Pakistani Taliban selects new leader

THE Pakistani Taliban has selected Khan Said Sajna as the insurgent group's new leader after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike, members of the organisation say.

Sajna is from a group within the Pakistani Taliban that was in favour of peace talks with the government.

He was a close associate of Baitullah Mehsud, the founder and former leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who was also killed by a drone in 2009.

A Taliban council picked the Mehsud tribesman as the new chief at a meeting at an undisclosed location in the tribal region on Saturday.

Hakimullah Mehsud was killed on Friday, one day before the government and the TTP were about to open peace talks after a decade of conflict.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said the government would not cease its efforts to seek a peace deal with the militants despite the US attack.

"We had removed all hurdles in opening dialogue with the Taliban, and we will still try to build on that," Rashid said.

It was not immediately known whether the Taliban was also interested in initiating a process of reconciliation.

A militant commander in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan said it was too early to say if the militia would still respond to government overtures.

Analysts said the future of the TTP and the proposed peace talks depend upon how well the new leader keeps the militia united.

"If the organisation splits into many groups, it will not be easy for the government to deal with each one of them," said Irfan Shehzad, lead researcher at an Islamabad-based think tank, the Institute of Policy Studies.

Pakistan's government declared a red alert overnight after Hakimullah Mehsud's killing out of fear of retaliatory attacks.

It ordered increased security around airports and other key installations.

The army was deployed on Saturday in all major cities near tribal areas after intelligence agencies warned that the TTP might launch improvised attacks to avenge the killing of their leader.

Hakimullah Mehsud was buried on Saturday, an official said.

He and four other militants were killed when an unmanned aircraft fired four missiles at a compound in the Dande Darpa Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border.

A security official said the dead rebel leader and his associates were buried in different areas of the tribal region but declined to give the exact locations.

Hakimullah Mehsud headed the banned TTP, a group of more than a dozen rebel outfits, since 2009. He succeeded Baitullah Mehsud.

Sajna hails from the Laddah area of the South Waziristan tribal district.

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Bahrain opposition leader faces prosecutor

BAHRAIN'S main opposition group says its leader has been called to the state prosecutor's office over an exhibition that showed alleged abuses against anti-government protesters.

It's unclear whether Ali Salman, the head of the Shi'ite bloc al-Wefaq, could face arrest on Sunday.

Such a move could boost tensions sharply and open wider clashes between Shi'ite-led protesters and Bahrain's Sunni rulers.

Riot police last week raided the museum-style hall opened by al-Wefaq that included depictions of alleged torture and heavy-handed tactics against protesters during 32 months of unrest.

Authorities said the displays incited "hatred".

Al-Wefaq said on Saturday that Salman was ordered to the prosecutor's office, but gave no other details.

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In midst of Syria war, Jesus statue arises

IN the midst of a conflict rife with sectarianism, a giant bronze statue of Jesus has gone up on a Syrian mountain, apparently under cover of a truce among three warring factions.

Jesus stands, arms outstretched, on the Cherubim mountain, overlooking a route pilgrims took from Constantinople to Jerusalem in ancient times.

The statue is 12.3 metres tall and stands on a base that brings its height to 32m, organisers of the project estimate.

That the statue made it to Syria and went up without incident on October 14 is remarkable.

The project took eight years and was set back by the conflict that followed the March 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Christians and other minorities are all targets in the conflict, and the statue's safety is by no means guaranteed.

It stands among villages where some fighters have little sympathy for Christians.

So why put up a giant statue of Christ in the midst of such setbacks and so much danger?

Because "Jesus would have done it," organiser Samir al-Ghadban quoted a Christian church leader as telling him.

The backers' success in overcoming the obstacles shows the complexity of war, where sometimes despite the atrocities the warring parties can reach short-term truces.

Al-Ghadban said that the main armed groups in the area - Syrian government forces, rebels and the local militias of Sednaya, the Christian town near the statue site - halted fire while organisers set up the statue, without providing further details.

Rebels and government forces occasionally agree to ceasefires to allow the movement of goods.

