Sydney man charged with two break ins

A MAN has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of clothes from a shop and breaking into a home in Sydney's east.

About 4am (AEDT) on March 4, three people smashed the glass doors of a Woollahra store and took thousands of dollars worth of menswear, police say.

Five days later a home in Bellevue Hill was broken into.

Nothing was stolen and no one was injured during the second incident.

Police began investigating the two break ins and have now arrested an 18-year-old Redfern man.

On Friday he was charged with with aggravated break, enter and steal in company, aggravated break and enter with intent to commit serious indictable offence in company and breach of bail.

He was refused bail and is due before Parramatta Bail Court later on Saturday.

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Guinea-Bissau ex-navy chief arrested in NY

THE former navy chief of Guinea-Bissau is in custody in New York and due to is go before a judge after being arrested on international cocaine trafficking allegations, officials said.

A spokesman for the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office told AFP that Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was in custody in the city, where he was taken after a high seas arrest.

"His arraignment will be today," the spokesman said.

The indictment against Na Tchuto -- better known as Bubo in his deeply impoverished West African homeland -- and two other defendants, Papis Djeme and Tchamy Yala, alleges they were middlemen in a huge drug smuggling operation originating in Latin America.

They "worked together to receive ton-quantities of cocaine, transported by vessel from South America to Guinea-Bissau, and then to store the cocaine in Guinea-Bissau before its shipment to other locations, including the United States," the indictment says.

Prosecutors confirmed that Bubo was arrested following a sting operation in which he allegedly believed he was dealing with a cocaine broker and a cocaine supplier from South America. Both were actually working for the US anti-narcotics body, the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA.

The United States placed Bubo on a list of suspected drug barons in 2010, imposing a US travel ban and asset freeze.

The former admiral is accused of exploiting instability in his coup-plagued homeland to turn the tiny country into a major smuggling hub, with cocaine being shipped both to the United States and into Portugal.

The sting was set up around August and ran until now, according to the indictment.

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Strong quake hits N. Korea border

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has struck Russia, near the border with China and North Korea, the US Geological Survey says.    Source: The Australian

A POWERFUL 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck early in eastern Russia near the border with China and North Korea, the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 1300 GMT Friday, was southwest of Vladivostok, around nine kilometers from the Russian border town of Zarubino, at a depth of 561 kilometres, the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which struck seconds after 12am Saturday local time.

A 6.1-magnitude quake struck Russia's far east last month, and a 6.9 quake rocked the region in February. Neither caused significant damage.

An underground formation in the area known as the Kuril-Kamchatka arc is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

Since 1900, seven powerful earthquakes of magnitude 8.3 or greater have occurred along the arc, according to the USGS.

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At least 36 killed in Nigeria bus crash

AT least 36 people have been killed in a collision between a bus and a petrol tanker in southern Nigeria.

The tanker exploded after Friday's collision in Nigeria's Edo state, and most of the victims were reportedly on board the bus.

Federal Road Safety Corps spokesman Jonas Agwu said three people survived the collision.

Agwu said the crash resulted in a fire that burned for hours, making it difficult for officials to know how many people died.

Nigeria has some of West Africa's worst roads, despite its oil wealth. Massive potholes and poor paving, coupled with aggressive drivers, are blamed for many crashes. World Health Organization data shows Nigeria suffers from one of the world's highest traffic fatality rates.

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Italy pardons US Air Force officer

ITALY'S president has pardoned a US Air Force colonel convicted in absentia by Italian courts over the CIA-conducted abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street.

President Giorgio Napolitano's office said the head of state granted the pardon "in hopes of giving a solution to a situation considered by the United States to be without precedent because of the aspect of convicting a US military officer of NATO for deeds committed on Italian soil."

Joseph Romano was security chief of northern Italy's Aviano air base where the abducted Egyptian Muslim cleric was taken before being flown out of the country and eventually to Egypt.

He was one of 23 Americans convicted in absentia in the case and whose convictions were upheld last year by Italy's highest criminal court. Three other Americans had been acquitted in a first trial because of diplomatic immunity, but earlier this year, a Milan appeals court convicted the three, who included a former CIA station chief.

The trial was the first in the world involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program in which terror suspects were abducted and transferred to third countries where torture is permitted. Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was abducted in 2003 while walking down a street in Milan, where he preached. The cleric was hustled by car off to Aviano, then transferred to a US military base in Germany, before being flown to Egypt, where he said he was tortured. He was eventually released.

