Syria state TV journalist shot dead

A SYRIAN state television journalist has been shot dead in Damascus, the latest in a string of employees of pro-government media to be killed.

"An armed terrorist group assassinated a journalist at the Public Authority for Radio and Television, Basel Tawfiq Yousef, in the Tadamun neighbourhood," the official SANA news agency reported on Friday.

The district has seen heavy fighting between rebels and troops since the outbreak of major violence in the capital in July.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the journalist was targeted because activists regarded him a member of the "shabiha," militia supporters of President Bashar al-Assad who have been accused of some of the worst abuses of the 20-month uprising against his rule.

Staff of pro-government media have been among 14 professional journalists killed in Syria since the uprising erupted in March last year.

Another 38 citizen journalists have been killed, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

Those killed have included the domestic news editor of SANA, a state television presenter and a journalist from the cultural section of the government daily Tishrin.

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Telstra mobiles to be back on by Saturday

TELSTRA technicians are working around the clock to restore full mobile coverage to customers in Victoria's west and southwest by Saturday lunchtime.

Approximately 65 per cent of 60,000 affected customers had their mobile phones back up and running at 6pm (AEDT) on Friday after a fire severely damaged the Telstra Exchange in Warrnambool early on Thursday morning.

But Telstra said it would still be a number of days before landlines and home internet connections were re-established.

Telstra spokesman James Howe said mobile phone voice calls were the top priority for the 30 technicians assigned to the job.

"In a number of areas we have limited the amount of data traffic," Mr Howe told AAP.

"It shouldn't impede the amount and coverage, however things like using emails and people looking things up their phone will be affected in the short term.

"We're working towards having full mobile coverage by lunchtime tomorrow."

Police stations and hospitals in the area have been issued with satellite phones.

An "exchange on wheels" has been sent to Warrnambool, with 10 mobile stations in the region restored overnight.

Some ATM and EFTPOS services have been restored, however Mr Howe warned EFTPOS would be slower than usual.

He says compensation for businesses affected by the fire will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

It may be an option for residential customers.

"Compensation will certainly be considered in the future," Mr Howe said, although he stressed the telco giant was currently focused on restoration and repair.

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Girl shot dead in public urination row

A 17-YEAR-OLD girl has been shot dead by a man, allegedly after objecting to his urinating near her home in New Delhi.

The man also reportedly shot the girl's mother in the incident, in the Nizamuddin area late on Wednesday.

Police began investigating after a complaint was filed the following day and said on Friday they would soon arrest the accused, a former tenant in the building where the family lives.

"The man ... was relieving himself at the staircase leading to the house, when the girl and her mother objected and shouted at him to leave," area police chief Sunil Kumar said.

"An angry argument followed, after which the man left. He returned to the girl's apartment with a pistol sometime later and shot them," Kumar said.

Kumar said the "sudden provocation" resulting from the argument had led to the murder.

Nearly half of India's 1.2 billion people do not have toilets at home and many people urinate or defecate in the open.

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Toxic seafood warning in Sydney bay

A TOXIC algal bloom which potentially poisons a range of seafood has been detected in Sydney's Botany Bay.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said it had detected a species of algae which produces paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins.

It said it found toxins above safe levels for human consumption in shellfish from Botany Bay during routine monitoring on Friday.

The NSW Food Authority has warned people against eating oysters, mussels, cockles, clams or the gut of rock lobster or abalone taken from the bay or the Georges River.

It's also warning people against eating periwinkles, sea urchins or crabs.

Cooking won't destroy the toxins, it said.

Anyone who experiences symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning are being advised to seek medical assistance.

Symptoms include tingling in the mouth, pins and needles, unsteadiness on the feet, weakness of the arms or legs and nausea.

Shellfish bought from commercial seafood outlets were not affected, the Food Authority said.

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Consumers frustrated with packaging: study

FRUSTRATED consumers are using hammers, saws, kitchen knives, teeth and even angle-grinders to extract some products from impenetrable packaging, a survey has found.

Almost half are getting injured in the process, the survey of 500 people in Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand found.

Ninety-four per cent of those questioned said they had some resentment towards packaging, with the glued-tight plastic "clamshell" voted among the most infuriating.

The survey, published in the Australian Reader's Digest, found the plastic shell - together with squeeze and twist caps on cleaning products and medicines - have about 41 per cent of us seeing red.

In attempts to prise open the packaging 36 per cent reported using scissors and an equal number admitted to wielding a kitchen knife.

Others have also resorted to using their teeth, saws and, in one case, an angle-grinder.

"We're reasonable enough to concede that products need to arrive clean, fresh and intact," Readers Digest editor-in-chief Sue Carney said in a statement.

"But the vast majority (80 per cent) believe manufacturers and retailers have lost the plot and are simply making it too hard for us to open and enjoy their products."

The opening methods and weapons were causing a range of injuries, she said, with 42 per cent of those surveyed saying they had given themselves a deep cut.

Another 14 per cent said they had chipped or broken their teeth, with three per cent needing medical treatment for wounds.

As one man told the magazine: "I bought a pair of scissors that required a pair of scissors to open!"

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RBA hints at future cuts

AUSTRALIA'S central bank has hinted at future interest rate cuts, while addressing the challenges faced by an economy in transition.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens spoke to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Melbourne, on the same day that minutes from the bank's November 6 meeting had been released.

During his address, Mr Stevens reiterated that future changes to the cash rate had not been ruled out.

