Banksy's Spy Booth artwork defaced

A MURAL by street artist Banksy that sparked a local preservation campaign in England has been defaced.

SPY Booth shows three agents in trench coats and trilby hats eavesdropping on a phone booth.

It appeared in April on a wall in Cheltenham, western England, home of spy agency GCHQ.A local group was formed to save the work after the building's owner attempted to have it removed and sold.Local businessman Hekmat Kaveh had agreed to buy and preserve the mural, but on Friday it was covered in scrawled graffiti letters.Kaveh said he hoped the work, which was treated with anti-graffiti paint, could be restored.Banksy works have fetched as much as $US1.8 million ($A1.95 million) at auction, and several of his outdoor pieces have recently been stripped from walls and sold.

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Back to war: Gaza ceasefire over

Smoke clouds cover the sky in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, where local residents say explosions hit tunnels connecting Gaza and Egypt. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Young victim ... an injured Palestinian child receives medical treatment at al-Najar hospital in Rafah. Picture: Bilat Telawi / AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

A GAZA ceasefire quickly unravelled on Friday as violence erupted in and around the southern town of Rafah, with 35 Palestinians killed by Israeli shelling and the military saying one of its soldiers may have been abducted.

Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, which had been announced by the U.S. and the U.N. and took effect at 8am (0500 GMT) on Friday. The fighting broke out less than two hours later.

Sign of destruction ... smoke billows following an Israeli military strike east of Rafah. Picture: Said Khatib / AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra told The Associated Press that in addition to the dead some 200 Palestinians were wounded in the "random" Israeli shelling of the Rafah area in southern Gaza.

He said the death toll could rise as rescue workers continue to search for people buried under the rubble of several apartment blocks hit by shells. He did not say whether the victims were civilians or militants.

The Israeli military meanwhile said one of its soldiers was "feared" abducted, without providing further details, and that Gaza militants had fired eight rockets and mortars at Israel since the ceasefire began, one of which was intercepted.

"Once again, Hamas and the terror organisations in Gaza have blatantly broken the ceasefire to which they committed, this time before the American Secretary of State and the UN Secretary General," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement shortly after the fighting broke out.

Residential block hit ... Palestinian rescue workers search the rubble for survivors following an Israeli military strike. Picture: Said Khatib / AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

Israel launched an aerial campaign against Gaza aimed at halting Palestinian rocket fire on July 8 and later sent in ground troops to target launch sites and tunnels used by Hamas to carry out attacks inside Israel. The war has killed nearly 1,500 Palestinians, mainly civilians, and more than 60 Israelis, nearly all soldiers.

At least four short humanitarian ceasefires have been announced since the conflict began, but each has been broken within a few hours by renewed fighting. Friday's temporary ceasefire was the longest to be announced thus far.

A televised war ... a journalist films as rescue workers remove the body of a Palestinian man from the rubble of his home. Picture: Said Khatib / AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

Under the ceasefire, Israeli troops on the ground in Gaza were to continue to destroy tunnels along the heavily guarded frontier, but only those that are behind Israeli defensive lines and lead into Israel.

Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to destroy Hamas' tunnel network "with or without a ceasefire." But military spokesman Moti Almoz told Army Radio on Friday that Israel would not be able to eliminate the tunnel threat "100 per cent."

Soon after the ceasefire went into force, Gaza's residents took advantage of the truce to return to their homes, many of which had been destroyed in the fighting. Some arrived on tuktuks — three-wheeled taxis — by car or on foot to retrieve their belongings.

Near a main road in the heavily bombarded Gaza district of Shijaiyah, less than a mile from the Israeli border, residents surveyed extensive damage.

All gone ... a Palestinian inspects a destroyed house in the heavily bombed Gaza City neighbourhood of Shijaiyah, close to the Israeli border. Picture: Dusan Vranic / AP PHOTO Source: AP

Basem Abul Qumbus returned to find his three-storey home — in which he had invested tens of thousands of dollars — uninhabitable. Tank shells had punched a hole in the ceiling of one bedroom and a wall had collapsed into the kitchen.

"The work of all those years is gone," he said, as he struggled to salvage flour from bags that had been torn apart by shrapnel. Food supplies are running short in the blockaded coastal territory in the war's fourth week.

Egypt issued a statement early on Friday calling on the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Israel to send negotiation teams to Cairo to discuss "all issues of concern to each party within the framework of the Egyptian initiative."

Egypt had put forth a ceasefire proposal a week after fighting began last month. Israel accepted the proposal, but Hamas, which deeply mistrusts Egypt following last summer's overthrow of an Islamist government in Cairo, rejected it.