Romano's defence said he was never formally notified of charges. Twenty-three Americans were convicted, all in absentia, and Italy's highest criminal court last year upheld the convictions.

That top court decision paved the way for extradition requests by Italian authorities, but so far none have come from Premier Mario Monti's government, which is staying on in a caretaker role following elections earlier this year. Napolitano, as president, has the power to grant pardons, and he issued Romano's pardon a month before his seven-year-term expires.

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Rolling Stones sell Hyde Park in minutes

THE 65,000 tickets for the Rolling Stones' upcoming concert in London's Hyde Park have sold out in under five minutes.

The clamour on Friday came despite anger from some fans at how much the ageing British rock legends are charging for their shows, with a standard ticket for July's open-air Hyde Park gig costing STG95 ($A139.66) and an upmarket "hospitality" package priced at STG299 ($A439.58).

"We sold 65,000 tickets in the speed the system could handle it," said Rob Hallett of concert promoter AEG Live.

"If the system could handle it in seconds, we would have probably sold out in seconds."

The show comes 44 years after the legendary rock band played another famous concert in Hyde Park - for free.

"Hyde Park holds such great memories for us," said frontman Mick Jagger, 69.

"We can't think of anywhere better to perform to our UK fans this summer."

The Stones have been criticised over the steep prices of tickets for the 50 and Counting tour marking a half-century of the band.

Fans were charged up to STG406 ($A596.88) for the two dates at London's O2 Arena last November while ticket prices soared to thousands of pounds on resale websites, with hundreds taking to the internet to complain.

Fans again headed to Twitter and online message forums to voice their anger over the price of tickets for the Hyde Park gig, which will be standing-only.

"I'm not paying 100 to stand in a field at 300m from the stage screen," one fan wrote.

"110 for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park? I don't think so, especially with a 10.30pm curfew," wrote another. "Ripoff."

The Stones were announced in March as one of the headline acts for Britain's Glastonbury Festival, while on Friday the band added two more shows - in Toronto and Chicago - to their 50 and Counting tour of North America.

The Stones have also revealed that more shows may be added at a later date.

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US expecting North Korea missile

South Korean reports say North Korea has moved a second missile and loaded it onto a mobile launch vehicle.

THE White House says it "would not be surprised" if North Korea carries out another missile test, with reports Pyongyang has moved two mid-range rockets to its eastern coast.

"We've obviously seen the reports that North Korea may be making preparations to launch a missile, and we're monitoring this situation closely," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters today.

"We would not be surprised to see them take such an action. We have seen them launch missiles in the past ... And it would fit their current pattern of bellicose, unhelpful and unconstructive rhetoric and actions," he said.

"We urge them to stop with the provocations and to focus instead on meeting their international obligations and feeding their own people.

North Korea appears to have moved a medium range missile capable of hitting targets in Sth Korea and Japan.

"They are only making themselves more and more isolated from the rest of the world."

NORTH KOREA TO LAUNCH NUCLEAR STRIKE AT US

The Pentagon declined to confirm reports about the missiles from South Korea's Yonhap news agency, but warned North Korea that "further provocative action would be regrettable".

THE TWO FACES OF KIM JONG-UN

Musudan-class missiles, pictured at a military parade in honour of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung's 100th birthday, appear to have been moved to its east coast, the South's Yonhap news agency reported. AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones

Yonhap reported that two intermediate Musudan missiles had been transported by train earlier in the week and loaded on vehicles equipped with launch pads.

The Musudan has never been tested, but is believed to have a range of around 3000 kilometres, which could theoretically be pushed to 4000km if they were to be given a light payload.

NORTH KOREA'S MISSILE THREAT TO AUSTRALIA `REAL'.

KIM'S CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases located on the Pacific island of Guam.

The Pentagon has said it will send missile-interceptor batteries to protect its bases on Guam, a US territory some 3380 kilometres southeast of North Korea and home to 6000 American military personnel.

GALLERY: KOREAN TENSION INTENSIFIES.

THE THREAT THAT WON'T GO AWAY.

Most experts think the North is not yet capable of mounting a nuclear device on a ballistic missile which could strike US bases or territory.

Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since the North test-launched a long-range rocket in December.

Forces deployed on the Korean Peninsula.

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