Defence company to shed 450 Aust jobs

ONE of Australia's largest defence companies, BAE Systems, will make more than 400 workers redundant as it reels from the loss of defence contracts.

The Australian arm of the global defence company has revealed the loss of a maintenance contract will affect about 450 staff, according to the Australian newspaper.

The Land Material Maintenance contract, which is expected to be awarded to Transfield from July 1, is for the maintenance of Defence's land-based equipment such as military vehicles.

A BAE spokeswoman said on Wednesday the maintenance services elements of their contracts employ around 450 people, and the company is working closely with those affected to "support their transition".

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Spain princess suspect in corruption case

A SPANISH judge has named King Juan Carlos's daughter Princess Cristina as a suspect in a corruption case, dealing a spectacular blow to the prestige of the royal family.

It is first time a member of the Spanish royal family has been called to appear in a court of law on suspicion of wrongdoing.

The 47-year-old princess must testify as a suspect on April 27 at the court in Palma on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, said a written ruling by the judge, Jose Castro.

"The royal household does not comment in any way on judicial decisions," a spokesman for the royal family told AFP on Wednesday.

The case, which was opened at the end of 2011, is centred on allegations of embezzlement and influence peddling against her husband, former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin, and his former business partner Diego Torres.

The pair are suspected of syphoning off money paid by regional governments to stage sports and tourism events to the non-profit Noos Institute, which Urdangarin chaired from 2004 to 2006.

The princess - the seventh in line to the Spanish throne - had seemed set to avoid being snared by the case.

But the judge said evidence, including emails provided to the court by her husband's former business partner, raised doubts that she really was unaware of the business operations of Noos.

Closing the case without hearing the princess, who was a member of the Noos board, would "discredit the maxim that justice is equal for all", he said.

The princess is accused of allowing the lustre of her royal connections to be used by the Noos institute.

Urdangarin, who has not been charged with any crime and maintains his innocence, had sought to distance his wife and the rest of the royals from his business dealings.

But Torres provided the judge with emails, which were leaked to the press, appearing to show that Urdangarin regularly consulted his wife about Noos affairs.

Cristina's personal secretary, Carlos Garcia Revenga, also was questioned by the judge after Torres submitted another batch of emails that suggested he was actively involved in the Noos Institute's dealings.

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French government hit by tax fraud scandal

FRANCE'S Socialist government is reeling from an explosive tax fraud scandal as critics question how much President Francois Hollande knew about a former budget minister's secret foreign bank account.

Jerome Cahuzac - the minister responsible for cracking down on tax evasion until he resigned two weeks ago - was charged on Tuesday with "laundering the proceeds of tax fraud" after he admitted to having a foreign bank account containing some 600,000 euros ($A742,000), following weeks of denials.

Hollande appeared on national television on Wednesday to address the scandal, vowing a new law within weeks on the "publication and control" of the wealth of ministers and parliamentarians.

Hollande said he knew nothing of the foreign account and that Cahuzac "did not benefit from any protection" from the government.

"He deceived the highest authorities in the country: the head of state, the head of the government, parliament, and through them all the French people," Hollande said.

The president had been quick to condemn Cahuzac's actions, but critics have pounced on the scandal, saying top officials must have been either lying to protect the ex-minister or naive enough to believe him.

The head of the main opposition right-wing UMP party, Jean-Francois Cope, has demanded Hollande explain the scandal to the French public.

Cope said the president either "knew nothing, and that's extremely serious because it means he showed a certain amount of naivete" or "he knew and that means he lied to the French people".

"Who can believe that Francois Hollande and (Prime Minister) Jean-Marc Ayrault were aware of nothing?" Cope asked on Europe 1 radio. "They must explain themselves more deeply before the French people."

Opposition lawmakers have called for a parliamentary probe into the scandal and for the resignation of Cahuzac's former boss, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, said the entire government should resign and new parliamentary elections held.

Cahuzac announced his resignation on March 19 after prosecutors opened a probe into the account, first revealed by the investigative Mediapart news website in December. He met with investigators on Tuesday and admitted to having had the foreign account for around 20 years.

His lawyer said the account, originally opened in Switzerland, had been transferred to Singapore and that the amount laundered was equivalent to about 30,000 euros ($A37,000).

If convicted, Cahuzac faces up to five years in prison and a potential fine of up to 375,000 euros.

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Taliban kill 44 in attack on Afghan court

TALIBAN militants have stormed an Afghan court, killing at least 44 people in a bid to free insurgents standing trial in the deadliest attack for more than a year.

