Murderers and other criminals would be forced to give their superannuation pension to victims' families under a proposal in Australia.

The move would give victims more rights in the justice system, said Victoria's opposition leader Matthew Guy.

Mr Guy said he would take the policy to the state's next election in November 2018.

If legislated it would be an Australian first, Mr Guy's office said.

"When someone commits a murder, particularly in horrendous circumstances - takes the life of another individual - they forfeit their right to be treated like the rest of us," the opposition leader said on Tuesday.

Superannuation in Australia is money earned during a person's working life that can only be accessed in retirement.

Currently under Victoria state law, victims' families can claim money from seized criminal assets, but that excludes superannuation.

Reform recommendations

The announcement comes after the Victorian Law Reform Commission, a government-funded advisory body, tabled a report in November called The Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Trial Process.

The report made 51 recommendations, which did not include handing criminals' superannuation to the families of victims.

Victoria's Labor government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews, is still considering its response to the report, but Mr Guy said his party supported most of the recommendations.

Responding to the superannuation proposal, the government said existing laws allowed for families to be compensated.

"The accrued superannuation of a prisoner could not be used to compensate victims without substantial changes to Commonwealth legislation," state attorney-general Martin Pakula told The Age.

"It could also mean that victims wait decades for compensation and that ex-crooks rely more heavily on taxpayers to fund their retirement."

State or federal issue?

Mr Guy said if elected he would lobby the federal government for change, saying he had already briefly raised the issue.

"This would require a state-federal partnership to make it work," he said.

But a spokesperson for the federal attorney-general's department said it was a state issue.

"It is a matter for state and territory governments whether to seize the assets of criminals convicted of state offences," the spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC.

It has sent rockets into space, produced millions of the world's smartphones and built high-speed trains. But until now, one bit of manufacturing had perhaps unexpectedly eluded China: the ballpoint pen.

A year ago Premier Li Keqiang went on national television and bemoaned the failure of his country to produce a good quality version of this seemingly-simple implement.

Locally-made versions felt "rough" compared to those from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, Mr Li complained.

High precision

The problem was not the body of the pen, but the tip - the tiny ball that dispenses ink as you write.

It might be something we take for granted, but making them requires high-precision machinery and very hard, ultra-thin steel plates.

Put simply, China's steel has not been good enough. And it has struggled to shape its pen tips accurately.

Without that ability, China's 3,000 penmakers have had to import this crucial component from abroad, costing the industry a reported 120m yuan ($17.3m; £14.3m) a year.

But according to People's Daily, the state-owned Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co thinks it has cracked the problem, after five years of research.

The first batch of 2.3-millimetre ballpoint pen tips has recently rolled off its production lines, the paper says.

And once lab tests are completed, it's expected China could phase out pen tip imports completely within two years.

Symbolic

On one level, whether China can make a great pen is not hugely important in the scheme of things.

High-tech and innovative manufacturing lie at the heart of the central government's Made in China 2025 programme - designed to help domestic growth.

Relatively low-value items, like ballpoint pens, have not been a priority.

But the pen-conundrum is a symbolic one.

Despite producing more than half of the world's crude iron and steel, China has still heavily relied on imports for high-grade steel.

It was a failing that Mr Li said highlighted the need to upgrade China's manufacturing capabilities.

Different culture

"Historically, China has never been able to do precision engineering very well and the ballpoint pen is an example of that," says Professor George Huang, head of the University of Hong Kong's department of industrial and mechanical engineering.

"Its parts are so small and very precise, and it's not easy to solve this problem"

Precision engineering is thriving only in certain sectors such as aerospace and defence where the government has placed a high priority, says Prof Huang.

Even when it comes to smartphones and computers, the high end computer chips are usually imported from Japan and Taiwan.

Prof Huang says that China lacks a culture of excellence in precision engineering.

He uses the Mandarin term "fucao" or "floating grass", a euphemism for something that is not 100% solid or reliable.

"The culture is different from the Japanese and Germans," he says, who are known for innovation in engineering.

"We Chinese are supposed to be craftsmen, but somehow the spirit is not as good."

Additional reporting by the BBC's Tessa Wong.

SRINAGAR (News92World) – A Border Security Force (BSF) constable has posted a video on social media complaining about the low quality food served to the Indian troops and exposing the corruption in the army.

"We only get a ‘parantha’ and tea as breakfast without any pickle or vegetables... For lunch, we get ‘dal’ (pulses) which only has ‘haldi’ (turmeric) and salt... with roti. This is the quality of the food we get... we slog for 11 hours and at times we have to stand throughout the duty hours... how can a soldier do his duty?” he is heard saying in the video.

“At times, the personnel even go to bed on an empty stomach,” he added.

"The government of India supplies everything but it gets stolen by senior officials who sell it in the market to earn profit," Yadav further says.

He pronounced that his life could be under threat for speaking up against the "powerful" officials.

He also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an inquiry into the matter as no one shows their plight.

While taking notice of the incident Indian Home minister Rajnath Singh has sought a report from the BSF and directed appropriate action.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) has initiated probe into the matter.

KOLKATA (AP TV) – The Shahi Imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan Mosque Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati has issued a ‘fatwa’ against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Imam has also offered Rs25 lac reward for anyone who will “cut off PM Narendra Modi’s beard, shave his head and smear him with black ink”.

The fatwa says that demonetization has caused severe problems for a common man whereas majority of India wants to see Mamta Banerjee as the prime minister.

“Everyday people are harassed and facing problem due to demonetisation…Modi is bluffing the society and the innocent people of the country through demonetisation and nobody wants him to continue as PM,” The Shahi Imam said during a press conference as quoted by The Indian Express.

