guilty of trafficking. He remains jailed on a trespassing charge.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Mitchell told her in an earlier court appearance that he doubted he could stop smoking marijuana, which he'd been doing since age 10. She had denied his request to smoke one more joint before he gave it up.

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Amazon deforestation at record low

DEFORESTATION of Brazil's Amazon has slowed for a fourth consecutive year to its lowest rate since authorities began monitoring the world's largest rainforest, officials said.

The National Institute of Space Research found that the Amazon lost 4656 square kilometres of rain forest over a period running from August 2011 to July 2012, 27 per cent less than the previous year.

"It is the lowest deforestation rate since Brazil began its monitoring" in 1988, said Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira.

"I believe that it is the only good piece of environmental news," she told a press conference called to unveil a new electronic system to slap fines on those found guilty of deforesting the Amazon.

A year ago, INPE reported that the Amazon lost 6238 square kilometres of rainforest between August 2010 and July 2011, 11 per cent less than the previous year.

Declines in the extent of deforestation have been registered in each of the past four years.

Destruction of forests releases large quantities of CO2, which account for 17 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Large-scale deforestation has made Brazil one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, but the government has made significant strides in curbing it over the past decade.

Key causes of Amazon deforestation are fires, the spread of agriculture and stockbreeding and illegal trafficking in timber and minerals.

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Gunmen kill 10 in Nigerian pub

GUNMEN said to be dressed as soldiers have opened fire on a central Nigeria pub, killing 10 people in a region hit by waves of clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups, authorities say.

The incident occurred in the Barkin Ladi area of Plateau state late on Monday and saw gunmen storm the pub then open fire indiscriminately on customers, according to a military spokesman who denied soldiers were involved.

Barkin Ladi is a mainly Christian area of the region which lies on the fault line between the mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.

"The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on customers, killing eight on the spot, while two others died later as a result of the gunshot wounds they sustained," Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha said.

"In protest to the killings, some members of the community barricaded the highway, preventing commuters from using the road."

Some residents claimed the gunmen were wearing army uniforms, while a Christian activist from the Stefanos Foundation made the same accusation.

"There was an attack on a drinking spot in Heipan last night by five gunmen dressed in army uniform," Mark Lipdo told AFP, referring to the neighbourhood in Barkin Ladi.

Mustapha denied any soldiers were involved. Criminals have in the past dressed as soldiers or police to carry out crimes or commit violence.

Nigeria's Plateau state has been hit by waves of clashes that have left scores of people dead in recent years. Policies favouring ethnic groups considered to be indigenous to the area have worsened the conflict.

The violence has often involved clashes between mainly Christian Beroms and Hausa-Fulani Muslims.

However, in addition to the ethnic clashes, Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has also carried out a number of attacks in the region as part of its insurgency.

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Gunmen on the run after fatal shooting

POLICE are still searching for the gunmen who shot one man dead and seriously injured another in Sydney's southwest on Tuesday.

Police found the dead man's body at the back of a house in Lumeah Avenue at Punchbowl after receiving reports of multiple shots around 4.10 pm (AEST).

Another man was found at the front of the home with at least five gunshot wounds and was rushed to St George Hospital.

The man, who remains in a serious but stable condition, reportedly suffered gunshot wounds to the back of his legs, hands and the back of his head.

Both men were shot inside the home, which was being renovated.

A woman who arrived on the scene told AAP she owned the property where the shootings took place.

She declined to comment other than to say the victims were "family friends".

It is believed the men, both aged in their 30s, were of Middle Eastern appearance and not known to police.

A manhunt for at least two suspects is continuing after the dog squad and police helicopter scoured the area shortly after the incident.

"We will be seeking further persons who are believed to have left the premises shortly after the shooting," Superintendent Michael McLean told reporters at the scene.

Police have established three crime scenes: where the shooting took place in Lumeah Avenue; in Christian Road where the incident may have spilled into; and in nearby Werona Ave where at least two spent shell casings were found on a nature strip.

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GM cars to use Apple's Siri

GENERAL Motors said it will integrate Apple's voice-activated software Siri in some of its cars next year to allow iPhone users to perform hands-free tasks.

GM announced at the Los Angeles International Auto Show it will use the Siri intelligent assistant in the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic LTZ and RS.

"Through the cars' standard Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system, customers with a compatible iPhone running iOS 6 can direct Siri to perform a number of tasks while they safely keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel," GM said in a statement.

