Two dead after shooting at US hotel

US police say a man and woman are dead after a shooting at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Ray Steiber said the shooting happened at about 8.30pm on Friday at the Excalibur hotel-casino.

Steiber said a man shot a woman near the front entrance of the high-rise hotel and the man then turned the gun on himself and was found dead at the scene.

Steiber said the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Neither the gunman nor the victim was identified.

However, Steiber said the woman worked as a vendor at the hotel's concierge desk, where tourists can get show tickets and restaurant reservations.

He said the relationship between the shooter and the victim wasn't immediately clear.

No one else was injured.

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Philippine cops kill Malaysian 'terrorist'

PHILIPPINE police have killed a suspected Malaysian terrorist who was allegedly planning a bomb attack in one of the largest cities in the country's south, police say.

The suspected terrorist, identified as Mohd Noor Fikrie Bin Abud Kahar, was shot dead by police on Friday following a scuffle inside a hotel in Davao, a bustling port city and a regional commercial hub on the main southern island of Mindanao.

As the man and his Filipino wife were checking out of the hotel, he tried to grab a backpack from his wife containing a homemade bomb, Davao city police chief Ronald de la Rosa said.

Officers tried to seize the man, who broke free and threatened to detonate the device.

"You want the bomb? You want the bomb? Shoot me! Shoot me! I will explode the bomb," de la Rosa quoted the man as saying.

The threats prompted officers and people in the hotel lobby to scamper out for safety, the police chief said.

The man and his wife then ran into the street, where they hugged each other as the man raised a mobile phone, threatening to use it to trigger the bomb.

The man grabbed the backpack from his wife and ran toward a park full of revellers while his wife was arrested by police, de la Rosa told The Associated Press by telephone from Davao, about 980 kilometres south of Manila.

Guards locked the park's gate to keep the man out.

Still raising his hand that held the mobile phone, he then ran into a packed restaurant where a sniper shot him twice in the chest. Other officers then fired at him and killed him, de la Rosa said.

The bomb, which was subsequently defused, was fashioned from a mortar shell.

The police chief said intelligence reports indicated terrorists planned to explode a bomb in Davao.

Intelligence agents had received a tip from a "very reliable source" that the couple were staying at the hotel, de la Rosa said.

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Yemen airstrikes kill 6 al-Qaeda suspects

Yemeni officials say six al-Qaeda suspects have been killed in army attacks on militant positions. Source: AAP

YEMENI security officials say six al-Qaeda suspects have been killed and 12 others wounded in army attacks on militant positions around the country.

The officials say two militants were killed on Friday in airstrikes in southern Abyan province. The attacks came days after militants overran a military post in the area.

The officials also say four militants died when the military shelled their positions in Marib province, to the east of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Washington considers Yemen's al-Qaeda offshoot to be the world's most dangerous branch of the terror network. The US is helping the Yemeni government battle the militants.

Al-Qaeda has retaliated by carrying out assassinations of several senior Yemeni military officials.

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ICAC hears of coal deal 'games'

THE son of Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid accused people of "playing games" on a multimillion-dollar coal deal in a secretly taped phone call to a mate of former NSW energy minister Ian Macdonald, a corruption inquiry has heard.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday heard an intercepted phone call between Moses Obeid and Greg Jones, a friend of then mines and energy minister Ian Macdonald, who is at the centre of a corruption inquiry into the granting of coal licences in the NSW Upper Hunter.

The May 2011 call was made after investors in Cascade Coal had struck a deal promising the Obeids $60 million to get out of their mining venture in the Bylong Valley, but the Obeids received only $30 million.

In the call, Moses Obeid says to Mr Jones, "From where we're sitting it looks like someone's f***g playing games".

Mr Jones, who had a secret shareholding in Cascade, says "You're missing the whole f***king point. I don't think you have any idea what we've been through."

The ICAC has heard that a $30 million payment was made to the Obeids from the bank account of Cascade investor Richard Poole's wife, Amanda.

The Obeids are still pressing Cascade investors for the remaining $30 million, the inquiry has heard.

In another taped phone call from May last year, Mr Jones says he has just had a "bloody big blue" with the Obeids, before going on to describe them as "paranoid idiots" and "off with the f****n pixies".

