Cyclone impacting WA's north coast

Residents in and near Port Hedland have been told to take shelter as Cyclone Christine intensifies. Source: AAP

A RED alert remains in place for communities from Pardoo to Mardie in the Pilbara as tropical cyclone Christine starts to impact the region.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the alert was current at 6.10pm (WST) for communities including Port Hedland, South Hedland, Whim Creek, Roebourne, Point Samson, Wickham, Karratha and Dampier.

"There is a threat to lives and homes." DFES said in a statement. "You are in danger and need to act immediately."

It urged residents in affected areas to "get ready to move to the strongest, safest part of your house".

"Keep your emergency kit with you. Stay away from doors and windows, and keep them closed. Stay indoors until the all-clear is given by authorities," DFES added.

It said relocation points had been set up at the JD Hardie Centre at Port Hedland, Karratha Leisureplex at Karratha, Civic Centre at Marble Bar, high school gym at Tom Price, and Ashburton Hall at Paraburdoo.

A yellow alert is current for people in or near Marble Bar, Tom Price, Paraburdoo and Pannawonica.

A blue alert has been issued for coastal areas between Wallal and Pardoo, between Mardie and Onslow, the inland area from Marble Bar to Newman, and between the Collier Ranges and Three Rivers.

In its latest update, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the category-three cyclone was 75kms northwest of Port Hedland and 155kms northeast of Karratha.

It's moving towards the Pilbara coast at 16km/h, the bureau advised.

BoM said the "very destructive inner core" of the system "has begun to impact the coast between Port Hedland and Whim Creek".

It said Port Hedland was currently experiencing destructive wind gusts of up to 130km/h.

The bureau expected Christine to track south southwest, with the system's centre likely to cross the coast close to Whim Creek by about midnight.

BoM warns that winds of more than 200km/h are likely near the centre as the cyclone crosses the coast.

Winds of more than 130km/h are expected in the Karratha and Dampier region later Monday night and are forecast to hit Tom Price at 8am (WST) Tuesday.

BoM says gale-force winds up to 120km/h are currently occurring between Wallal and Roebourne, and should hit Karratha Monday night.

Coastal communities between Pardoo and Wickham including Port Hedland are also being warned about the potential for a for a "very dangerous storm tide tonight".

Heavy rainfall is expected near where the cyclone is tracking, and flood warnings have been issued for the Pilbara.

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Perth gets ready for NYE parties

LIVE music, fancy-dress parties and fireworks are on offer in Perth for New Year's Eve, but police are warning revellers to act responsibly.

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Councils, kids and cattle see 2014 changes

BUSH communities across the Northern Territory will have more say as the government begins dismantling large councils in favour of more local representation.

From January 1, the Minister for Local Government will be granted far-ranging powers in terms of local government, such as being able to abolish or constitute a council, to suspend council members, and to call, cancel, defer or suspend an election.

Minister Dave Tollner has already announced the splitting of the Victoria Daly Shire Council southwest of Darwin into two separate bodies, with a new regional council to be set up in the Wadeye and Peppimenarti area by July.

The Act will reverse some of the "disastrous" decisions the previous Labor government made in relation to local government in remote communities, Attorney-General John Elferink told AAP.

"(They) allowed bureaucracy to get in the way of service delivery ... in the process they disenfranchised the people who were governed, and that cost them dearly in the bush."

Meanwhile, the NT's child protection system will also be more accountable than it has ever been, he said.

A Children's Commissioner Act was passed to enable a transparent child protection system, with an independent commissioner who can investigate service providers that fail to support vulnerable children, and monitor the government's implementation of decisions arising from inquiries into child protection.

Previously the commissioner's legislative existence was the product of the same act that governed child protection, Mr Elferink said.

Also from January 1, farmers will be able to obtain 30-year permits to diversify income streams on land held under pastoral lease tenure.

This includes producers reliant on the live export trade who face significantly reduced income.

And from the first day of the new year the Petroleum Act will be amended to the greatest extent since 1982 to attract greater exploration interest in the NT, said Minister for Mines and Energy Willem Westra van Holthe.

It will allow the controlled release of vacant land, and allow the government to accept multiple applications for exploration permits, as the NT pursues the oil and gas exploration industry.

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Times Square preps for New Year's Eve bash

New York City's Times Square is getting ready for New Year's Eve celebrations on Tuesday night. Source: AAP

NEW York City's Times Square is getting ready for New Year's Eve.