"To further minimise distraction, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further with an eyes-free mode that enables users to interact with their iPhone using nothing more than their voice while keeping the device's screen from lighting up."

Drivers will be able to use the system to make hands-free calls, play songs in the iTunes library, or switch music sources from radio to iPod mode. They may also listen to, compose and send messages to people in their contact list.

Cristi Landy, Chevrolet marketing director for small cars, said, "Safe, easy, reliable and portable connectivity is a top priority for our customers, and Siri complements MyLink's existing capabilities to help deliver an incredible driving experience."

Apple announced earlier this year it was working with car makers to build Siri artificial intelligence technology into voice control systems in automobiles.

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Foreign property buyers offered residency

FOREIGN investors will be offered Spanish residency rights in an attempt to dispose of some 750,000 unsold properties abandoned since the 2008 market collapse.

Bad debt in Spanish banks rose to a record 10.7 per cent of the loan total, about 182 billion euros ($A225.8 billion), in September, with institutions desperate to offload the crippling assets.

"We have proposed to the other ministries that for residents who acquire a home in Spain for more than 160,000 euro that will automatically entail a residency permit," Spanish Trade Minister Jaime Garcia-Legaz said in an article published by British newspaper The Times on Tuesday.

Russian and Chinese buyers are understood to be targeted in the initial real estate scheme, and it is unknown if the subsequent residency will be for Spain alone or the entire European Union.

With some five million Spaniards out of work, the number of people unable to maintain repayments and forced to leave their homes continues to rise, with reports claiming 300 evictions per day in the first half of 2012.

In November Spain's government announced a two-year halt to evictions of vulnerable home owners after the practice was linked to acts of suicide.

Spain's residency offer, which aims to revive the construction industry, is more attractive than similar schemes in Ireland and Portugal where buyers are offered such rights only after buying houses worth more than 400,000 euro or 500,000 euro respectively.

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Hamas kills six suspected collaborators

WITNESSES say masked gunmen have publicly killed six suspected collaborators with Israel at a busy Gaza City intersection.

The Hamas military wing claimed responsibility.

Witnesses said the six men were pulled out of a van on Tuesday, forced to lie face down on the street and then shot dead.

Five bodies lay in a pile as a mob stomped and spit on them. A sixth body was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets as people screamed, "Spy! Spy!"

Hamas posted a sign on an electricity pole, naming the six alleged informers.

The public killings came during an Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 120 people, both militants and civilians.

Israel relies on a network of local informants to identify its targets.

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One dead in fresh Kenya violence

FRESH violence has broken out in Kenya's restive northeast, with one person killed and seven others shot and wounded, officials say, a day after security forces cracked down on rioters.

Several other people were also hospitalised, some of them after being beaten with clubs by security forces in a crackdown following the killing of three soldiers in Garissa, a garrison town near the border with war-torn Somalia.

Kenya Red Cross said one person had died and 48 others - including seven with gunshot wounds - were being treated at Garissa hospital.

However, "relative calm and normalcy" had returned to the town by late afternoon, it added in a statement.

Garissa's main market was torched during the violence that broke out on Monday, after unknown gunmen killed three soldiers in town, sparking a security crackdown that provoked violent protests.

The violence is separate from riots that shook the capital Nairobi on Monday, although both broke out following attacks that resembled a recent string of grenade blasts and shootings blamed on supporters of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.

Small scuffles were also reported on Tuesday in Nairobi's Eastleigh district, a predominantly ethnic Somali neighbourhood, but on a far smaller scale than Monday, when street battles took place the day after a bomb blast on a bus killed nine people.

Garissa MP Adan Duale warned of the potential for further clashes between the military and residents if the garrison is not moved away from the town.

"The soldiers need to be moved out of Garissa, the lost lives and property need to be compensated and a commission of inquiry needs to be set up," Duale said, confirming that a woman had died of gunshot wounds.

Senior Shebab official Abduaziz Abu Musab denied involvement in Sunday's bomb blast in Nairobi, but said it was possible "some sympathisers of our cause acted alone" in the shooting of the soldiers in Garissa.

"We are categorically denying any involvement in the bus attack in Eastleigh at the weekend," Musab told AFP, blaming the violence on Kenya's elections due in March 2013.

"The violence is instead related to the upcoming election in Kenya and was masterminded to harm the Muslims in Kenya," he told AFP.

