Nobody immune from probe: Cyprus president

THE Cypriot president has pledged that not even his own family will be immune from a commission of inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing in the run-up to a crippling eurozone bailout.

President Nicos Anastasiades was responding to allegations that family members of leading politicians had taken advantage of privileged information to protect their assets from a hit on bank deposits imposed by European Union-led creditors last month.

Anastasiades said the panel, which is to start its work on Tuesday, would have explicit terms of reference to exclude nobody from their investigations, even his own extended family.

"I want to emphasise that during tomorrow's swearing in ceremony for the three distinguished judges, they be given a mandate to investigate everything that is possibly related to me, including those relatives linked to me by marriage," he said.

Allegations have swirled of big movements of cash out of both banks in the run-up to the bailout agreement as those in the know scrambled to protect their money.

The panel, which has three months to report its findings, will also probe a list published by Greek media of Cypriot politicians who allegedly had loans forgiven during the meltdown, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said last week.

BoC, Laiki and third largest lender Hellenic Bank reportedly forgave millions of euros in loans over the past five years to lawmakers, companies and local authorities, newspapers in Greece have alleged.

Cypriot banks have been operating with stringent capital controls since they reopened on Thursday, after a near two-week lockdown prompted by fears of a run on deposits.

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Pioneering rock writer Paul Williams dies

PAUL Williams, a pioneering rock music journalist whose Crawdaddy! magazine is considered the first US publication to write seriously about rock 'n roll, has died in California aged 64.

The Union-Tribune of San Diego says Williams died in an Encinitas care facility on Wednesday.

His wife, Cindy Lee Berryhill, tells the Los Angeles Times that Williams died of complications of dementia triggered by head injuries from a 1995 bicycle accident.

Williams was a teenager when he began publishing Crawdaddy! in 1966. It appeared 18 months before Rolling Stone.

Williams also wrote more than 30 books and helped introduce readers to the work of science fiction writer Philip K Dick. He was Dick's literary executor.

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Six dead in new blast at China mine

A NEW explosion in a Chinese coal mine has killed six people and left 11 missing, three days after a blast killed 28 workers at the same mine, state media says.

The blasts occurred at the Babao mine operated by the state group Tonghua Mining in Baishan prefecture in the northeastern province of Jilin.

An official at the Babao mine office confirmed to AFP that the two blasts occurred in the same mine. But he did not respond when asked why the mine had remained open after the first accident.

China's mines are among the world's deadliest because of lax regulation, corruption and poor operating procedures.

Authorities in the nation, the world's largest coal consumer, announced last year they would close more than 600 small coal mines that are considered more dangerous than larger pits.

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US stocks lower after last week's records

US stocks have opened mostly lower after the record-setting sprint by leading indices before the Easter long weekend.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed on Thursday at a new all-time high, dropped 5.34 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 14,573.20.

The broad-based S&P 500, which also notched a record performance on Thursday, slipped 0.88, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,568.31.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index put on a scant 0.04 (zero per cent) at 3,267.56.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said trading would likely take its cue from data releases on manufacturing and construction.

"The second quarter, which begins today, is set to begin on a relatively flat note," O'Hare said.

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US manufacturing growth slows in March

US manufacturing activity slowed in March but remained in expansion territory for the fourth month in a row, the ISM report shows.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index fell to 51.3 in March from 54.2 in February, reflecting slower growth in most of the sectors surveyed, with a notable exception in employment.

The March reading on the index, based on a nationwide survey of manufacturing purchasing executives, was weaker than expected. On average, most analysts expected the PMI to dip to 54.0.

Nevertheless, manufacturing seemed to be on a solid growth trajectory after the PMI hovered around the 50 break-even line between growth and contraction in the second half of 2012.

The February reading was the highest since June 2011.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries surveyed in March, 14 reported growth, compared with 15 in February.

Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, highlighted that the report was mixed, with new orders and production taking "a sizeable drop" to three- and six-month lows.

Employment hit a nine-month high, "some good news" ahead of the government's March jobs report on Friday, Lee said.

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Iraq executes four including al-Qaeda boss

IRAQ has executed al-Qaeda's former Baghdad chief and three other men convicted of terror-related offences, despite calls for a moratorium in its use of the death penalty.

The executions brought to 22 the number of times Iraq has carried out the death penalty so far this year, compared with 129 in 2012, which was among the highest such figures in the world.

"These terrorists were executed by hanging," the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday. "They committed criminal attacks against the Iraqi people, notably in Baghdad and in (the western province of) Anbar."

Among the group executed was Munaf Abdul Rahim al-Rawi, once described as the "governor of Baghdad" for al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq, who was arrested in March 2010.

He has been blamed for plotting two massive attacks in the Iraqi capital in August and October of 2009 that left 250 dead in total.

Security forces have said Rawi's arrest yielded crucial intelligence that helped lead to the killings in April 2010 of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the political leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Abu Ayub al-Masri, the insurgent group's self-styled "minister of war".

Iraq has executed at least 22 people so far this year, according to an AFP tally. It executed 18 people convicted of terror-related offences on March 14 and 17.

Al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate said nationwide attacks on March 19 that killed 56 people were "revenge for those whom you (the government) executed".

Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari insisted last week that Baghdad would continue to implement the death penalty in the face of widespread calls for it to issue a moratorium.

Iraq's executions have sparked concern from the United Nations, as well as Britain, the European Union and rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

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Sifting starts for September 11 remains

THE New York City medical examiner says it has started sifting construction debris from the World Trade Center site in an effort to find any human remains from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The work began on Monday and is expected to continue for about 10 weeks.

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said in a memo on Friday that DNA testing will continue until every possible identification can be made.

City officials say about 60 truckloads of construction debris has been collected around the site over the past two-and-a-half years.

Some 2750 people died at the World Trade Center in the 2001 attacks. So far, 1634 people have been identified.

A skyscraper will replace the twin towers.

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Zambia ex-leader arrested over oil deal

ZAMBIA'S ex-leader, Rupiah Banda, has been arrested and charged with abuse of authority over an oil deal struck with a Nigerian firm while he was in power, an investigator says.

"President Rupiah Banda has been formally charged and arrested in connection with the procurement of oil which did not benefit the country," Namukolo Kasumpa, a spokeswoman for government investigators, told reporters on Monday.

He was immediately freed on bail and is due to appear in court on Tuesday.

The arrest came after parliament earlier this month lifted Banda's immunity. The former leader who ruled Zambia between 2008 and 2011 was promptly questioned about allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud.

He lost power in an election to the current president, Michael Sata.

Banda's lawyers claim the accusations are part of a ploy by Sata to silence opposition.

"The charge is extremely vague and our only defence is the truth; he is innocent and the truth will be known," said Banda's lawyer, Sakwiba Sikota.

"We will see the kind of witnesses that they are going to bring, but we know he is innocent," he said.

Appearing exhausted after three hours of questioning by a special government probe unit, 76-year-old Banda told reporters: "Naturally I would have been happy to be sitting at home, but I have to go through this."

Sata's government says Banda engaged in corrupt activities in the procurement of crude oil from a Nigerian firm, listed as the Nigerian National Oil Company in official documents. Nigeria's state oil outfit is known as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He is also accused of funnelling taxpayer cash into his election campaigns.

Since Sata came to power he has rolled out an anti-corruption drive that some have seen as a move to silence dissenting views.

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Sarkozy slams 'unfair' corruption charge

FORMER French president Nicolas Sarkozy has denounced charges against him in connection with a probe into illegal party funding as "unfair and unfounded".

In his first personal reaction to the charge laid on Thursday, Sarkozy used his Facebook page to insist he had not taken advantage of France's richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, when she was weakened by ill health.

"I want to insist that, at no moment in my public life, did I betray the duties of my office," Sarkozy wrote.

"I will put all my energy into proving my integrity and honesty. The truth will triumph in the end. I have no doubt about that."

Sarkozy's lawyers are attempting to overturn a decision by three examining magistrates to charge him in a case threatening to destroy his hopes of a political comeback.

The former president was charged on Thursday after being summoned for face-to-face encounters with former members of Bettencourt's staff, including her butler.

The confrontation was the latest chapter in an investigation into allegations Sarkozy accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from ailing L'Oreal heiress Bettencourt to fund his 2007 election campaign.

Investigators suspect up to four million euros ($A5 million) of Bettencourt's cash made its way into the coffers of Sarkozy's UMP party. Bettencourt is now 90 and has been incapacitated since 2006, according to doctors.

Sarkozy could face up to three years in jail, a fine of 375,000 euros, and a five-year ban from public office if convicted.

He recently dropped several hints that he is considering a return to the frontline of French politics, suggesting recently he could be forced to out of a sense of duty to his country.

Against that backdrop, his lawyers have branded the decision to charge him as politically motivated.

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Jolie visits Rwanda war rape victims

ANGELINA Jolie has joined British Foreign Secretary William Hague to visit Rwanda in a bid to encourage world powers to do more on tackling rape and sexual assault in war zones.

Britain's Foreign Office released a picture of the US film star and Hague getting off a British-flagged jet in the central African country.

They are also to visit the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo this week in a trip aimed at forcing the Group of Eight world powers to address the issue more seriously.

Hague said he would be making it his priority when he hosts the annual meeting of G8 foreign ministers next month in London.

"This visit is about hearing first hand from people who have endured rape and sexual violence during the conflict in the eastern DRC," Jolie said.

"We want to learn the lessons that their experience holds for how the world can protect thousands of women, men and children at risk of rape in many other conflict zones.

"And we want to persuade governments around the world to give this issue the attention it deserves.

"Unless the world acts, we will always be reacting to atrocities, treating survivors rather than preventing rape in the first place."

Jolie and Hague are calling on the G8 to agree that rape and sexual violence constitute breaches of the Geneva Conventions governing warfare.

They also want a new international protocol on the documentation and investigation of the issue.

Hague said: "More often than not the international community looks away, the perpetrators of these brutal crimes walk free and the cycle of injustice and conflict is repeated. We have to shatter this culture of impunity.

"It is time for real, meaningful action by the governments of the world to say that the use of rape as a weapon of war is unacceptable, to bring perpetrators to justice and to lift the stigma from survivors."

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