The square will host millions on Tuesday night counting down the last few moments of 2013.

Starting on Saturday, six Citibikes from the city's bike share program were being installed in Times Square and connected to 12-volt deep cycle batteries.

New Yorkers and tourists will generate power by pedalling. That will help illuminate the famed ball that will descend New Year's Eve.

Each bike will generate an average of 75 watts an hour. It takes 50,000 watts to power the ball, which is lit by 30,000 LEDs.

Additionally, a giant paper shredder and a dumpster were installed in Times Square on Saturday to allow visitors to destroy bad memories of 2013.

The annual event is dubbed Good Riddance Day.

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Winds flaming north coast bushfire

AN out-of-control bushfire threatening homes on the state's north coast is being pushed north by strong winds, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) says.

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Suicide bomber kills 13 in Russia's south

A female suicide bomber set off a blast in a train station in Russia killing at least 13 people. Source: AAP

AT least 13 people have been killed and scores wounded by a suicide bomber at a railway station in southern Russia, officials said.

The National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the explosion on Sunday at the central railway station in the city of Volgograd was set off by a suicide bomber, heightening concerns about terrorism ahead of February's Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the nation's top investigative agency, the Investigative Committee, said at least 13 people died in the blast.

Russia's Health Ministry said about 50 people were injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, but it came months after Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov called for attacks against civilian targets in Russia, including the Sochi Games.

Suicide bombings and other attacks linked to Islamic rebels have rocked Russia for years.

In October, a female suicide bomber blew herself up on a city bus in Volgograd, killing six people and injuring about 30.

Officials said the attacker came from the province of Dagestan, which has become the centre of an Islamist insurgency that has spread across the region after two separatist wars in Chechnya.

Russian state television reported that Sunday's explosion occurred at the security gate at the station's entrance.

Footage from a security camera facing the station that was broadcast by Rossiya 24 television showed the moment of explosion: a bright orange flash inside the station behind the main gate followed by plumes of smoke.

The television showed a line-up of ambulances outside the station and motionless bodies placed on the pavement.

The blast closely followed another attack on Friday in Pyatigorsk in the North Caucasus mountains, when a car rigged with explosives blew up on a street in the city, the centre of a federal administrative district intended to stabilise the North Caucasus region.

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China one-child policy change approved

Chinese state media says the National People's Congress has approved to change its one-child policy. Source: AAP

CHINA'S top legislature has sanctioned the ruling Communist Party's decision to allow couples to have a second child if one parent is an only child.

It's the first major easing in three decades of the restrictive national birth planning policy.

Implemented around 1980, China's birth policy has limited most couples to only one child, but has allowed a second child if neither parent has siblings or if the first born to a rural couple is a girl.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the standing committee of the National People's Congress approved a resolution on Saturday to formalise the party decision.

It says the national lawmaking body has delegated the power to provincial people's congresses and their standing committees to implement the new policy.

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Death toll in Beirut blast rises to 7

LEBANON'S state news agency says a 19-year-old man wounded in the car bombing in central Beirut has died, raising the death toll in the attack to seven.

The National News Agency says Mohammed Shaar died on Saturday from massive wounds sustained in the Friday blast, which targeted prominent Lebanese politician Mohammed Chatah.

The 62-year-old Chatah, who was a critic of Syria and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, also was killed in the explosion.

Officials say Chatah is to be buried at noon on Sunday in the towering Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut.

The Lebanese government has declared Sunday a day of mourning.

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Cambodian garment workers block traffic

STRIKING workers making shoes and clothes for Western brands have blocked roads and briefly scuffled with police in Cambodia.

The workers are demanding a two-fold increase in the minimum wage to $A180.

The protests on Friday snarled traffic in and around the capital Phnom Penh.

Human rights activist Om Sam Ath said protesters blocking a highway leading to Sihanoukville throw stones at police, who fired into the air.

He said four workers were injured, but it was unclear how serious the injuries were.

Most of the country's 500 factories have been closed since Thursday, when the manufacturers association urged its members to cease operations, citing the fear of violence.

The garment industry employs more than 500,000 people and is Cambodia's biggest export earner.

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Holiday road toll rises to 13

The Christmas holiday road toll has risen to 12 following the death of a teenager and a cyclist. Source: AAP

THE Christmas holiday road death toll has risen to 13, with the latest victims including a teenage driver and a cyclist killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident.