The Shebab have vowed revenge after Kenya invaded southern Somalia last year to chase out the Islamist fighters, although the group has not claimed direct responsibility for any attack.

Violence in Kenya - ranging from attacks blamed on Islamists to inter-communal clashes to a police crackdown on a coastal separatist movement - have raised concerns over security ahead of next year's elections.

Five years ago, elections descended into deadly post-poll killings that shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of regional stability.

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US stocks open lower after HP loss

US stocks have opened lower after Hewlett-Packard reported a quarterly loss due in part to a massive writedown, offsetting fresh data signalling recovery in the housing market.

After a triple-digit gain on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52.60 points (0.41 per cent) to 12,743.36 in the first 15 minutes of trade.

The S&P 500-stock index dropped 4.17 points (0.30 per cent) to 1382.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slipped 6.21 (0.21 per cent) to 2909.86.

Charles Schwab & Co analysts said stocks were lower after Dow member HP announced an $US8.8 billion ($A8.49 billion) charge related to alleged accounting improprieties at Autonomy Corp, which HP acquired in August 2011 for over $10 billion.

On Monday, stocks scored solid gains on upbeat housing data and hopes that politicians will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.

The jump was underpinned by Apple, the most valuable public company, which took a 7.2 per cent bounce to $565.73, following weeks of losses.

The Dow rose 1.65 per cent, the S&P 500 added 1.99 per cent and the Nasdaq leapt 2.21 per cent.

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UBS rogue trader jailed for 7 years

A ROGUE trader who lost $US2.2 billion ($A2.12 billion) in bad deals at Swiss bank UBS has been sentenced to 7 years in prison after being convicted in what prosecutors called the biggest fraud case in UK banking history.

Ghanaian-born Kweku Adoboli, 32, exceeded his trading limits and failed to cover his losses, allegedly faking records to hide his tracks at the bank's London office. At one point, Adoboli risked running losses of up to $12 billion.

"There is a strong streak of the gambler in you," Judge Brian Keith told Adoboli. "You were arrogant to think the bank's rules for traders did not apply to you."

Adoboli wiped away tears as Keith handed down his sentence.

A conviction for fraud carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

The 10-person jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found Adoboli guilty of two counts of fraud and innocent of four other false accounting charges.

The trader ran into trouble dealing in exchange traded funds, complex financial products that track stocks, bonds and commodities. Adoboli admitted the losses, but said he was pressured by staff to take risks.

He also testified last month that he had been trying to help UBS survive after it amassed losses of $52 billion during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.

"There were times we thought there was no way the organisation would survive," said Adoboli, who joined UBS as a trainee in 2003 and rose quickly to become a senior trader. "I grew up with UBS. I felt very loyal to UBS."

Detective Chief Inspector Perry Stokes of City of London Police, who led the investigation of Adoboli, had a different view, believing the trader's motive was "to increase his bonus, his status, his job prospects and his ego."

"Adoboli was a sophisticated fraudster," Stokes said. "He was one of the most accomplished fraudsters that I've seen in my time investigating serious fraud."

After questions were raised about his trading, Adoboli walked off the job and sent an email to colleagues saying what he had done.

"I take full responsibility for my actions and the s-- storm that will now ensue. I am deeply sorry to have left this mess for everyone and to have put my bank and my colleagues at risk," he wrote.

The conviction on the second fraud count came on a 9-1 vote after the judge said he would accept a majority verdict. The sentences, to be served concurrently, were seven years on the first charge and four years on the second.

"We are glad that the criminal proceedings have reached a conclusion and thank the police and the UK authorities for their professional handling of this case," UBS said in a statement. "We have no further comment."

Prosecutors said it was the biggest fraud in British banking history, but it wasn't the largest trading loss. US-based JPMorgan Chase lost at least $5.8 billion through bad trades at its London office, the bank's CEO Jamie Dimon said in July.

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Syria troops besiege town near Damascus

SYRIAN troops have besieged Daraya and rained shells on the town near Damascus, killing a woman and a child, in a fresh attempt to storm it, activists and a watchdog say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that at least 29 people have died over the past 24 hours in clashes between Kurdish militiamen and rebels in the northern Syria town of Ras al-Ain, near the Turkey border.

"We have been under constant rocket and artillery fire," Abu Kinan, an activist from Daraya southwest of Damascus, told AFP via Skype, adding that troops had rigged the area with checkpoints and arrested scores of people.

