Israel's Lieberman pleads not guilty

THE trial of Israel's former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman on charges of fraud and breach of trust has opened at a Jerusalem court in a case that will decide the former nightclub bouncer's political future.

Wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt, Lieberman was silent as he entered the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court and did not speak to waiting reporters.

In a brief opening procedure on Sunday, the charges against Lieberman were read out, with the former minister pleading not guilty. The hearing was then adjourned until April 25.

Lieberman is accused of having intervened to try to secure an ambassadorial posting for an Israeli diplomat who provided him with confidential information about a police investigation into his affairs, in an incident dating back to 2008 when he was between cabinet portfolios and serving only as an MP.

The case against Lieberman is being heard by three judges, which commentators said was likely to make the prospect of a possible subsequent appeal harder for his lawyers than if a single judge was on the bench.

Despite his resignation from the foreign ministry, Lieberman remains head of the hardline secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu that ran on a joint list with the right-wing Likud of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, narrowly winning last month's election.

The list won 31 seats in the 120-member parliament, and Netanyahu is currently trying to piece together a coalition government.

Lieberman's political future, however, will depend on the outcome of the trial.

Since Lieberman's resignation, Netanyahu has himself served as interim foreign minister but he is reportedly seeking to reinstate his ally once the legal proceedings are over.

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Blasts kill 21 in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad

A SERIES of bombings mainly targeting Shi'ite areas of Baghdad has killed at least 21 people in the latest violence to hit Iraq as it struggles with protests and a political crisis.

Three car bombs struck the sprawling Sadr City slum in the north of the city, car bombs exploded in Ameen, Al-Husseiniyah and Kamaliyah in the east, and a roadside bomb blew up in Karrada in central Baghdad, security and medics said.

Another roadside device went off in Saidiyah in the capital's south.

At least 21 people were killed and more than 120 were wounded in Sunday's attacks, the officials said.

Residents of Sadr City were enraged by the bombings, and hospitals in the area were quickly crowded with people searching for relatives.

"What did we do? We're always the victims of conflicts between politicians," one woman shouted.

Ali Kadhim, who owns a shop near the site of one blast, agreed, saying: "They always threaten each other, and it's us who die. The people are always the victims."

And Hussein Mohammed, who was wounded and whose car was destroyed by one explosion, questioned how the bomb could have got past security forces into the area.

"I spent about two hours to enter Sadr City, so how could this car bomb enter?" he asked, his clothes smeared with blood and dirt. "Where is the security?"

Also on Sunday, gunmen killed a police captain in front of his home in Mosul in north Iraq, officials said.

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Pope blesses thousands at St Peter's

POPE Benedict XVI has blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.

Smiling broadly, Benedict raised his arms outstretched to the massive crowd in his second-last Angelus blessing before leaving the papacy. A huge banner in the square read: "We love you."

The Sunday noon appointment is one of the most cherished traditions of the Catholic Church, and this moment is one of Benedict's last opportunities to connect with the Catholic masses.

The Pope's voice was strong and clear as he looked into hazy sunshine over the square packed with at least 50,000 pilgrims, whom he addressed in Italian, English, French, German, Polish and Spanish.

Benedict made no direct reference to his stunning decision to step down on February 28. But in his comments to Spanish-speaking pilgrims he asked the faithful to "continue praying for me and for the next pope". And he thanked the faithful for their "affection and spiritual closeness".

The crowd broke out into cheers and wild applause.

The Pope gave particular thanks to the "beloved inhabitants of the city of Rome", a possible hint at the title he will take after retirement. The Vatican has suggested he may be called "emeritus bishop of Rome".

The Vatican hasn't announced the date of the start of the conclave, but said on Saturday it might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date it can be launched under current rules. Benedict would have to sign off on any earlier date, an act that would be one of the last of his nearly eight-year papacy.

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Bangladesh moves to ban main Islamic party

BANGLADESH'S parliament has amended a law to allow the prosecution of the country's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes in a move that could pave the way to it being banned.

News of the move was greeted by loud cheers from tens of thousands of protesters in central Dhaka who have been demanding a ban on Jamaat, whose leaders are on trial for war crimes allegedly committed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed told AFP that under the new law, "any organisation including Jamaat can be prosecuted" by a special court for war crimes and if found guilty "it can be banned" from politics.

Previously only individuals could be prosecuted for war crimes.

"It's one step towards banning Jamaat," deputy law minister Qamrul Islam told AFP.

The move comes after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday indicated she would back a ban on Jamaat, whose members are suspected in the murder of an anti-Islamist blogger, as it had "no right to be in politics in Bangladesh".

Demonstrations championed by online activists have seen thousands take to the streets for the past two weeks demanding the execution of Jamaat leaders accused of genocide, murder and rape during the 1971 war.

Rival protests by Islamists demanding a halt to the trials of Jamaat leaders have turned violent, leaving 13 people dead.

Clashes between police and Islamists have intensified since last week after a senior Jamaat leader was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder.

Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have said the trials are based on bogus charges and are part of a wider political vendetta.

The government rejects this and says the trials are needed to heal wounds from the nine-month war in which three million people were killed.

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NATO to comply with Afghan air strike ban

THE commander of US-led forces in Afghanistan says he will comply with President Hamid Karzai's order banning Afghan security forces from seeking NATO air support.

Karzai said on Saturday he would issue a decree ordering an end to local security forces calling in NATO air strikes amid new tensions over civilian casualties caused by such attacks.