An 18-year-old woman died on Friday after the ute she was driving rolled near Narrabri in northwest NSW.

Earlier, a female cyclist was killed in an alleged hit-and-run near Adelaide.

Police allege a 37-year-old woman hit the cyclist at Lower Inman Valley and drove off.

About an hour later, a police patrol on the Southern Expressway at Lonsdale spotted two people in a car with front-end damage and a cracked windscreen.

Both occupants were arrested and the female driver was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

About noon on Friday a 25-year-old truck driver died when his vehicle left the North South Road at Apple Tree Creek in Queensland and rolled.

Police believe he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Another motorist in southeast Queensland died on Friday afternoon after a crash involving a truck on the Mount Lindesay Highway.

The national road toll period runs from midnight on December 23, 2013, until midnight on January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Five die in Beirut bombing

A POWERFUL bombing has rocked a central business district of central Beirut setting cars ablaze and killing five people, including a senior aide to former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, officials said.

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Four generations at royal church service

PRINCE George is nowhere to be seen as four generations of the British royal family attend their traditional Christmas Day church service at Sandringham on the Norfolk estate.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked relaxed as they walked St Mary Magdalene Church, holding hands as temperatures stayed just above freezing.

One member of the crowd shouted: "Where's the baby?"

Wearing a tartan Alexander McQueen coat and hat by Gina Foster, Kate smiled and waved to the crowds.

She was seen curtseying to the Queen, who was wearing an orange coat, as the family attended a private service earlier in the morning.

Prince Harry, still sporting a beard from his exertions in the Arctic with the charity Walking With the Wounded, attended alone despite rumours that girlfriend Cressida Bonas might join him.

About 3000 well-wishers gathered outside the church to watch them arrive.

Before the service a pilot entertained them by drawing a smiley face, heart and kiss in vapour trails in the sky.

The service opened with a rendition of Christians, Awake followed by Once In Royal David's City.

Last year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge missed the service, choosing to spend Christmas Day with Kate's family in Berkshire, while Prince Harry was on tour in Afghanistan.

There had been unconfirmed reports that George's grandparents Michael and Carole Middleton would attend this year. There was no sign of them but it is thought they may arrive at the estate on Boxing Day.

The royal habit of spending Christmas at Sandringham is believed to date to Queen Victoria's reign.

The family traditionally open their presents on Christmas Eve and will enjoy a Norfolk turkey with all the trimmings after the service.

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Flood worries as WA cyclone threat eases

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood-watch warning for the north Kimberley region. Source: AAP

A DAMAGING tropical low is expected to bare down on Western Australia on Christmas night but cyclone fears are declining.

And strong winds are forecast for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a tropical low in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, to the north of Wyndham, is expected to cross the Kimberley coast on Wednesday night.

The weather system could bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and thunderstorms with winds up to 100 km/h.

While the weather bureau says the weather is typical for this time of year, the winds could damage property and make road conditions hazardous.

A flood-watch warning is still in place for the North Kimberley.

The bureau cancelled a earlier cyclone warning for the Mitchell Plateau to the Northern Territory border

The low is no longer expected to become a tropical cyclone.

However, heavy rainfall is still forecast over the north Kimberley for the next few days, with falls up to 125 millimetres forecast from Kalumburu to Kununurra expected in the coming 24 hours.

Further east, strong winds are expected to lash the southern NSW coast during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which starts on Thursday.

Gale force winds are forecast for the Illawarra coast on Boxing Day and a strong-wind warning has been issued for the Hunter Coast and Sydney Coastal area.

The weather bureau forecasts 15 to 25 knot winds increasing to 35 knots offshore on Thursday for the Illawarra coast.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race starts from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day and follows a 628 nautical mile course out into the Tasman Sea.

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Pope prays for South Sudan, Syria

POPE Francis has called for humanitarian aid access in Syria and "social harmony" in South Sudan on his first Christmas in the Vatican after months of shaking up the papacy with his humble style and common touch.

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Belfast peace talks fail to reach deal

OVERNIGHT talks in Belfast have failed to resolve deep-seated divisions over parades and flags that have triggered widespread rioting in Northern Ireland.

Richard Haass, director of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, led the multiparty talks.

The hope was that he could forge a compromise plan by the end of the year on areas of bitter dispute: parades, British and Irish flags and emblems, and remembering the dead from Northern Ireland's four-decade conflict.