They typically do not admit to having truces because that would tacitly acknowledge their enemies.

It took three days to raise the statue.

Photos provided by organisers show it being hauled in two pieces by farm tractors, then lifted into place by a crane.

Smaller statues of Adam and Eve stand nearby.

The project, called I Have Come to Save the World, is run by the London-based St Paul and St George Foundation, which al-Ghadban directs.

It was previously named the Gavrilov Foundation, after a Russian businessman, Yuri Gavrilov.

Documents filed with Britain's Charity Commission describe it as supporting "deserving projects in the field of science and animal welfare" in England and Russia, but the commission's accounts show it spent less than STG250 ($A426) in the last four years.

Al-Ghadban said most of the financing came from private donors, but did not supply further details.

Russians have been a driving force behind the project - not surprising given that the Kremlin is embattled Assad's chief ally, and the Orthodox churches in Russia and Syria have close ties.

Al-Ghadban, who spoke from Moscow, is Syrian-Russian and lives in both countries.

Al-Ghadban said he began the project in 2005, hoping the statue would be an inspiration for Syria's Christians.

He said he was inspired by Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer statue.

He commissioned an Armenian sculptor, but progress was slow.

By 2012, the statue was ready, but Syria was aflame, causing the project's biggest delay, al-Ghadban said.

Majority Sunni Muslims dominate the revolt, and jihadists make up some of the strongest fighting groups.

Other Muslim groups along with the 10-per cent Christian minority have stood largely with Assad's government, or remained neutral, sometimes arming themselves to keep hardline rebels out of their communities.

Churches have been vandalised and priests abducted.

Last month the extremists overran Maaloula, a Christian-majority town so old that some of its people still speak a language from Jesus' time.

On Tuesday a militant Muslim cleric, Sheik Omar al-Gharba, posted a YouTube video of himself smashing a blue-and-white statue of the Virgin Mary.

Al-Ghadban and the project's most important backer, Gavrilov, weighed cancelling it.

They consulted Syria's Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yaziji.

It was he who told them "Jesus would have done it".

They began shipping the statue from Armenia to Lebanon.

In August, while it was en route, Gavrilov, 49, suffered a fatal heart attack, al-Ghadban said.

Eventually the statue reached Syria.

"It was a miracle," al-Ghadban said.

"Nobody who participated in this expected this to succeed."

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Iran editor jailed for religious article

THE editor of an Iranian reformist newspaper has been jailed for publishing an article on Shia Islam deemed offensive by authorities.

The ISNA news agency said Saeed Pourazizi of the Bahar newspaper was taken to Evin prison on Saturday.

ISNA quoted Pourazizi's wife, Masoumeh Shahriari, as saying her husband was summoned to court but was taken to jail instead.

She said authorities have demanded bail in exchange for his release.

Iran's press watchdog banned Bahar last week because of an article authorities said questioned Shia Islam's beliefs about the Prophet Mohammed's appointed successor

Prior to the ban, the daily issued an apology, saying publishing the article was an "unintentional mistake" and it had temporarily suspended activities to "ease the tensions".

Culture Minister Ali Janati said the article "foments religious conflicts" and that the daily had received earlier warnings.

And judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani warned on Wednesday that his department will "act with determination against those who falsify the history and try to undermine the fundamentals of the regime".

Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani, who has the support of reformists and moderates, pledged to work for more social freedom during his election campaign.

Several reformist journalists and political activists in the predominantly Shi'ite country have been released since he took office in August.

Bahar and several other reformist dailies, notably Shargh, only resumed publication at the end of 2012 after a ban lasting several years.

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UK director Antonia Bird dies at 54

ANTONIA Bird, one of Britain's leading female film and TV directors, has died aged 54.

She was known for 1990s' films including Priest, Face and Ravenous, all starring actor Robert Carlyle.

Bird's TV credits included Spooks, Cracker, EastEnders and this year's BBC One drama The Village.

Originally from London, she began her career at the Royal Court Theatre before switching to TV in the mid-1980s.