The ICAC also heard a taped phone call from April 2011 between Mr Poole and Mr Jones, soon after a $500 million deal for White Energy to purchase Cascade fell over and a new buyer was being sought for Cascade.

In that call, Mr Jones calls himself a "free moving spirit", before telling Mr Poole to "do what you think" and then "we'll have a look at it".

Poole replies, "I've made some wild assumptions, but we want money fast and we don't give a f**k how we get there."

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Australia to do defence deal with Denmark

AUSTRALIA will team up with Denmark on producing and procuring defence equipment, Defence Minister Stephen Smith says.

Mr Smith hosted his Danish counterpart Nick Haekkerup in Perth on Friday.

The minister said Australia and Denmark will sign a defence materiel memorandum of understanding.

"(It) will foster co-operation in the use of defence technical resources and encourage and promote discussion on joint development, production and procurement of defence materiel," Mr Smith said.

The pair also discussed Australia and Denmark's respective contributions to the war in Afghanistan and plans for a 2014 withdrawal.

Denmark has 567 troops in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan while Australia has 1094 in Uruzgan Province.

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Sonic Youth singer's guitar stolen

SONIC Youth guitarist and singer Thurston Moore says his iconic guitar was stolen after a show in Philadelphia.

Moore reported on the band's Facebook page on Thursday that his circa-1966 Fender Jazzmaster guitar was pilfered late on Wednesday night from the Best Western hotel where he was staying.

Philadelphia police spokeswoman Jillian Russell said Moore was in the hotel's bar with his luggage and guitar when he noticed the guitar was missing. She said it's valued at $US20,000 ($A19,083).

Such appeals to the public have helped the band track down stolen gear before. A rental truck full of their one-of-a-kind guitars, amps and drums was stolen in southern California in 1999.

Moore is a founding member of Sonic Youth, an influential alternative band that formed in 1981 in New York City.

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SA man charged over cigarette scam

A MAN has been arrested for stealing cigarettes from two Adelaide supermarkets after allegedly posing as a tobacco company employee collecting discontinued stock.

Adelaide police said the 33-year-old from suburban Mile End had been charged with two counts of theft by deception in relation to thefts from supermarket at Plympton and Kilkenny.

He was granted police bail to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on January 23.

A police spokeswoman said an investigation was continuing into the thefts of a large quantity of cigarettes from other venues.

Earlier this week Victorian police said a man posing as a tobacco company employee had collected cartons of cigarettes worth more than $30,000 from supermarkets in Victoria and South Australia.

They said the man told staff he was there to remove discontinued stock due to the introduction of mandatory plain packaging of tobacco products.

He says he will be back with new stock - but doesn't return.

AAP

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NAB chief sprukes IR and tax overhaul

THE head of National Australia Bank (NAB) has called for an overhaul of Australia's industrial relations and taxation systems as the resources investment boom nears its peak.

NAB Chairman Michael Chaney said investment would reach a high in the next year or two, putting the onus on government to focus on microeconomic reform.

"We've got to make sure that as the terms of trade are lower we focus on productivity in order to get economic growth," Mr Chaney told reporters after NAB's annual general meeting (AGM) in Perth on Thursday.

"If any part of the economy turns down, all banks are affected."

Mr Chaney said the nation would need to increase productivity to achieve acceptable economic growth.

"This will only come about through a renewed focus on microeconomic reform in industrial relations, regulation, infrastructure and taxation, to name a few," he told the meeting.

He also suggested a review of the domestic funding model used by local banks, which raise a significant amount of their funding on international, short-term, and wholesale funding markets.

Australia's economy had been very strong in recent years, leading to strength in the banking sector, he said.

"All of the stress tests carried out by the regulator indicate the banks will continue to be very strong in the event of any sort of a downturn," he said.

The global financial crisis had shown how banks' funding can be threatened, and resolving issues surrounding the current model could help avoid constraints on Australia's economic growth, he said.

Mr Chaney added that using Australia's growing superannuation pool could be one funding solution, along with a more neutral tax treatment of savings.

It follows opposition calls for a review of Australia's financial system.