During the ceasefire ... Palestinian children walk hand in hand as residents return to the heavily bombed Gaza City neighbourhood of Shijaiyah. Picture: Dusan Vranic / AP PHOTO Source: AP

Hamas has demanded the lifting of an Israeli and Egyptian border blockade imposed on Gaza in 2007 when the Islamic militant group seized power, as well as the release of Palestinians rounded up in the West Bank in June following the killing of three Israeli teenagers.

In recent weeks Turkey and Qatar, which have warmer ties to Hamas but are at odds with Egypt, have tried to help broker a ceasefire agreement, with no results.

It's not clear whether other nations will attend the Egypt talks, and aides to Kerry said Egypt will ultimately decide who will participate. A Hamas official in Qatar said Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials would be participating. Israel will not meet directly with members of either group because it considers them terrorist organisations.

Hours before the ceasefire was to take effect, 17 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, including 10 from the same family, according to al-Kidra, the Health Ministry official in Gaza. He said the family members were killed in an air strike on their home in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Israel's military said five of its soldiers were killed along the Gaza border Thursday evening by a mortar round.

At least 1,496 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed since hostilities began July 8, according to Palestinian officials. Israel says 61 of its soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.

Originally published as Back to war: Gaza ceasefire over

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Indonesia ready to probe gagged graft case

INDONESIA'S top anti-graft investigators are reportedly ready to look into a case subject to a suppression order in Australia but published on the WikiLeaks website.

AUSTRALIAN media cannot report on the contents of the court order, which was intended to stop damage to the country's international relations.

But the gag ordered by the Victorian Supreme Court on June 19 was published in full by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks on Wednesday, and came to the attention of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.On Thursday, Dr Yudhoyono asked for the Australian government to give an explanation on the issue, saying that reports in Indonesia, where the suppression order does not apply, "has caused hurt".The president said Australian authorities should work with Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate the matter.The KPK says it is prepared to work with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), according to Indonesian news website kompas.com."We would build communication back to the AFP and the government of Australia and then take the appropriate legal steps on the principal case," commission vice-chairman Bambang Widjojanto told the website on Friday.After SBY's statement on Thursday, the Australian embassy in Jakarta issued a statement explaining the bans had been intended to protect political figures from unwarranted innuendo, and, "the naming of such figures in the orders does not imply wrongdoing on their part".The matter is being reported widely and without restriction in Indonesia, and was the most-read story on the kompas.com website on Friday.WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he decided to expose the worst suppression order "in living memory" because the public had the right to know about the case.

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Melbourne man dead in garbage truck crash

A MAN is dead after a garbage truck collided with his car in Melbourne.

THE car driven by an 80-year-old Carrum Downs man was turning into a shopping centre entrance on Friday afternoon when it was struck on the passenger side by the truck.

The man was taken to the Alfred Hospital, where he died a short time later.The driver of the truck was not injured.Police are investigating the cause of the crash.This year's provisional Victorian road toll stands at 147, up from 136 at the same time last year.

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Russia releases Greenpeace ship

RUSSIA left the Arctic Sunrise "in a bad state" when it finally released the icebreaker, more than 300 days after it was seized during a protest against Arctic oil drilling, Greenpeace says.

THE environmental group's vessel was boarded in September 2013 by Russian authorities who detained 30 activists and journalists, including Australian Colin Russell, after the protest at the oil rig owned by state oil giant Gazprom.

Greenpeace says Russia finally allowed its captain and crew access to the Arctic Sunrise on June 27 and they have spent three weeks making it seaworthy."When the Captain and crew boarded the Arctic Sunrise they found it in a bad state, with no maintenance for 10 months, and the ship's navigation, communications and safety systems either removed or destroyed", Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Faiza Oulahsen said in a statement.Ms Oulahsen says the ship is headed for Amsterdam for repairs.Russia's Investigative Committee recently told Greenpeace it had extended its investigation into the Arctic 30 case until September 24, despite the criminal case against the 30 being dropped.Greenpeace is suing Russia in the European Court of Human Rights for what it says was the illegal detention of its activists because it breached their rights to freedom of expression.

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US car sales sizzle in July

BIG discounts helped keep US auto sales sizzling in July.

GENERAL Motors, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler all reported big gains as the major carmakers reported July sales on Friday.

Industry sales were expected to rise five per cent to 1.4 million, according to J.D. Power and Associates. That would make it the best July for the industry since 2006.Generous summer discounts helped boost sales, said Jesse Toprak, the chief analyst at the car shopping site Cars.com.Toprak said the average price buyers paid fell four per cent in July, while incentives were up eight per cent - or $US216 ($A233) per vehicle - over last July.Carmakers typically use summer discounts to clear out their lots before vehicles from the new model year start arriving in the fall.According to Toprak, incentives averaged $US2,774 per vehicle, their highest level since August 2010. He said Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Volkswagen boosted incentives the most.Chrysler's US sales jumped 20 per cent for the month on strong demand for the Ram pickup, while Ford's were up 10 per cent on big gains for the Escape and Explorer SUVs.GM's sales rose nine per cent on strong demand for its new large SUVs.Nissan's sales rose 11 per cent. Sales of the electric Leaf increased 62 per cent to 3,019, a record July for the car. The car went on sale in 2010.