Talks ended around 4am on Tuesday without agreement.

Haass insisted the process was "still alive" and said he might return to Belfast before the end of the year.

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Qld crash takes Xmas road toll to 4

A 69-YEAR-OLD man who was killed when his car crashed into a tree northwest of Bundaberg has become the first fatality on Queensland roads in the Christmas holiday period.

His death near Avondale at around 12.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday takes the national road toll for the holiday period to four.

Police said a member of the public reported the crash and the driver and sole occupant, believed to be a local man, died at the scene.

The death follows that of a man in northern NSW who was killed when the car he was in also hit a tree and split in two during a police pursuit.

A second man in the Holden sedan was critically injured in the high speed crash about 4km north of Moree at about 11pm (AEDT) on Monday.

Police said officers were attempting to catch up with the car after it passed a stationary RBT site on the Carnarvon Highway.

The death was the first in NSW for the holiday period and followed the deaths of two women in a two-car collision on the Calder Highway near Ouyen in Victoria's northwest at about 1pm on Monday.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2013 until 2359 January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Australian journalist accused by Thai navy

A VETERAN Australian journalist is facing up to five years in a Thai jail in what human rights activists claim is an attempt to curtail press freedom.

Alan Morison, editor of news website Phuketwan, has told AAP that he and fellow journalist Chutima Sidasathian were confronted with defamation allegations by Thai police last week.

Mr Morison says the charge came five months after his site published excerpts from a news agency report that alleged Thai authorities were trafficking captured Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar (Burma).

"We were shocked and surprised when we were sued by the Royal Thai Navy, especially given that all we did was carry a paragraph from Reuters," Mr Morison told AAP from his home on Phuket on Monday night.

Mr Morison said the pair were also accused of breaching Thailand's Computer Crimes Act and if convicted face maximum jail terms of five and two years or a fine of up to 100,000 baht (AU$3400) or both.

The journalists were originally due to appear in court on Christmas Eve and Mr Morison feared he would await trial behind bars.

The pair have now been told to report back to police on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Canberra was aware of the case.

"Embassy officials in Bangkok are providing consular assistance to an Australian man who has been called to give a statement before police on 24 December," she told AAP.

Human Rights Watch has attacked the legal action, calling it an attempt to stifle reporting.

"The Thai navy's lawsuit is a reckless attempt to curtail journalists reporting on alleged human trafficking by its officers," the group's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement.

But Mr Morison said he believed the suit may stem from a simple mistranslation of his website's English-language article into Thai.

And the incident won't send him packing.

"I've been here for 10 years," he said.

"Phuket is a paradise for tourists and it's even more of a paradise for journalists."

The Royal Thai Navy could not be reached for comment.

A response has been sought from Reuters.

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WA police crack down on demerit scam

AT least 60 West Australian drivers suspected of rorting the demerit point system by claiming someone else was driving their car when they broke a traffic law will be charged.

An audit of traffic infringements over the 12 months to November found 360 potential cases of drivers falsely declaring that another person was driving their vehicle at the time of an infringement.

Only 60 cases have clear photographic evidence to charge people, but further reviews could identify more cases for prosecution, WA police said.

The review was ordered after a driver was accused of advertising on the Gumtree website for strangers to be paid to take his demerit points for speeding.

Drivers who accrue 12 demerit points are banned from driving for three months and points can accrue over three years.

Registered vehicle owners can nominate another person as being the driver at the time of an infringement, with demerit points transferred to that person.

Commander Alf Fordham said that police would continue cracking down on the demerit points scam.

"We now have processes in place to ensure we catch people engaging in this practice and we will get you, both as the driver and the person incorrectly accepting the points," he said.

The infringement management office had now developed criteria that would trigger an investigation into a renomination, he said.

Falsely nominating another driver can lead to charges of wilfully misleading police, which can incur a $1600 fine, or false statutory declarations that can result in two years' imprisonment and a fine up to $24,000.

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US military aircraft hit in South Sudan

TWO US military aircraft responding to the outbreak of violence in South Sudan have been hit by incoming fire, wounding three US service members.

Two officials said the aircraft were heading to Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and scene of some of the nation's worst violence over the last week.

One of the wounded service members was reported to be in a critical condition.

Officials said after the aircraft took incoming fire, they turned around and headed to Kampala, Uganda.