Mr Chaney said the $1.3 trillion in superannuation funds under management now formed a substantial part of the financial system.

"People who invest in equities don't make bank deposits and that causes the banks to go to the wholesale funding markets offshore and any review of the system needs to take account of that pool of superannuation savings as well as banking assets and deposits," he said.

Other ideas included the development of an active corporate bond market in Australia and increasing domestic deposits.

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EU seals deal on watchdog for banks

THE European Union has agreed to create a bank supervisor to oversee lenders across the eurozone, following marathon talks which ended hours before the year's final EU summit.

The summit later on Thursday will aim to end the third gruelling year of the debt crisis on a high note with a Christmas gift for Greece, by officially releasing the next tranche of international aid.

Under the scheme approved by EU finance ministers overnight, a new single supervisor for eurozone banks will allow banks to be recapitalised directly without adding to government debt loads.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is to manage the system in tandem with the EU-wide European Banking Authority and national supervisors.

The "overall aim is to restore confidence in the banking sector", said the meeting's chair, Cypriot Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly, as he announced the deal to the press in the early morning hours, comparing the deal to a "Christmas present for the whole of Europe".

From March 2014, banks with assets worth more than 30 billion euros ($A37.45 billion) will be covered directly, although the ECB will be able to call up other smaller lenders over which it has liquidity fears.

EU financial markets commissioner Michel Barnier said the new supervision deal was a "first stage" that would over the course of 2013 be followed up by legislative proposals for a fund to wind up banks that can't be fixed and also a cross-border deposit guarantee.

The "historic" agreement came after 14 hours of talks and less than 12 hours ahead of the two-day summit of EU leaders who ordered the marathon preparations.

Britain, which will not be joining the new system, wanted special voting rights that would protect the City of London global financial centre, and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said it was "a good outcome for the entire European Union", but that "the countries that weren't going to join the banking union, like Britain, were protected".

The so-called Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) will ultimately allow eurozone rescue funds to directly recapitalise struggling banks such as those which failed in Greece and Spain, where a burst property bubble left a string of bad debts.

Barnier told a press conference that the ECB, which lies at the centre of the new arrangements, would directly supervise some 200 of the biggest of the estimated 6000 eurozone lenders under the scheme.

Fresh from the European Union's much-discussed Nobel Peace Prize, the summit later in the day is set to turn back on the tap and begin delivering some 40 billion euros in loans to Greece.

The release of the funds, after months of delay, comes in return for harsh economic austerity programs that have generated a flood of protests - and chilling talk of Greece's exit from the eurozone.

But economic reform efforts across Europe, while whipping up social unrest, have eased market pressure on the euro single currency. And the biggest impact was a vow by the ECB to offer almost unlimited guarantees to prevent bigger countries falling into similar trouble.

The crisis has seen debt bounce around between government and bank books, and the foundation stone for a banking union delivers a fresh step towards closer cross-border integration in future.

"We will come out of this together, and stronger," said EU Council President and summit chair Herman Van Rompuy of the combined moves to beat the economic doom and gloom at this week's Nobel awards ceremony in non-EU star economy Norway.

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Hewson to join board of PNG miner Larus

Former opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy. Source: AAP

FORMER opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy as a non-executive director.

Dr Hewson will join the Papua New Guinea focused company as it develops its PNG oil and gas project.

Dr Hewson said there was considerable potential within Larus Energy's asset in PNG.

"The company is well positioned to develop and commercialise its assets," Dr Hewson said.

Dr Hewson is currently working alongside local financial interests and banks in bidding to build a gas fired power plant and a biochar project in PNG.

Larus Energy's chairman Kay Philip will step down from the board at the end of 2012.

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Russia 'deeply regrets' N. Korea rocket

RUSSIA says it deeply regrets North Korea's long-range rocket launch, and warns it would do nothing to help regional stability.

"Russia deeply regrets the new rocket launch undertaken by North Korea in defiance of international opinion, including calls by Moscow," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The launch would "not help the strengthening of stability and would have a negative effect" on the situation in the region, it added.

Russia said it was "unacceptable" that the launch flew in the face of UN Security Council resolution 1874 that bans North Korea from the use of ballistic missile technology in rocket launches.