"There is no life in all of Daraya," he said, estimating that 90 per cent of the residents had fled the town in panic.

"The clashes are some of the heaviest we have seen. The Republican Guard came to reinforce the regime army," he said.

Rebel Free Syrian Army fighters are locked in fierce battles with regime troops on the edge of the town, he added.

At least two civilians, a woman and a child, were killed by army bombardments on Daraya, the Observatory said, in the latest of several attempts to storm the town over the past few days, the watchdog said.

Considered a heartland of non-violent activism, Daraya was the site of the worst massacre in Syria's 20-month conflict, with more than 500 people killed there in late August, according to monitors.

The Observatory also reported shelling attacks across the eastern outskirts of Damascus while state media said two mortars hit the ministry of information in the west of the capital, causing no casualties.

In the northern province of Aleppo, rebels attacked the Sheikh Suleiman air defence battalion, less than two days after a military source said the insurgents took control of the sprawling Base 46 in the same province.

The Observatory said casualties from clashes in Ras al-Ain included four Kurdish fighters, a local Kurdish official, and 24 members of the Islamist Al-Nusra Front and Gharba al-Sham rebel battalions.

The Kurdish fighters are members of the People's Defence Units, the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is linked to Turkey's rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said the British-based watchdog.

A Ras al-Ain activist, who gave his name only as Hevidar, said that tension has been high between rebels an the PYD since the insurgents took the town last week.

The clashes on Monday erupted after a Kurdish demonstration, which demanded that all rebels not from the town leave, was met with refusal.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and medics in civilian and military hospitals, gave an initial toll of at least 30 people killed across Syria on Tuesday.

The dead include nine soldiers who died in the central town of Mahin, east of Homs, when a truck rigged with explosives was detonated near a weapons depot. At least 20 soldiers were wounded in the blast.

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Elmo actor resigns amid sex allegation

SESAME Workshop says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street in the wake of allegations that he had sex with an under-aged youth.

Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied. A day later, the man recanted his charge. A lawsuit by a second accuser was filed on Tuesday, according to attorney Cecil Singleton.

Sesame Workshop called the controversy surrounding Clash's personal life "a distraction that none of us want" and led to his decision to leave the show.

Clash created the voice and persona for Elmo, who has become one of Sesame Street's most popular characters.

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Hey Dad! star extradition approved

THE British government has authorised the extradition of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes, who is expected to face multiple child sexual assault charges on his return to Australia.

Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday signed an extradition order for Hughes after a London magistrate in September determined that the 64-year-old return to NSW for questioning.

Hughes consented to the order and indicated that he plans to defend allegations that he assaulted five children between 1985 and 1990 while staring on the popular family television sitcom.

"On November 20, the Secretary of State, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Robert Hughes's extradition to Australia," a spokesman from Ms May's office said in a statement.

"Mr Hughes is wanted in Australia in connection with alleged sexual offences against children."

Hughes has 14 days to appeal the extradition, but will otherwise leave the UK within four weeks in a transfer managed by British police on a date to be confirmed.

NSW Police sought Hughes's extradition after receiving complaints from five people, who were aged seven to 15 years at the time of the alleged abuse.

Accusations against Hughes were outlined in court and included indecent exposure, kissing, and the touching of Hughes's erect penis through clothing.

"Rather than continue to suffer a trial by media, my client is keen to defend the allegations which he vehemently denies," Hughes's lawyer Robert Katz said after the most recent court appearance.

Hughes had been living in London with his wife when he was arrested in early August.

He played the central character Martin Kelly in the hit TV series.

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US stocks mixed on Greece, US worries

US stocks have been mixed in early Tuesday trade amid worries about Greece's debt crisis and a US "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes at year-end which threaten to drag the economy into recession.

After opening lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19.43 points (0.15 per cent) at 12,834.51 by 1545 GMT.

The broad-market S&P 500 edged down 0.93 point (0.07 per cent) to 1,380.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 12.84 (0.44 per cent) to 2,891.41.

"The fiscal cliff concern hasn't gone away... (and) the concerns about Greece are still present," Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com said in a client note.

"The only clear thing right now is that there is a lot of uncertainty and that there isn't a headline today so far that is the equivalent of a game-changer."

Dow member Home Depot was the strongest gainer on the blue-chip index, jumping 4.0 per cent, after the home-improvement retail giant reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year guidance.