From there, the service members flew on to Nairobi, Kenya for medical treatment.

Both officials demanded anonymity to share information not yet made public. Both officials work in East Africa and are in a position to know the information.

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Saudi Arabia reports death from new virus

SAUDI Arabia says one more person has died from a new respiratory virus related to SARS, bringing to 56 the number of deaths in the kingdom at the centre of the outbreak.

The Health Ministry said Saturday that a 73-year-old, chronically ill man had died in a Riyadh hospital.

He was among 136 people who have been infected with the virus in Saudi Arabia since September last year.

The ministry also says three new cases have been detected, including two foreign women working in the kingdom's health care services and a Saudi man.

The new virus is related to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003. It belongs to a family of viruses that most often causes the common cold.

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Security scare at NSW parliament house

Police have rushed in and grabbed a man from a car after a stand-off outside NSW Parliament. Source: AAP

A DISGRUNTLED former taxi driver who sparked a two-hour stand-off outside NSW Parliament has been charged.

Abdula Ganiji has been charged with threatening sabotage and possessing an explosive or article to damage property.

He has also been charged with threatening to destroy or damage property, police said.

It comes several hours after Ganiji sparked a lockdown of Macquarie Street in Sydney's CBD when he drove his white Chrysler sedan onto the footpath outside parliament at about 11.40am (AEDT) on Friday.

A large part of the street was quickly cordoned off and MPs and staff in parliament house were warned to keep clear of the front of the building.

For over two hours the 58-year-old from the Wollongong area passed lists of demands from inside the car to plain-clothes police negotiators.

Hundreds of city workers gathered at the police cordon and parliament went into partial lockdown, before the siege ended dramatically just before 2pm (AEDT).

There were loud bangs and flashes as up to a dozen heavily armed tactical officers swarmed the vehicle, smashing the car's windows and firing a canister of gas inside before dragging Ganiji into custody.

Police later said he had made threats of self harm, was known to police and was a regular visitor at parliament.

After he was handcuffed and dragged off for medical checks, police officers and firefighters removed a device from the car before conducting tests on the vehicle.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch told reporters the man had a container of flammable liquid, which AAP understands was petrol, which he was threatening to set alight.

Mr Murdoch praised the quick actions of police.

"When that man attempted to light a cigarette lighter, wind the windows of the car up with what we believe to be a container of flammable liquid in the vehicle, those officers put their lives on the line this afternoon and they resolved the situation in a peaceful manner," he said.

The man was receiving medical attention for minor cuts suffered in the struggle with police, Mr Murdoch said, but compared to the threats he was making those injuries were "very, very minor in the scheme of things".

"The mere fact we're in front of our state parliament, in the middle of Sydney in the middle of the day - certainly that posed a risk," Mr Murdoch said.

"(But) at no time was any member of the community at risk, no one in any building was at risk and importantly no members of parliament were at risk because of this incident.

"We were very comfortable at all times that we had the measure of the fellow."

Mr Murdoch could not confirm reports the man had sought a meeting with Premier Barry O'Farrell, who stayed inside parliament throughout.

"He was making certain demands of the police but we weren't in a position to meet those demands, nor were we ever in a position to entertain them," he said.

"Our whole tactic was to contain and negotiate with the man.

Ganiji last year staged a hunger strike for several days outside parliament about a $200 fine he received 15 years ago.

He had called on Mr O'Farrell to solve a dispute with his employer, Wollongong Radio Cabs.

Ganiji told the Illawarra Mercury newspaper last year he was fined by the company for misusing his taxi radio by clicking the buttons unnecessarily, causing problems on the communications network.

He has been refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

Police said investigations into the incident were continuing.

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Man refused bail for cold-case murder

THREE decades after Sydney nurse Mary Louise Wallace went missing, a 61-year-old man has been charged with her murder and refused bail.

Ms Wallace, 33, went missing from Sydney's north shore in the early hours of September 24, 1983.

On the night she disappeared Ms Wallace had dinner and drinks with nursing colleagues at the Alpine Inn, in Crows Nest.

A 2010 inquest into her death heard she was last seen getting into a car with a man.

Ms Wallace was never seen again, and her body was never found.

Following three decades of investigations, including a 2010 coronial inquest and excavations at Lane Cove National Park, Robert Adams was arrested on Friday at his Gladesville home and refused bail at Parramatta Local Court.