It called on North Korea to refrain from any new steps that would contradict UN Security Council resolutions but also urged "other sides" not to take actions that could further raise tensions.

The defence ministry said that trajectory of the rocket had not taken it over Russian territory.

"Experts are now looking at data to determine whether a new satellite is in orbit," the spokesman of the defence ministry's airspaces forces Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax.

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Pet shop stops selling Christmas puppies

A pet store in Adelaide says it will not sell puppies as Christmas presents to stop impulse buying. Source: AAP

A PET store in Adelaide has stopped selling puppies in the lead-up to Christmas to discourage impulse buying.

The Pet Spot at suburban Salisbury says selling puppies as Christmas presents contributes to many animals being dumped afterwards.

Instead, it's urging people who "genuinely want the wonderful addition of a pet for Xmas" to contact an animal rescue group.

The shop concedes its stand might appear rude to some.

"But we are trying to promote and achieve responsible pet ownership," it said on Wednesday.

After revealing its decision on Facebook this month the store's stand has attracted almost 20,000 likes.

It has also prompted a range of mostly positive comments.

"Now if we could just stop backyard breeders and puppy farmers, we and our pets just might look forward to a happy New Year," said one pet owner Helen Thomas.

A South Australian parliamentary committee will next year examine the companion animal industry including issues surrounding the so-called puppy factories, registration of animals and compulsory desexing in a bid to reduce the number of animals being euthanased.

Labor MP Leon Bignell proposed the inquiry and said many MPs knew of stories that did not end well for companion dogs and cats.

"Particularly around Christmas time when people buy a cute little furry ball of fun that they think the whole family is going to enjoy," he told parliament.

"Suddenly, when they are cleaning up after this kitten or this puppy, it is not quite the fairytale they had in mind."

The inquiry has been backed by Liberal frontbencher Duncan McFetridge, a vet of 22 years, who said he had worked at the coalface of pet ownership.

"I have seen many fantastic stories, but I have seen unfortunately some absolute tragedies where people take on more than they had ever anticipated or expected," he said.

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Respected police officer to be farewelled

Slain police officer Bryson Anderson will be remembered at a public service in Sydney on Wednesday. Source: AAP

FAMILY, friends, dignitaries and the public will gather on Wednesday to honour the life of a respected Sydney detective killed in the line of duty.

Bryson Anderson, a 45-year-old father of three, will be farewelled at a full police funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta.

"We'll no doubt mourn (him)," Commissioner Andrew Scipione told the Fairfax Radio Network on Tuesday.

"We'll cry hard but we'll also remember the fine things he's done. We'll acknowledge him, the leader he was in communities."

Detective Inspector Anderson was stabbed after responding to a neighbour dispute at Oakville, in Sydney's northwest, on Thursday.

He worked as a duty officer at Hawkesbury local area command and recently turned down a promotion in order to continue in the job he loved.

"He was larger than life," Mr Scipione said.

"Having said that, 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."

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.

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

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

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

Participants will include the Mounted Unit, Police Band and uniformed officers, as well as visiting interstate commissioners and deputies.

The procession will also include the hearse carrying Insp Anderson's coffin, and his pallbearers.

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

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High Court hears landmark Palm Island case

A LANDMARK case before the High Court about the validity of alcohol restrictions for indigenous people on Palm Island could have broader implications for programs that target only Aboriginal people.

On Tuesday, the High Court in Canberra began hearing an appeal from indigenous woman Joan Monica Maloney who was convicted of alcohol possession on Palm Island in 2010.

Ms Maloney is challenging the Queensland law that restricts alcohol on Palm Island on the basis that it contravenes the Racial Discrimination Act and constitution.

The alcohol restrictions are considered "special measures" under racial discrimination laws.

The High Court accepted an application from the peak indigenous body, the National Congress of Australia's First People, to make submissions as a friend of the court.

Congress spokeswoman Jody Broun said "special measures" were used across Australia to enact laws for the "advancement" of indigenous people without any yardstick for their effectiveness, duration or community support and acceptance.

"The legal principles, rather than the details of this case, provide the opportunity for a watershed moment in Australian history," she said in a statement.