"Our third-quarter results were better than we expected and reflected, in part, what we believe is the start of the path toward the healing of the housing market," said Frank Blake, chairman and chief executive.

Microsoft was the steepest Dow loser, down 3.4 per cent. The software maker announced the departure of Steven Sinofsky, head of its Windows unit.

In the luxury sector, Michael Kors Holdings rose 2.5 per cent after posting better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, while department store chain Saks fell 3.4 per cent on disappointing results.

Printer and copier maker Xerox rose 1.7 per cent after lowering its profit forecast for the fourth quarter.

Apple was up a scant 0.1 per cent at $543.12, after losing more than $150 since late September.

The bond market, which was closed on Monday for a federal holiday, rallied.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 1.59 per cent from 1.61 per cent late on Friday, and the 30-year dropped to 2.72 per cent from 2.75 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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AMF Bowling files for Chapter 11

BOWLING centre operator AMF Bowling Worldwide says it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so it can implement a pre-arranged restructuring agreement.

Virginia-based AMF announced the bankruptcy filing and the agreement on Tuesday morning.

The agreement is with a majority of the company's first lien lenders and the landlord of a majority of its bowling centres.

AMF said in a statement it expects to complete the restructuring and leave Chapter 11 in about five months.

The company says the restructuring will eliminate a significant amount of outstanding debt.

Chief financial officer and chief operating officer Steve Satterwhite says the company needs financial flexibility to improve its bowling centres and make other long-term investments.

Bowling centres will continue normal operations during the restructuring.

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Myanmar quake toll 26: Red Cross

THE Red Cross says the death toll has risen to 26 from an earthquake that damaged homes and ancient Buddhist pagodas in northern Myanmar.

The Red Cross said in a statement on Tuesday another 231 people were hurt in Sunday's magnitude-6.8 quake in the underdeveloped mining region.

Myanmar has a poor official disaster response system and lost upward of 140,000 people to a devastating cyclone in 2008.

The Red Cross says it provided aid to some families and is still assessing needs but that no external assistance will likely be needed.

Myanmar's second-biggest city of Mandalay is the nearest population centre to the quake but reported no casualties or major damage.

It is 117 kilometres south of the epicentre near the town of Shwebo.

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Tassie premier Giddings celebrates 40th

TASMANIAN Premier Lara Giddings will celebrate her 40th birthday on Wednesday with a quiet dinner at the state's Parliament House with her family.

The youngest woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, Ms Giddings reaches the milestone after two years as a 30-something in the state's top job.

"I think I saw it more as a significant birthday when I was 39 and I saw it as the slippery slope to turning 40," Ms Giddings said in a statement to AAP.

"I have gotten so used to the idea of turning 40 that it is just another day. I have loved my 30s and I think my 40s will be great too.

Ms Giddings lost her seat in 1998 before being re-elected in 2002. She became a front-bencher in 2004 and deputy premier, under David Bartlett, in 2008.

As a 38-year-old, she became the state's 44th premier, and the first woman in the job, in January 2011, inheriting the Labor-Green power-sharing government.

Born Larissa Tahireh Giddings in Goroka, Papua New Guinea, in November 1972, the premier moved back to Tasmania, her family's home, in 1990 after completing school in Melbourne.

She studied arts and law at the University of Tasmania.

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Warhols fetch $16.3m at Christie's

A PLAN to sell off the Andy Warhol Foundation's entire collection of works by the Pop artist has gotten off to a $US17 million ($A16.37 million) start at Christie's in New York.

The sale on Monday in Manhattan saw 91 per cent of lots going under the hammer. The 354 works auctioned were led by Endangered Species: San Francisco Silverspot, which sold for $1.26 million, in the range of the pre-sale $1-1.5 million estimate.

Endangered Species: Bighorn Ram, which had been estimated at $US700,000 to $US1 million, sold for $US842,500. Jackie doubled its high estimate, going for $US626,500.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced in September it was dispersing of its collection to bolster its grant-making capabilities, with Christie's the long-term partner. Some of the works will be donated to museums.

Amy Cappellazzo, head of contemporary art development at Christie's, said Monday's first sale "was met with enthusiasm by established and new collectors globally, including successful bidders from mainland China, Russia, the European Union, the Middle East and the Americas."