Carlyle, writing on Twitter, said: "Such a sad day today. RIP Antonia Bird. Farewell my beautiful friend."

Novelist Irvine Walsh, who was a partner with Bird in the British film production company 4 Ways alongside Carlyle and film maker Mark Cousins, paid tribute to "our top Bird" and said she made "amazing films".

Bird won best single drama awards at the TV Baftas for 1993's Safe, a BBC Two drama about homeless teenagers, and 2000's Care, which focused on sexual abuse in children's homes.

She also won a Bafta Children's Award in 2009 for poetry documentary Off By Heart.

Actor Nico Mirallegro, who worked alongside Bird on The Village, wrote: "I'm so pleased that I got the chance to learn from and work with such an inspirational person. Loved everything about her."

Cousins commented: "So touching to see all the tributes to director Antonia Bird. The thing now is to make her work available and get it seen."

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Mount Etna volcano erupts

MOUNT Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has erupted, sending up a towering plume of ash visible in much of eastern Sicily.

Etna's eruptions aren't infrequent, although the last major one occurred in 1992.

Catania airport says the eruption on Saturday forced the closure of nearby airspace before dawn, but authorities lifted the order in early morning.

Several inhabited villages dot the mountain's slopes, but evacuations weren't necessary despite the lava flow.

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Jailed Greenpeace activist clings to hope

A BRITISH environmental campaigner facing 15 years in a Russian jail for alleged piracy says she is "trying very, very hard not to lose hope".

Greenpeace activist Alexandra Harris has been denied bail following a month in prison for her part in a protest against oil company Gazprom's platform in the Arctic's Pechora Sea.

She is one of the 30 people detained when armed Russian officials boarded their vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, last month.

Those arrested include citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, France, Sweden, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine and the US.

In a handwritten letter to her parents, the 27-year-old said: "I'm worried about what's going to happen.

"I have moments of feeling panicky but then I try to tell myself there's nothing I can do from in here and what will be will be so it's pointless worrying.

"But it's hard. Surely my future isn't rotting in a prison in Murmansk?! Well, I really hope it isn't."

Appearing in court for her bail hearing on Friday, Harris protested her innocence and said she was proud of Greenpeace's "non-violent, peaceful efforts" to stop oil drilling in the Arctic.

"The only thing that happened was a peaceful protest and I believe the footage and Greenpeace's long history can demonstrate this," she said.

"I'd also like to say that the protest was not directed at Russia - it was solely about Arctic oil and the threat it poses to the climate and the Arctic environment."

Greenpeace says it will not be "daunted" by the piracy charges the environmental campaigners are facing, as supporters held a candlelight vigil in London to mark their 30th day in prison.

The "Arctic 30" and their boat were taken from waters near the port of Murmansk on September 19 after two of them tried to board the rig.

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Opera House gets price tag for birthday

The economic, cultural and digital value of the Sydney Opera House works out at $4.6 billion. Source: AAP

IT'S a priceless national icon, but a new report has put a figure on what the Sydney Opera House means to Australia.

The tourist magnet is worth $4.6 billion - or about $200 per citizen - to the Australian public, according to Deloitte.

Ticket sales, iconic status, digital presence and the unique design were all quantified to come up with the value.

"We all know in our bones how important it is,", Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said.

"(But) here is the number - this is what we're worth, don't take us for granted."

By putting a price tag on the venue, management can make a stronger case for government funding for upkeep, she said.

"We have this 40-year-old thing which is magnificent, but absolutely needs to be renovated," she said.

Commissioned ahead of the building's 40th anniversary, the report also found the Opera House injects roughly $775 million into the national economy annually.

Jorn Utzon's famed creation rates higher than the national identity on a marketing index of brand esteem, the report says.

"It's slightly counterintuitive that Australia would have as it's symbol a work of art, but we do," Ms Herron said.

Looking ahead, the Opera House is hoping to grow its online presence and digital audience with blogs, live-streaming and social media.

But for now the focus is on birthday festivities, including an anniversary concert on October 20 attended by Danish royals Mary and Frederik.