“People who keep beard are mostly religious like maulanas, sadhus, sufis, sikh gurus.. But Modi keeping beard is bhondami (bluffing),” he added.

On the other hand, BJP state secretary Ritesh Tiwari had lodged a police complaint in Jorasakho police station and demanded action against the Imam.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of mourners led by Iran’s supreme leader gathered at Tehran University early on Tuesday for the funeral of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

State television showed people pouring on to the streets around the campus where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led the eulogies for Rafsanjani despite their "differences".

President Hassan Rouhani, parliament speaker Ali Larijani and his brother judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani accompanied the supreme leader at the prayers.

Former president Mohammad Khatami, an ally of Rafsanjani but long out of favour with the regime, was not part of the official delegation at the service.

The heavyweight politician, who died on Sunday at the age of 82, will be buried inside the crypt of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Khomeini’s mausoleum is in south Tehran.

Black banners were raised in Tehran and some posters showed the supreme leader and Rafsanjani together smiling. Another poster said "good bye, old combatant".

Free bus or metro travel was provided to the funeral venue.

Since Rafsanjani’s death, messages of condolence have poured in both from at home and and abroad.

Even the White House sent a message, unprecedented since the 1979 revolution that led to cutting of ties between Tehran and Washington.

"Former president Rafsanjani was a prominent figure throughout the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States sends our condolences to his family and loved ones," spokesman Josh Ernest said.

"He was a consequential figure inside Iran. But you know, for what potential impact this could have on Iranian policy, I wouldn’t speculate."

One of Iran’s most controversial figures in the West, the head of its Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations division, Major General Qassem Suleimani, was seen at the funeral.

Rafsanjani was a father-figure for Iran’s moderate and reformist camps.

He fell out of the regime’s highest inner circle after the 2009 re-election of hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when he spoke out against the use of lethal force on protesters who claimed the vote was rigged.

Video clips published on social media showed pockets of mourners in the streets around the funeral venue chanting slogans in support of Khatami and fellow reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, two of the losing candidates in the 2009 election, have been under house arrest since 2011 for leading the so-called Green Movement protests that the regime calls "sedition".

Khatami is under a strict media ban and often prevented from attending public events.

Rafsanjani’s son Mohsen invited people to attend the service "in full tranquility".

"Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s concern was unity... and we should show off our unity to the world," he said on Monday.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said Tuesday it had finally received an official invitation from Saudi Arabia for its pilgrims to attend this year’s hajj, two weeks after Riyadh announced it.

There was no official Iranian delegation at last year’s pilgrimage to the Muslim holy places after Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran following the torching of its missions in Tehran and Mashhad by protesters last January.

It was the first time in three decades that Iranian pilgrims had been absent and the culmination of years of worsening relations over the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

The tone is "not that much different from past letters", hajj affairs representative Ali Ghazi Askar said, adding that Iran would respond in the coming days.

"All matters regarding the hajj -- including accommodation, food, medical affairs, transport, pilgrims’ security, banking and consular issues -- must immediately be studied and appropriate solutions put forward."

Negotiations for Iranian pilgrims to join last year’s hajj broke down over the questions of where their visas should be issued and how their security could be assured following the deaths of 464 in a stampede at the 2015 hajj.

The Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper reported on December 30 that Saudi Pilgrimage Minister Mohammed Bentin had opened discussions with more than 80 countries, including Iran, on the arrangements for the 2017 hajj.

There was no immediate word on when or where the discussions might take place. 

KARACHI (News92world-AP TV) - Pakistan s exports continued to face a declining trend as exports in July-Dec 2016 fell by 4pc to $9.91 billion when compared with same period of last fiscal year, as per date issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

During the same period last year, export figures stood at $10.31 billion.

Only in month of December in 2016, exports fell by 3.09pc when compared with same period of previous fiscal year.

On contrary, country’s imports continued upward trajectory in July-Dec 2016 and soared by 10.11pc to $24.40 billion. During last fiscal year, import figure stood at $22.16 billion.

Sources revealed that issuance of fund worth Rs6 billion as per guidelines of new three-year trade policy has been delayed by federal government.

Being worried by increasing trade deficit, economists urge federal government to take immediate steps in order to reduce production cost so that Pakistani products can compete in international markets.

Moreover, sources from Ministry of commerce revealed that Prime Minister is all set to announce bailout-cum-incentive package worth Rs47 to Rs155 billion which could likely uplift Pakistani exports by $2 billion to $3 billion every year. 

UYUNI (AFP) - Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel won Monday s Dakar Rally special after narrowly edging Peugeot teammate and compatriot Sebastien Loeb in the first part of the rain-hit seventh stage between La Paz and Uyuni in Bolivia.

ZURICH (AFP) - Atletico Nacional collected the Fair Play prize at Monday s FIFA awards ceremony after the Colombian side requested Chapecoense receive the Copa Sudamericana title following a plane crash that decimated the Brazilian club.

Chapecoense were flying to Medellin ahead of the first leg of the final when their plane crashed in the Colombian mountains on November 28, killing all but six of the 77 people on board.

Nineteen players and 24 other club members perished as the accident tragically cut short their dream of playing in Chapecoense s first major final.

Atletico subsequently asked for their grieving opponents to be awarded the title, with South American football s governing body granting the request a week later.

Fans of both sides paid tribute to the victims as thousands, dressed in white and holding candles, piled into Atletico s stadium for the originally planned kick-off to grieve together and mourn those lost.

"It s still a difficult time, it was a big final and the tragedy struck our opponents, it s an indescribable moment, very hard to manage," said Atletico president Juan Carlos de la Cuesta upon receiving the award from former Barcelona and Spain defender Carles Puyol in Zurich.

"We ve tried to manage this situation in the most dignified way possible."