It was not immediately clear whether the accused men had escaped the court complex in the western town of Farah, although a hospital doctor said one prisoner was among those being treated for injuries.

The multiple bomb and gun assault will raise further questions about the Afghans' ability to secure the country as NATO winds down its combat mission in the war-torn country by the end of next year.

"I can confirm that 34 civilians, six army and four policemen have been killed and 91 people, the majority of them civilians, have been injured," Najib Danish, interior ministry deputy spokesman, told AFP.

"Nine attackers have also been killed."

The death toll was the highest in Afghanistan from a single attack since a Shiite Muslim shrine was bombed in Kabul in December 2011, killing 80 people.

"The attack is over, but the casualties have unfortunately risen," Farah provincial governor Mohammad Akram Khpalwak told AFP, putting the final death toll as high as 46.

"In total, 34 civilians and 12 (Afghan) security forces have been killed in the attack. We have also discovered the bodies of eight attackers, more than 100 people have also been injured."

The governor added a group of Taliban had been brought for trial Wednesday, without giving further details.

Taliban militants fighting the US-backed central government claimed responsibility.

"Our fighters attacked several government buildings in Farah according to their planned tactic. They conducted the attack with small arms and grenades," the group said on its website.

"The fighting happened after information that (President Hamid) Karzai's administration wanted to try several fighters in a cruel way in this court."

Taliban fighters frequently target government compounds equipped with suicide vests, rockets and machine-guns.

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Another death in China from new bird flu

A MAN in the Chinese province of Zhejiang has died of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, state media says, bringing the total deaths attributed to the virus to three since the first human cases.

He was one of two H7N9 avian influenza infections reported in Zhejiang in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, citing local authorities, bringing the country's total number of cases to nine.

Chinese authorities are trying to determine how exactly the new variety of bird flu infected people, but say there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission.

The latest fatality was a 38-year-old man who worked as a chef, media website Zhejiang Online said. The province's other case was a 67-year-old retiree who was being treated in hospital.

Two other deaths have been reported, both in China's commercial hub of Shanghai. Other cases have occurred in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, the government has said.

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday said the number of cases of the infection looks set to climb, but a pandemic is not on the cards.

"Given the fact that we've seen seven confirmed cases, plus there are reports of other cases, it would not be surprising to see additional cases," said Gregory Hartl, spokesman of the WHO's influenza and epidemics division.

"But these would be additional cases, one by one. We have no evidence so far of human-to-human transmission, and without human-to-human transmission, the likelihood or risk of pandemic is low," he told reporters.

"We're a long way away from thinking about a pandemic," he added.

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Flooding in Argentina kills 25

AT least 25 people have died in flooding in the Argentine city of La Plata as torrential rain hit the region.

The deaths raised the number of people killed this week to 33 following record heavy rain in Argentina.

A powerful storm that earlier pummelled Buenos Aires slammed La Plata, located 63km south of the Argentine capital, overnight Tuesday to Wednesday.

"The bodies began to appear as the water subsided," said Governor Daniel Scioli, who announced the death toll.

A record 40cm of rain fell on La Plata in a two-hour period, officials said, knocking out phone lines and leaving people in the dark.

Some 2200 people fled the city because of heavy rain, and many of those who remained were forced to scramble to rooftops for safety.

The heavy rain turned many city streets into rivers. In parts of the downtown area water was reported to be 1.6m deep.

"This has never happened in La Plata," said Argentine Security Minister Sergio Berni.

"There are people on rooftops, in trees waiting for us to rescue them," he said, adding that firefighters, civil defence workers, police and soldiers have been deployed to the area to help in rescue operations.

A senior city official in La Plata, Santiago Martorelli, told local television that the flooding was a "catastrophe". He added that schools and local government were closed for Wednesday.

La Plata, population 895,000, is the administrative centre of the province where Buenos Aires is located.

Eight people were killed on Tuesday when the same powerful storm system battered the Argentine capital and its suburbs, knocking out power lines and downing trees.

More than 15cm of rain fell between midnight Monday and early Tuesday, the Buenos Aires weather service said, setting an April record.

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European stocks drop on downbeat US data

EUROPE'S main stock markets has slumped, with London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies giving up 1.08 per cent to 6,420.28 points.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 fell by 0.87 per cent to 7,874.75 points on Wednesday, while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 1.32 per cent to 3,754.96 points.

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