Air strikes have been an important weapon in the fight against Taliban insurgents, but they have also proved hugely controversial as they have led to numerous civilian deaths.

US General Joseph Dunford, who took charge of the US-led NATO force in the war-battered country last Sunday, said he was prepared to comply with Karzai's order, made after a NATO air raid killed 10 civilians including women and children in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday night.

"We are prepared to provide support in line with the president's intent," Dunford told reporters in Kabul on Sunday.

Karzai summoned Dunford over the air raid in Kunar province.

"I get the broad guidance from the president and we will work out the details in the coming days," Dunford said.

"We have restraints and constraints on each operation. I believe we will continue to support the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) and meet the president's intent," Dunford said in response to questions about Karzai's order.

"There are other ways to support the Afghans besides aviation," he said.

Afghanistan's own poorly equipped air force has no fixed-wing attack aircraft and is not capable of providing firepower to support ground troops.

A Western security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new ban would make the fight against the militants much harder.

"If air strikes are eventually banned, it's a good victory for the Taliban - without air power you have to chase after them," he told AFP.

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NSW nurses to vote on pay claim

NSW nurses and midwives are preparing to vote on a proposed pay rise and staff ratios claim.

The claim includes applying compulsory minimum ratios in all hospitals, including smaller and multipurpose services.

It would equate to six nursing hours per patient per day.

Other proposals include introducing minimum ratios for children's hospitals and emergency departments, as well as introducing mandated face-to-face patient time in community nursing.

Nurses will also vote on a 2.5 per cent annual pay rise, which will provide the majority of full-time workers with a pay rise of more than $3800 per year by July 2014.

More than 33,000 public-sector nurses and midwives with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association are eligible to vote on Monday.

The current award, finalised in February 2011 under an agreement with the former Labor government, includes compulsory minimum nursing ratios for most wards in acute hospitals.

"The O'Farrell government must now build on those levels and ensure every public patient in NSW has access to the same level of care, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) general secretary Brett Holmes said.

"Many people would be surprised and shocked to know that minimum staffing levels are currently not guaranteed in NSW hospitals for seriously ill infants and children," he said.

Mr Holmes said the state government had been willing to claim credit for the employment of extra nursing positions, even though the placements were created under an agreement with the former Labor government.

"It will be interesting to see how it reacts, now that it has a chance to act on its own right and extend this reform into other important areas such as children's wards and rural facilities," he said.

NSWNMA branches must vote by 4pm (AEDT) on Friday March 1.

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Kosovo marks independence five years on

KOSOVO'S president has insisted its independence is an "irrefutable reality" as the impoverished territory marked five years since it broke away from Serbia.

Relations have thawed with its long-time foe under EU-sponsored reconciliation talks that are key to Belgrade's bid to join the bloc, but tensions remain and daily life in Kosovo is still a struggle for many.

"The republic of Kosovo is an irrefutable reality and its independence is irreversible," President Atifete Jahjaga said in a televised address on Sunday.

Kosovo's star-studded flags fluttered along Pristina's main streets alongside the US Stars and Stripes as thousands of people gathered to watch a military parade by the Kosovo Security Force, trained by NATO as an emergency force.

"We are developing a clear vision of our Euro-Atlantic future," Jahjaga said of Kosovo's desire to join both the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Almost 100 countries - including the United States - have recognised Kosovo since ethnic Albanians proclaimed independence on February 17, 2008, almost a decade after the 1998-1999 conflict that ended with a NATO bombing campaign against late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic's forces.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called on the authorities to keep "building stronger democratic institutions, advancing new economic opportunities, promoting the rule of law, and reinforcing Kosovo's European integration path".

Belgrade still considers the region its southern province, but the EU-led talks that began in March 2011 have led to a thaw, and the two presidents held their first talks in Brussels on February 6.

With Serbia's EU membership dependent on improving ties with Pristina, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic hinted last month Belgrade may give up its opposition to Kosovo's long-held goal of joining the United Nations.

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Plus-sized models celebrate in London

IT'S a skinny girl's world, particularly in fashion where the thin, androgynous look always wins out. But an alternative to London Fashion Week has celebrated the larger lady and all her curves.

"Thank you all for being who you are," declared one of the organisers at the first Official British Plus-Size Fashion Weekend in Shoreditch, an area in London's east beloved of hipsters and music fans.

Elegantly-dressed women browsed racks of clothes designed for European size 40 (Australian size 14) and upwards, snacking intermittently from plates of crisps and cupcakes spread around the venue - food here was not taboo.

Wearing skirts, shorts or bikinis, the women were greeted with enthusiastic applause in the final catwalk on Sunday.

While many of the models could only be described as voluptuous, some of the clothes on offer were not what many people think of as plus-sized.

Hayley, a 24-year-old model who wears European size 42 (Australian size 16), berated the industry for the way it categorised women.

"I think even some agencies these days call girls that are UK size 10 (Australian size 12) plus size. That's just crazy.

"I think that plus size is the wrong word. I think a curvy model would be a better word to describe me and plus size is not necessarily the nicest expression."

Thirteen designers attended the fashion weekend, but the number was dwarfed by the almost 80 labels showing across town at the official London Fashion Week, where skinny girls still reign supreme.

"At the end, I hope there won't be two segregated shows. But for now, we want to give curvy women an option," said one of the organisers Rianne Ward.

She plans to run the plus-sized event again next year, hoping to emulate the success of New York's Full-Figured Fashion Week, which is in its fifth year.

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