"Today's sales have set the stage beautifully for the next offering of works from the Collection of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which includes a selling exhibition in Hong Kong and the debut of online-only sales in February."

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Thousands gather for solar eclipse

ABOUT 60,000 enthusiasts, scientists and astronomers are set to gather in northern Australia to watch Australia's first full solar eclipse for a decade.

The eclipse, which will happen at around 6.39am (AEST) on Wednesday, is expected to be visible for about two minutes in small parts of the Cape York Peninsula and Northern Territory.

About 60,000 excited scientists, astronomers and eclipse tourists have converged on the region to watch the moon pass between the sun and the earth and cast a shadow over a 150km-wide swathe of land.

Dr Stuart Ryder, from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said it takes the moon about an hour to pass from first contact, when it begins to cross the sun's path, to totality, when the sun is completely obscured.

During those few minutes of totality, it will seem like a moonlit night.

"However, when you look at the sky in any direction for a couple of hundred kilometres, you can see parts of the atmosphere which are outside the moon's shadow," he told AAP recently.

For residents across the rest of Australia, a partial - but not total - eclipse will be visible on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world can follow the event via cyberspace, or the twitterverse.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland and NASA are providing a live stream of the full eclipse, which is expected to garner an audience of millions, with particular interest in North America, Canada and Europe.

The Slooh Space Camera will also broadcast live images via its website, slooh.com.

Wednesday's event is the first full solar eclipse visible from Australia since 2002 - and that was only visible in the nation's south.

The next solar eclipse to be visible from Australia is expected on May next year, but it will only be an annular eclipse (where the sun is still visible around the edges of the moon).

* Eclipse watchers should remember to wear safety goggles or view the event through simple projection devices, which can be made of cardboard. Even while hidden behind the moon, the sun is incredibly powerful. Just a few seconds of looking at it directly can cause blindness.

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New Israeli warnings on Gaza

DEFENCE Minister Ehud Barak is warning that a flare-up in violence with Gaza is "not over," with Palestinian militants firing two rockets and Israel carrying out air strikes overnight.

The violence that began on Saturday appeared to have slowed considerably, with Gaza militants firing two rockets into Israel on Tuesday, hours after they said they would commit to a ceasefire if the Jewish state did the same.

Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes against several targets overnight, which caused no injuries, although medics in Gaza said on Tuesday a seventh person had died in the violence, succumbing to wounds he sustained on Saturday.

Palestinian eyewitnesses on Tuesday afternoon reported new shelling in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, where AFP reporters saw damage to a house.

They also reported an Israeli air strike elsewhere in northern Gaza, although the military said it had no information on either incident.

Barak, meeting Israeli military chiefs, warned that the current round of confrontations was ongoing, adding that Israel would decide how and when to respond to the rocket fire.

"It is certainly not over and we will decide how and when to act if necessary," he said in remarks communicated by his office.

"We intend to reinforce the deterrence - and strengthen it - so that we are able to operate along the length of the border fence in a way that will ensure the security of all our soldiers who are serving around the Gaza Strip," he said.

"At this time... it is preferable to act (in a timely fashion) rather than just talk."

On Monday night, Israeli planes struck three sites in Gaza, which the military identified as a weapons facility and two rocket launch sites.

And the following morning, the army said militants fired two rockets into Israel, causing no injuries, with local media reporting one of them was a longer-range Grad rocket, which landed near the coastal town of Ashdod.

In Gaza, medics said 20-year-old Mohammed Ziad, a member of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, died on Tuesday of wounds he sustained on Saturday, after the flare-up began when militants fired at an Israeli army jeep.

That attack injured four soldiers and prompted a quick escalation in violence, with Israel carrying out air strikes and shelling that killed six other Palestinians and injured more than 30.

Gaza militants fired 123 rockets into southern Israel, lightly injuring four people. The military said 19 rockets were fired on Monday, four of which were intercepted by its Iron Dome system.

Despite Barak's comments, and a series of bellicose statements from Israeli politicians on Monday, other officials sounded a more cautious tone on Tuesday.

"I don't think it will be necessary to enter the Gaza Strip," former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told Israel's army radio.

"The army has at its disposal a series of measures that it has not yet used, it can raise the level of its response without resorting to a ground operation."

Egyptian-led efforts are still under way to secure a ceasefire, with Gaza's main militant groups, led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, on Monday saying they were ready for a ceasefire if Israel "stops its aggression" against the territory.