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Hyundai recalls 883,000 Sonatas

HYUNDAI is recalling its popular Sonata midsize sedan to fix problems with the gear shift levers.

THE recall covers 883,000 cars from the 2011 through 2014 model years.

The Korean carmaker says the automatic transmission shift cable can separate from the shift lever.If that happens, the lever may not show the correct gear, increasing the risk of a crash.The company says in documents posted Wednesday by US safety regulators that it has received 1,171 warranty claims about the problem, plus seven other reports with related symptoms.The documents don't say if there have been any crashes or injuries.Hyundai will notify owners by letter between now and the end of September.Dealers will inspect the shift cables and repair the connection if needed.

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UK AG won't challenge Harris jail sentence

British government won't challenge the sentence handed down to convicted paedophile Rolf Harris. Source: AAP

DISGRACED entertainer Rolf Harris's sentence for sex offences will not be referred to an appeals court despite numerous complaints that it was too lenient, the attorney general's office in Britain says.

THE 84-year-old Australian-born Harris, a long-time fixture on British television, was jailed earlier this month for five years and nine months for a string of sexual assaults against girls.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright, the government's chief legal adviser, received 150 complaints asking to review the sentence for being too lenient.But his office said on Wednesday that the sentence will not be referred to the Court of Appeal."After very careful consideration, the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright... has decided not to refer the five year and nine month sentence given to Rolf Harris to the Court of Appeal, as he did not think they would find it to be unduly lenient and increase it," said a spokeswoman from his office.Wright acknowledged that the ruling would cause disappointment, but said the courts were bound by the maximum sentence in force at the time of the offences.Trial judge Nigel Sweeney made some of the sentences on the 12 counts consecutive to make up the total term, of which Harris will serve around half, but also had to take into account the entertainer's age.The television star, artist and songwriter was found guilty of indecently assaulting four victims between 1969 and 1986, including the childhood best friend of his daughter Bindi."You have shown no remorse for your crimes at all," Sweeney told Harris as he handed down his sentence earlier in July."Your reputation lies in ruins, you have been stripped of your honours, but you have no one to blame but yourself."Harris was the second person to be convicted under a wide-ranging police investigation set up in the wake of revelations that the late Jimmy Savile, a fellow major BBC star, was a prolific abuser.Seven of the 12 counts against Harris related to the friend of Bindi, including one incident when she was 15 where he seriously sexually assaulted her while his daughter slept in the adjacent bed.The entertainer's conviction caused widespread revulsion in Britain, where his television programs were watched by millions of children, and his homeland of Australia.He was made a CBE in 2006 - one step below a knighthood - and even painted Queen Elizabeth II's portrait to mark her 80th birthday.

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Man dies in car crash north of Brisbane

A 45-YEAR-OLD man has died after his car crashed into a tree north of Brisbane.

THE man's car veered off Emerys Bridge Road, Gundiah about 4pm (AEST) on Wednesday.

The car hit a tree and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.There were no passengers in the car.

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US companies add 218,000 jobs

A PRIVATE survey shows that businesses hired at a healthy pace in July, though the job gains slowed from the previous month.

PRIVATE employers added 218,000 jobs, down from 281,000 in June, payroll provider ADP said on Wednesday.

It was the fourth straight month of job gains above 200,000, a healthy pace that usually is enough to lower the unemployment rate.The figures suggest that the government's jobs report, to be released on Friday, will also show a solid increase, but the ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often diverge from the government's more comprehensive report.Economists forecast that the government's report will show that 225,000 jobs were added in July, while the unemployment rate stayed at 6.1 per cent, according to a survey by FactSet."It feels to me like the job market is humming," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which helps compile the report.The job gains were mostly broad-based.Construction added 12,000 positions, most of which likely pay mid-level wages.Retail, shipping and utilities gained 52,000 and professional and business services, which mostly include higher-paying jobs, gained 61,000.Manufacturing, however, added just 3000 jobs, according to ADP.A separate government report on Wednesday showed the economy grew at a rapid four per cent annual pace in the April-June quarter, following a sharp 2.1 per cent contraction in the first three months of the year.But the second half of 2013 was also revised higher to show growth at a four per cent annual pace.The better growth figures should support continued strong hiring, Zandi said."This feels a lot more consistent with the jobs numbers and more supportive of the idea that the economy is gaining traction," he said.

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