Canberra to move refugees from PNG

SYDNEY • Hundreds of refugees being held at a Papua New Guinea detention camp will be moved by October despite uncertainty over a resettlement deal with the US, Australia's Immigration Minister said yesterday.

Canberra sends asylum-seekers who try to enter the country by boat to camps on Nauru and PNG's Manus Island, with those found to be refugees barred from resettling in Australia.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Brazil judge orders Lula's assets frozen

BRASILIA • A Brazilian judge leading an anti-corruption probe has ordered assets belonging to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva frozen after last week convicting and sentencing him to prison for graft.

Lula, as he is widely known, remains free pending an appeal of the verdict. He denies any wrongdoing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Scales have tipped in Aids epidemic: UN

PARIS • Aids claimed a million lives last year, almost half the 2005 toll that marked the peak of the deadly epidemic, said a UN report yesterday which proclaimed "the scales have tipped". Not only are new HIV infections and deaths falling, but more people than ever are on life-saving treatment, according to data published ahead of an Aids science conference in Paris on Sunday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Hotel, restaurant staff in Greece on strike

ATHENS • Greek hotel and restaurant employees walked off the job yesterday to protest against labour reforms prescribed by the country's official creditors in exchange for bailout funds that help Greece stay afloat. Summer is the peak tourist season in Greece.

REUTERS