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US releasing $US1.6bn in Pakistan aid

THE US has quietly decided to release more than $US1.6 billion ($A1.66 billion) in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended when relations between the two countries disintegrated over the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden and deadly US airstrikes against Pakistani soldiers.

Officials and congressional aides say ties have improved enough to allow the money to flow again.

American and NATO supply routes to Afghanistan are open. Controversial US drone strikes are down. The US and Pakistan recently announced the restart of their "strategic dialogue" after a long pause. Pakistan's new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is travelling to Washington for talks this coming week with President Barack Obama.

But in a summer dominated by foreign policy debates over the coup in Egypt and chemical weapons attacks in Syria, the US hasn't promoted its revamped aid relationship with Pakistan. Neither has Pakistan.

The silence reflects the lingering mutual suspicions between the two.

The Pakistanis do not like being seen as dependent on their heavy-handed partners. The Americans are uncomfortable highlighting the billions provided to a government that is plagued by corruption and perceived as often duplicitous in fighting terrorism.

Congress has cleared most of the money, which should start moving early next year, officials and congressional aides say.

Over three weeks in July and August, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development informed Congress that it planned to restart a wide range of assistance, mostly dedicated to helping Pakistan fight terrorism.

The US sees that effort sees as essential as it withdraws troops from neighbouring Afghanistan next year and tries to leave a stable government behind.

Other funds focus on a range of items, including help for Pakistani law enforcement and a multibillion-dollar dam in disputed territory.

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Calls for EU to address boat deaths

CALLS are intensifying for the European Union to prevent migrant deaths, with at least 400 people drowning in three Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks in just over a week.

"I don't know how many more people need to die at sea before something gets done," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday.

"As things stand we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea."

One vessel sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on October 3, carrying more than 500 passengers.

There were 155 survivors, while the provisional death count was raised on Saturday to 359, as rescuers found the bodies of 20 more victims.

A second deadly accident took place on Friday afternoon, about 80 nautical miles southwest of Malta and 60 nautical miles southeast of Lampedusa.

Italian and Maltese rescuers found 34 bodies, while there were more than 200 survivors.

Also on Friday, at least 12 people died and 116 were rescued after a migrant boat sank off the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

Egyptian state-run newspaper al-Ahram said the vessel was carrying about 150 people, mainly Palestinians and Syrians.

Pope Francis, a champion of migrants' rights, decried indifference towards the tragedies.

"Lord, have mercy! Too often we are blinded by our comfortable lives, and refuse to see those dying at our doorstep," he wrote on Twitter.

The message was accompanied by the #Lampedusa hashtag.

The migration crisis is due to be discussed by EU leaders at an October 24-25 summit in Brussels.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, the bloc's top migration official, is proposing vastly expanded sea patrols by EU border agency Frontex.

"These new horrible events ... stress even more strongly the urgency of a wide Frontex search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to Spain, to better detect and assist boats in distress," she said on Friday.

"We need to stop the merchants of death," Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.

He suggested conditioning EU aid to North African nations to them stopping migrants from setting off from their shores.

Italy has recorded a sharp increase in migrant boat arrivals since July.

Most vessels, organised by human traffickers, sail off from Libya, Tunisia or Egypt, carrying asylum seekers from Syria and the Horn of Africa.

Others, such as Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini and Italian Red Cross President Francesco Rocca, urged the EU to open "humanitarian corridors" allowing refugees to reach Europe safely and legally, without putting their lives in the hands of traffickers.

The Times of Malta reported the roughly 150 survivors from Friday's wreck were thought to be Syrians who'd each paid 4000 euros ($A5760) for the trip.

Two babies, an 11-year-old child and a woman were among the dead.

The migrants' boat was said to have capsized as those aboard tried to attract the attention of a passing Maltese aircraft.

The Italy Coast Guard also intervened between Thursday and Friday to help 85 migrants stranded on a dinghy about 80 nautical miles south of Lampedusa, and intercepted a boat with 183 migrants on board as it approached the port of the tiny island.

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