Ms Broun said the case went to the heart of the nation's conversation on constitutional reform, in light of moves to recognise Aboriginal people in the constitution and scrap race-based sections.

"Is there any place in a modern Australia for race-based laws which do not treat everyone equally under the law," she asked.

The Palm Island alcohol management plan has attracted controversy since it was introduced in 2006.

The Townsville Bulletin reported last year, that one-third of the island's adult population was in court for breaching the alcohol restrictions on a single day in September 2010.

The Human Rights Law Centre is assisting the Congress on a pro-bono basis.

"If the government is genuinely committed to making a positive difference for Aboriginal communities, it must respect and empower those communities, not impose predetermined solutions," law centre spokesman Ben Schokman said.

AAP understand that, if successful, Ms Maloney's case could potentially have broader implications including for the ten year extension of the Northern Territory Intervention, depending on how the High Court defines special measures, advancement and consultations.

In its submissions to the court, the Congress argues special measures must be designed and implemented on the basis of prior consultation and active participation of the communities affected.

The Federal Attorney General and state counterparts from Western Australia and South Australia have filed submissions to intervene in the case.

Lawyers for the Federal Attorney General have argued in submissions that the appellant's reliance on the UN declaration of the rights of indigenous people concerning "free, prior and informed consent" is flawed.

The submission notes there is a lack of international consensus about meaning of this term.

Although Australia supports the declaration, it is not binding, the submission says.

The High Court is likely to hand down a decision on the case early next year.

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Jihadists seize key north Syria army base

JIHADISTS have seized a strategic army base in northern Syria, a watchdog says, as the EU piles more pressure on President Bashar al-Assad by edging closer to a newly formed opposition bloc.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported clashes in a northern Damascus district, the fiercest in the area since a revolt against Assad's regime erupted in March 2011.

The European Union gave a vital boost to members of the National Coalition, describing them as the "legitimate representatives of the Syrian people" following talks in Brussels with the bloc's leader, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.

The EU, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, said at the award ceremony in Oslo that the 21-month conflict in Syria, which has cost more than 42,000 lives, must be addressed.

"Let me say it from here today. The current situation in Syria is a stain on the world's conscience and the international community has a moral duty to address it," said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday.

The Independent newspaper said on Tuesday Britain and other key international players were actively drawing up plans to train rebel fighters and back them with air and naval support.

General David Richards, the head of Britain's armed forces, held talks recently in London with military leaders from France, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and a US general, according to a report on the newspaper's website.

During the meeting organised at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron, the military chiefs are believed to have held detailed strategic discussions about how to help rebels.

Britain, France and the United States have pledged not to put "boots on the ground" to help the rebels, meaning Turkey would most likely host the training camps.

Britain's ministry of defence (MoD) would not confirm the report.

"We want to see a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria that leads to an end to the violence and a process of genuine political transition," said an MoD spokesperson.

"In the absence of a political and diplomatic solution, we will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria."

The capture by the Al-Nusra Front and allied jihadist groups of the base at Sheikh Suleiman dealt a significant blow to Assad's regime as it had been the last major military base west of Aleppo city still under army control.

But it also undercut the military influence of the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

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

"We control the whole base, all the zone is under our control. The whole region west of Aleppo up to the Turkish border has now been liberated. But no chemical weapons were found, or anti-aircraft missiles," said a rebel chief, Abu Jalal.

He headed the only unit of the mainstream rebel FSA which took part in the operation.

Also on Monday, the army used warplanes and tanks to bombard rebel positions in Damascus province and violent clashes broke out in the north of the capital, the Observatory said.

Violence in Damascus has previously been focused on southern districts.

At least 94 people, among them 42 civilians, 26 soldiers and 26 rebels, were killed in nationwide violence on Monday, said the Observatory, which relies on activists and medics for its information.

The highest toll was in Damascus province, where 36 people died.

Arab and Western states will consider two key issues at a Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakech on Wednesday - the political transition in the event of Assad's fall, and mobilising vital humanitarian aid as winter sets in.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been due to attend, but has cancelled her planned trip to Morocco because of a stomach virus, her office said.