"The response of the resistance depends on whether the Zionist aggression against our people is continued," they said at a Gaza City news conference.

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German investor confidence drops

GERMAN investor confidence in Europe's largest economy slipped unexpectedly this month over worries growth will cool over the next six months, a survey shows.

The ZEW institute said on Tuesday its monthly confidence index fell to minus 15.7 points in November from minus 11.5 last month. Economists had expected a third straight monthly increase, albeit only a small one.

A negative figure means the investors surveyed are, on average, pessimistic about the economy's outlook for the next half year, while a positive number denotes optimism.

ZEW said this month's drop, which keeps the index below the historical average of plus 23.3 points, may be due to recent disappointing indicators such as poor industrial orders.

Official figures on Thursday are expected to show Germany's economy grew in the third quarter, though only modestly. Many economists think it may slacken further over the winter months.

Germany enjoyed robust growth over the past two years but the debt crisis that has pushed several European countries into recession is hitting confidence as well as exports.

"Prevailing recessionary developments in the eurozone impact the German economy via foreign trade and a lack of confidence," ZEW head Wolfgang Franz said.

"This is likely to be a burden for economic growth in Germany during the next six months."

The ZEW, or Center for European Economic Research, surveyed 263 analysts between October 29 and November 12.

The German government's panel of independent economic advisers last week forecast that the economy will grow by only 0.8 per cent this year and next.

More than half of Germany's exports, a traditional strength of its economy, go to other countries in the 27-nation European Union - but its export performance has been kept buoyant so far by strong demand from Asia, Russia, the United States and elsewhere, which more than offset falling sales to southern European strugglers.

The country's main exporters association, the BGA, predicted on Tuesday that total German exports will climb 4 per cent this year to a little over 1.1 trillion euros ($A1.35 trillion). Imports, it said, will rise 3 per cent to 929 million euros.

BGA head Anton Boerner said world trade should pick up speed next year so long as protectionist measures in various parts of the world don't get in the way.

The group forecast that, as a result, German exports could grow another 5 per cent in 2013.

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New York rises to voting challenge

VOTING in a the US presidential election is the latest challenge for the hundreds of thousands of people in the New York-New Jersey area still affected by Superstorm Sandy.

The campaigns of both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have long assumed that the heavily Democratic region would support Obama, but voters were taking special election shuttles from storm-hit areas and voting by affidavit from any polling place they could reach after officials put emergency measures in place.

Early turnout at dawn appeared high, despite the hurdles.

"No matter what happens - hurricanes, tornados - it's our day to vote," said Agim Coma, a 25-year-old construction worker who lost his apartment and car to the storm but was first in line to vote in one New Jersey town.

Tens of thousands of people along the Atlantic coast, many of them in public housing projects, continued to scramble for housing options a week after the storm as nighttime temperatures remained near freezing and power had not yet returned. A few desperate people burned their furniture.

And officials despaired at the news of yet another storm approaching the region on Wednesday, smaller than Sandy but with the potential for more power outages, rising waters, heavy rain and gusts of up to 96 km/h.

But housing was the most pressing problem.

"It's not going to be a simple task. It's going to be one of the most complicated and long-term recovery efforts in US history," said Mark Merritt, president of Witt Associates, a Washington crisis management consulting firm founded by former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director James Lee Witt.

FEMA said it has already dispensed close to $US200 million ($A193.90 million) in emergency housing assistance and had put 34,000 people in New York and New Jersey up in hotels and motels. But local, state and federal officials have yet to lay out a specific, comprehensive plan for finding them long-term places to live in an already densely developed region around the largest US city.

Officials had yet to even establish the magnitude of the problem.

In New Jersey, state officials said they were still trying to figure out how many people will need long-term housing. At least 4000 residents were in New Jersey shelters.

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Moody's downgrades ArcelorMittal one notch

MOODY'S has downgraded ArcelorMittal's long-term credit rating by one notch to BA1, putting it into speculative or "junk" territory.

Moody's says the deterioration in steel markets means the company can no longer reduce its debt enough to keep an investment-grade mark.

"The downgrade reflects the deterioration in global steel markets over the last six months," said Moody's, pointing to the company posting its worst performance in three years last quarter.

ArcelorMittal, the world's top steelmaker, had an operating loss and its gross debt rose in the third quarter.

