More Greenpeace activists jailed in Russia

A COURT in Russia has sent six more Greenpeace activists to jail for two months and showed no sign that the remaining two activists would be treated any differently for a protest at a drilling platform in Arctic waters.

Twenty other activists and two journalists were ordered jailed for two months during a marathon court session on Thursday that stretched late into night, but the court ruled to hold the remaining eight only until new hearings could be held on Sunday.

No charges have been brought against any of the activists, who are citizens of 18 countries, including Russia.

Among them is Australian man Colin Russell and a British resident of Sydney, Alexandra Harris.

Russian prosecutors are considering whether to charge them with piracy, and the activists are being held pending the investigation.

The Russian Coast Guard disrupted an attempt on September 18 by two of the activists to scale a platform owned by Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom to call attention to the environmental risks of drilling in Arctic waters.

The next day, the Coast Guard seized Greenpeace's ship, the Arctic Sunrise, and towed it to Murmansk with the crew and activists aboard.

Those ordered jailed on Sunday include Dima Litvinov, Greenpeace International spokesman, who has dual US and Swedish citizenship; Finnish activist Sini Saarela, who was one of the two who tried to scale the platform; British activist Frank Hewetson; two Dutch citizens and a Ukrainian cook.

Hewetson's partner Nina Gold described the custody of the long-term activist as "wildly disproportionate and unjust".

"I would ask the Russian authorities to reconsider this unwarranted and harsh decision," she said in a statement issued by Greenpeace.

"His children and I are very concerned for him but know that he will be cheered by the support of millions of people worldwide which is bringing the destruction of the Arctic to international attention."

Greenpeace Russia campaign director Ivan Blokov has described the seizure of the ship as "the most aggressive and hostile act" against the environmental organisation since French government agents bombed the Rainbow Warrior ship in 1985, killing one man.

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Another arrest over Kenya mall attack

KENYA'S interior minister says that another arrest has been made in connection with the deadly Westgate mall attack, which left 67 people dead in a four-day siege.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the arrest was made on Sunday, but he refused to give any further details.

Kenyan officials have arrested 12 people in connection with the attack, but three have been freed. Lenko declined to say if any of those arrested had been in the mall during the attack.

Investigators have also identified a car used by the gunmen, from the Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabab, and found in it "an assortment of illegal weapons," said Lenku.

The Red Cross says 59 people remain missing after the siege, though the government puts that number at zero.

Kenyans have become increasingly frustrated over the government's unwillingness to share information about the attack. Almost no details have been released about what happened after the first hours of the siege.

"We ask you to bear with us," he said, of the government's unwillingness to share information.

While the mall was a chaotic scene for many hours after the attack began, with people moving in and out of the upscale shopping centre, Lenku insisted no terrorists could have escaped.

"Our forces sealed off every point of exit," he said. "It was completely secured."

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Small banks beat big four for satisfaction

SMALLER banks are doing a better job of keeping customers happy than the big four.

ING Direct has been voted Australia's best bank in an online survey of customer satisfaction by comparison website Mozo.com.au.

In state-by-state rankings, only South Australia included major banks in their top five for customer satisfaction.

ME Bank scored the title of best home lender, as well as provider of credit and debit cards.

Despite being pipped by their smaller competitors, the big four did enjoy an all-time high satisfaction rating of 7.55 out of 10.

Record low interest rates had ushered in a "new golden era" for banking satisfaction, Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said.

"With rates at all time lows ... the battleground will shift towards customer service, convenience, brand trust as well as pricing."

But Generation X bucked the overall trend of greater satisfaction with banks - due to the higher rate of debt carried by those aged 35-54, she said.

This is the fourth year Mozo.com.au has run the awards, which are based on 28,000 customer reviews.

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