And as concerns mount in the West that hardline Islamists are hijacking the uprising, Washington is set to declare the Al-Nusra Front a "foreign terrorist organisation", according to documents posted in the US Federal Register.

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Tibetan, 16, self-immolates in China

A 16-YEAR-OLD Tibetan girl has died after setting herself on fire, Chinese state media say, in an area that has become a flashpoint for protests against Beijing's rule.

The school pupil self-immolated on Monday in the village of Dageri in China's northwestern province of Qinghai, an area with a high population of ethnic Tibetans, just before 7pm (2200 AEDT) on Sunday, Xinhua said.

Her body was cremated four hours later and returned to her family, the news agency said, adding that local government officials were investigating.

More than 90 Tibetans have set themselves ablaze since 2009 to protest China's rule of the Tibetan plateau, rights groups have said, with the frequency of incidents increasing sharply in November. Most have died.

According to a partial list drawn up by the London-based campaign group Free Tibet the teenager is among the youngest girls to have set themselves on fire.

Xinhua reported on Sunday that a monk and his nephew had been detained for inciting eight Tibetans to set themselves alight.

Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically minority areas.

Beijing rejects this, saying Tibetans enjoy religious freedom. The government points to huge on-going investment it says has brought modernisation and a better standard of living to Tibet.

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Japan economic data sparks recession fears

Japan's economy shrank in the September, fuelling fears the country is slipping into a recession. Source: AAP

JAPAN has confirmed the world's third-largest economy shrank in the three months to September, fuelling fears the country is slipping into a recession.

Financial turmoil in Europe, a strong yen that has weakened exports and a painful diplomatic row with major trade partner China have harmed Japan's economy, dousing hopes of a firm recovery after the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

Some economists warn the current quarter is likely to see another contraction, meaning two successive quarters of negative growth that equate to a technical recession.

On Monday, official data confirmed earlier figures that showed Japan's economy shrank 0.9 per cent in the July-September quarter, or down 3.5 per cent on an annualised basis.

Revised figures from the Cabinet Office also showed the nation's growth in the previous quarter was essentially flat, further underscoring recession fears.

Separate data released on Monday shows Japan's current account surplus was down about 30 per cent on last year to Y376.9 billion ($A4.38 billion) in October, although the latest figure beat market expectations for a 218 billion yen surplus, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The current account is the broadest measure of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, including exports, tourism and overseas income.

Japan's current account surpluses have been hit by a slowing global economy and a spike in fuel imports due to the shutdown of most of the country's nuclear reactors following last year's disaster which triggered a major atomic crisis.

Last month, Tokyo approved $US10.7 billion ($A10.25 billion) in fresh spending to help boost the limp economy, more than double a package announced in October.

The new package was announced as the nation prepares for December 16 elections which are expected to see Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Democratic Party of Japan defeated by the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party led by Shinzo Abe.

Abe has vowed to spend heavily on public works and pressure the Bank of Japan into launching aggressive monetary easing measures to boost growth if his party wins the election.

The BoJ has unveiled two policy easing measures in recent months as its counterparts in the US and Europe launched major moves to counter slowing growth.

The yen has been weakening as speculation grows that the BoJ will take more action after its policy meeting this month, with the central bank's closely-watched Tankan corporate sentiment survey due this week.

"The BoJ will have no choice but to consider additional monetary easing in case its own Tankan survey shows worsening in near-term corporate sentiment," said RBS Securities chief Japan economist Junko Nishioka.

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Greek PM eyes debt buy-back success

Greece's PM believes he will soon be able to declare success in his country's debt buy-back plan. Source: AAP

GREECE'S prime minister says he's convinced he will soon be able to declare success in his country's huge debt buy-back plan.

Greek authorities have set a $US30 billion euros ($A28.75 billion) target for a complex financial operation to buy back some of the country's huge debt pile at reduced prices that began on Monday.

Speaking after talks in Bavaria with Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, Antonis Samaras told reporters on Sunday he was confident of a positive outcome.

"I believe or I am firmly convinced that on Monday or Tuesday, we will actually be able to say with certainty that things have gone well," he said.

The operation aims to cut the national debt by around 20 billion euros and is vital to qualify for more financial aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Samaras also said the debt buy-back scheme would be crucial to get the debt-wracked country back on track and said he wanted to put the past behind him.