"The Board felt that further easing might be required over time," he said.

"It was also conscious, though, that a significant easing of policy had already been put in place, the effects of which were still coming through and would be for a while.

"In addition, the latest inflation data, while not a major problem, were a bit on the high side, and the gloom internationally had lifted just a little. So it seemed prudent to sit still for the moment."

The RBA had previously cut the central interest rate in May, June and October to its current level of 3.25 per cent.

Mr Stevens said domestic data - particularly for growth and inflation - would provide guidance on future moves.

Speaking of longer-term trends, he said Australia's economy was in transition, as terms of trade fell from historic highs, and the resources sector moved into another stage.

"The terms of trade have peaked, and will probably have fallen by about 15 per cent by the end of this year," he said.

"So, while a high level of the terms of trade continues to add to the level of national income, we can no longer expect that a rising terms of trade will be adding to growth in living standards."

Talk of an end to the mining boom was "somewhat overhyped", he said.

"The boom is not so much ended as simply evolving, as these events would be expected to," he said.

"Thoughtful commentators have already pointed out on a number of occasions that there are three phases to the boom."

The second phase - of investment in mining projects - was likely to peak some time in 2013 or 2014, with the third phase of extraction and export of resources still to come, particularly with regard to gas projects.

"With the peak in the investment phase of the mining boom now coming into view, the question naturally arises as to how the balance between the various types of demand in the economy will unfold," he said.

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Suicide too common in rural towns: report

SUICIDE rates in remote parts of Australia remain disproportionately high, with farmers and young men particularly vulnerable, a report shows.

In one tragic snapshot, men living in remote Queensland areas were 2.6 times more likely to die by suicide than their counterparts in metropolitan areas.

The Suicide in Rural and Remote Areas of Australia report says isolated communities will face an increasing burden of suicide unless more resources are directed to those most at risk.

While no one explanation is offered, environmental factors such as droughts and floods, coupled with economic hardship, are blamed for contributing to the high rate of self harm in remote towns.

Mental Health Minister Mark Butler said vulnerable communities needed targeted assistance to help them with the specific hardships they faced.

"There is always the scope for greater levels of assistance," Mr Butler told Sky News on Tuesday.

"We're constantly learning and constantly refining the support we give to affected communities."

Women in regional communities are also at greater risk than those living in cities, while indigenous populations were significantly overrepresented.

One study in the report claimed suicide rates in recent years had increased 12-fold in towns with fewer than 4000 people, with males aged 15-24 years most at risk.

For agricultural workers, the stress of running a property in the face of unpredictable environmental conditions can lead to mental illness, the report says.

Mr Butler said it's important current and comprehensive research is available to help inform the mental health initiatives being rolled out in remote communities.

The report recommended providing greater support to those dealing with financial stress on farms and addressing the lifestyle risks unique to remote communities such as drug and alcohol problems.

Training certain members of a community to offer local treatment and referral services to their neighbours could also prove highly effective, the report suggested.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263).

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France ends combat mission in Afghanistan

FRANCE has ended its combat mission in Afghanistan, withdrawing troops from a strategic province northeast of Kabul as part of a speeded-up departure from the war-torn country.

Paris has said all French combat soldiers will leave the country next month, two years before allied nations contributing to the 100,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the United States are due to depart.

Taliban insurgents called on other foreign forces to follow France's example.

"We urge the others to follow France and leave Afghanistan, end the occupation of Afghanistan and leave the fate of the country to Afghans themselves," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said.

France has lost 88 soldiers in Afghanistan and has been the fifth largest contributor to ISAF, behind the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy.

Paris decided to accelerate its withdrawal after a string of deadly attacks in 2011 and 2012, including an assault in January in which an Afghan soldier shot dead five French troops as they were jogging at their Kapisa base.

Then-president Nicolas Sarkozy announced the combat mission would end in 2013, but his successor Francoise Hollande brought that forward to the end of 2012.

So-called insider attacks have spiralled this year, with a total of 61 NATO soldiers killed by members of the Afghan security forces, fuelling distrust between the allies in the war against Taliban Islamist insurgents.

The attacks have also led to calls in other Western countries, where the long war is increasingly unpopular, for early troop withdrawals.

But NATO has insisted that it will follow the agreed program of pulling out all combat troops by the end of 2014.

Around 1500 French soldiers will stay into 2013 to take responsibility for repatriating equipment and training the Afghan army to take over.

France in late 2001 joined the NATO coalition defending the new government from Taliban insurgents.

A US-led invasion had toppled the Taliban government earlier that year for giving refuge to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.

But despite 11 years of fighting, a resilient insurgency has led to warnings of a return to civil war or the Taliban coming back to power in Afghanistan after 2014.

The last 400 soldiers deployed in Kapisa province started to leave Nijrab, the last French base outside Kabul, at 10am (1630 AEDT on Tuesday) after a departure ceremony.

Kapisa, which straddles key transit routes from Pakistan to the Afghan capital, has been the deadliest French mission in Afghanistan, accounting for 60 of the total French fatalities.

Two out of six Kapisa districts are thought to be at least partly controlled by insurgents.

Kapisa's security will now be the responsibility of 4700 Afghan police and soldiers, supported by 250 American soldiers, according to General Eric Hautecloque-Raysz, the French commander in Kapisa and nearby district Surobi.

He says he is optimistic about the capacity of Afghan troops.

"The insurgency is 10 times less than the (Afghan) security forces. Therefore, they cannot be beaten," he said.

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