"As a result, the amount of debt reduction the company must realise in order to hold a BAA3 rating is so large as to be unachievable..." said Steve Oman, senior vice president and lead analyst for the EMEA steel industry at Moody's.

The BAA3 rating is the lowest investment-grade rating at Moody's.

If ArcelorMittal tried to reduce its debt ratio by asset disposals Moody's said that would materially impact the core operations and earnings of the company.

"We see challenging conditions continuing for ArcelorMittal over several quarters with its operating environment more likely to get worse before it gets better," added Oman.

Moody's also warned ArcelorMittal was at risk of breaking covenants on its revolving credit facilities that limit its debt to its operating profit, although it said planned debt reduction should relieve concerns.

However Moody's said the announced measures by the company to preserve cash and reduce leverage, including a dividend cut, have been modest.

Last month ArcelorMittal reported a third quarter net loss of $US709 million ($A687.38 million) and said that cutting debt was now a priority.

The company said it anticipates an operating profit of about $7.0 billion for all of 2012, while its net debt was expected to rise to $22.0 billion at the end of the year.

The board recommended a cut in the dividend from next year to 0.20 US cents per share from 0.75 cents.

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Americans cast their first ballots

FROM a New England hamlet to a critical swing state neighbouring Washington's halls of power to the storm-scarred streets of New York, Americans are lining up to cast ballots for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney.

Many were patient as voting got under way on Tuesday. Some were jittery and still others - those still enduring power outages and the mountainous mess and wreckage left by superstorm Sandy last week - were a bit cranky.

For some a palpable sense of excitement hung over what they saw as a crossroads for deeply divided and economically struggling America.

Up and down the East Coast, voters braved very cold weather in the pre-dawn darkness as they waited to bring the curtain down on one of the hardest-fought and most expensive election campaigns ever.

Facing them was a choice between two men with very different visions of how to get the country firmly back on its feet.

"It's very exciting, I love the turnout," said Obama supporter Cal Alde, who works in publishing. He sported a cartoonish star-spangled top hat and a "Keep Obama and carry on" T-shirt and expressed confidence in an Obama win.

Alde spoke as he breakfasted on a bagel at a Starbucks in Falls Church, a Washington suburb in key swing state Virginia, after casting his vote.

"But we're biased," added colleague Will Farnam, wearing a pro-Obama badge. "There are a lot of Romney people out there... It's going to be tight."

Election fever permeated unlikely places. On one rush-hour bus rolling down 16th Street in downtown Washington - just a few blocks straight ahead lay the pillared, majestic White House itself - the driver urged people to vote.

Some riders wore stickers on their lapels showing they already had.

Before dawn, more than 100 people were already patiently waiting in line at a Falls Church community centre for more than half an hour when the basement gymnasium turned polling station threw open its doors at precisely 6am (2200 AEDT).

"The polls are open! Go on in!" the polling station manager declared.

Blue tape on the footpath marked the line that Democratic and Republican campaign workers could not cross to solicit votes at the Falls Church facility. Two dogs sat patiently for their owners to return from doing their civic duty.

Virginia, which helped put Obama into the White House in 2008 after favouring Republicans for years, is a battleground state where the contest is so tight it could swing the final national outcome.

Within 20 minutes of polls opening, dozens of voters were seen by AFP reporters waiting outside voting stations in northern Virginia, an early sign of enthusiasm in the race between Obama and Romney.

"It's going to be a higher than normal turnout for sure," said Romney campaigner Chris Redder as he distributed sample ballots to arriving voters in Falls Church indicating which Republican boxes they should tick.

"I consider this an important election," he said. "It's two visions of America -- more personal responsibility versus more intrusive government, and pro-life versus what I'd say pro-abortion."

If Obama is re-elected, Redder told AFP, his policies would "damage the country" in ways that would take years to recover from.

Tuesday's very first ballots were cast just after midnight in the New Hampshire mountain hamlet of Dixville Notch, where they were immediately counted. For the first time ever, it was a tie: five for Obama, five for Romney.

In New Jersey, one of the states hardest hit by last week's superstorm Sandy, people waited in line impatiently amid rubble and rotting rubbish left by the horrendous storm.

In Hoboken, one makeshift polling station was 40 minutes late in opening, drawing complaints from the 60 people in line.

When the doors finally did open, a volunteer came out and told the grumbling crowd: "Please excuse the appearance of this place, two days ago it was under two feet (0.61 metres) of water."

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