"The only thing I want to look to is the future. My presence here brings hope to the Greek people," he said.

Members of Seehofer's Christian Social Union (CSU), up for re-election in nation-wide polls in September, have been some of the harshest German critics of Greece.

At the height of the crisis earlier this year, several CSU members called for Greece to leave the eurozone, often sending markets into a tailspin.

The party, a junior coalition partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government, has since toned down its rhetoric as Samaras has pushed through a raft of reforms to unlock vital international aid.

And Seehofer stressed that "we now have a situation in which we can work well together", adding "the future is now set up well".

He said the two leaders had agreed to task their ministers with finding ways to deepen ties between Greece and Bavaria after a traditional regional dinner featuring oxtail soup and apple strudel with Greek yoghurt.

The Greek leader had set the tone for the meeting by telling the local Muenchner Merkur on the eve of the talks that he was "coming as a friend".

"We are partners who share the same values and ideals," he said.

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Bikie expected to be extradited to NSW

The national leader of the Comanchero's is believed to be one of two men arrested in Queensland. Source: AAP

THE national leader of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang is believed to be one of two men arrested in Queensland.

Queensland Police have arrested a 28-year-old man and a 26-year-old-man at Hope Island on the Gold Coast following reports of a disturbance at a home on Sunday.

Police allege the 28-year-old man is a member of the Comanchero, with media reports indicating he is the national leader.

It is expected he will face extradition proceedings to NSW in coming days for an offence of affray.

The second man is also wanted by NSW Police on a warrant for an incident relating to a public-place shooting in Sydney in July 2012 and it is expected he will also face extradition proceedings.

Both men are in custody and will appear at Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

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US drone strike kills at least three

US drones targeting a militant compound have killed at least three people in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.

The strike took place on Sunday in Tabbi village, five kilometres north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan which is known as a bastion of Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"US drones fired four missiles on a militant compound, killing three rebels," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another security official confirmed the attack and casualties but said the identity of those killed in the strike was not immediately known.

Tabbi village, which is very close to the Afghan border, is said to be a hideout for militants belonging to several groups including those from Hafiz Gul Bahadur and the Haqqani network.

The al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington.

Washington has long demanded that Pakistan take action against the Haqqanis, whom the United States accused of attacking the US embassy in Kabul in September last year.

Pakistan has in turn demanded that Afghan and US forces do more to stop Pakistani Taliban crossing the border from Afghanistan to launch attacks on its forces.

Attacks by unmanned US aircraft remain contentious. They are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but American officials are said to believe they are too important to give up.

Casualty figures are difficult to obtain. A report commissioned by legal lobby group Reprieve in September estimated that between 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012.

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Mandela spends night in hospital

Nelson Mandela has been admitted to a hospital for tests, officials say. Source: AAP

SOUTH Africa's first black president and Nobel peace prize laureate Nelson Mandela has spent the night in hospital, where he was admitted to undergo tests, officials say.

President Jacob Zuma's spokesman and former Mandela prison mate Mac Maharaj refused to give details early on Sunday and said he would give an update when doctors issued a report.

It was the second time the 94-year-old and increasingly frail Mandela was hospitalised this year.

The South African government said the anti-apartheid icon was doing well on Saturday after he was taken in for tests "consistent with his age" and insisted there was "no cause for alarm".

Officials have refused to give more details about his condition or say which hospital he was at, although local media speculated he was at 1 Military Hospital on the outskirts of the capital Pretoria.

The revered statesman has not appeared in public since South Africa hosted the Football World Cup final in 2010.

Madiba, as he is affectionately known by South Africans, has all-but retired from public life, choosing to live in his childhood hometown of Qunu in the rural Eastern Cape.

His last hospitalisation was in February when he spent a night in hospital for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate persistent abdominal pain.

In January 2011, Mandela was admitted for a chest infection, sparking public panic and a media frenzy as the government and Mandela's charitable foundation refused to release information on his condition.

After years fighting white-only rule, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the last white president, FW de Klerk, in 1993.

A year later, he crowned his long fight against minority rule by becoming the country's first black president with the end of apartheid.

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