Detective Chief Inspector John Lehmann said the man was known to police and had been the subject of intensive investigation.

"The evidence against him is quite comprehensive, which we'll be putting before the court," Det Chief Insp Lehmann told reporters.

He said police would put physical, forensic and DNA evidence before the court as well as witness statements he labelled "very important to our brief of evidence".

Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Michael Willing said on Friday that police would continue searching for Ms Wallace's body.

Det Chief Insp Lehmann said Ms Wallace's friends and family were glad to hear an arrest had been made.

"They're very pleased with the result. They know it's just the start of a long court process," he said.

He called the arrest a "credit to the investigators who have put in tireless hours and an enormous amount of effort and dedication to this particular case".

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Xenophon wants new data-interception laws

FEDERAL independent Nick Xenophon wants changes to Australian telecommunications interception laws following calls for a narrowing of National Security Agency (NSA) powers.

A review board, set up by President Barack Obama in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaking of NSA secrets, has recommended a wide-ranging overhaul of its practices while preserving "robust" intelligence capabilities.

The panel issued 46 recommendations, including an end to retention of telephone "metadata" by the spy agency.

Senator Xenophon said the report was a "wake up call" and he would introduce legislation to curtail telecommunications interception powers in Australia.

The South Australian, who has previously called for a review of Australia's data surveillance practices, said if it was good enough for the US "then it's time we did the same thing".

"In the US legislation, there are safeguards for non-US citizens to avail themselves of the same procedures and judicial review as US citizens," he told AAP on Thursday.

"If the legislation doesn't pass it will be indeed ironic that Australian citizens will have more protection under US law than under their own laws."

Australia's domestic spy agencies have been under scrutiny after Snowdon leaks revealed the Defence Signals Directorate had tapped the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

"All I'm asking for the prime minister and opposition to do is to support what our closest ally is doing," Senator Xenophon said.

Attorney-General George Brandis said he would not comment on the recommendations on the NSA's powers.

"We work with the intelligence agencies of our closest partners given the common threats we face, including terrorism," Senator Brandis said in a statement.

"We are committed to maintaining these relationships and protecting Australia's security interests and the safety of Australians at home and abroad.

"The Australian Government is committed to maintaining an appropriate balance between national security and privacy considerations."

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Strip club spruiker hit with drug charges

TWO women and a strip club spruiker have been charged with supplying drugs in Sydney's Kings Cross.

Following an investigation into the supply of prohibited drugs in strip clubs and licensed premises on the late night strip, detectives arrested a 31-year-old woman at her home in Glebe at around lunchtime on Wednesday.

Then, on Thursday morning, police arrested a 40-year-old woman.

Police allege the two women were supplying cocaine from strip clubs in the Potts Point area.

The pair have been charged with supplying prohibited drugs and have been granted bail to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court in January.

A a 20-year-old man was also arrested at Kings Cross Police Station on Thursday and charged with three counts of supplying a prohibited drug.

Police allege the man, who works as a spruiker for a strip club, was supplying cocaine outside the venue.

He was also given bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court in January.

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NSA spying needed to fight terror: Putin

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin says the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance is necessary to fight terrorism, but added that the government must "limit the appetite" of the agency with a clear set of ground rules.

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Britain to move to plastic banknotes

PLASTIC bank notes are to be issued by the Bank of England for the first time when the new STG5 ($A9.19) note featuring Sir Winston Churchill appears in 2016.

A STG10 ($A18.39) note featuring Jane Austen to follow around a year later will also be made from polymer rather than the cotton paper currently used, the Bank said.

It follows a three-year research program that concluded plastic notes stay cleaner for longer, are more difficult to counterfeit and are at least twice as longer-lasting.

A public consultation across the UK, giving people the chance to handle the notes, found 87 per cent of 13,000 individuals who responded were in favour of polymer.

Bank governor Mark Carney said: "Ensuring trust and confidence in money is at the heart of what central banks do. Polymer notes are the next step in the evolution of bank note design to meet that objective.

"The quality of polymer notes is higher, they are more secure from counterfeiting, and they can be produced at a lower cost to the taxpayer and the environment."

The new notes will retain their familiar look, the Bank said, including the portrait of the Queen and a historical character.

Meanwhile, the Bank announced new guidelines on how it chooses historical figures to feature on bank notes, which include the aim that they should "reflect the diverse nature of British society".

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Saatchi assistant 'not a fantasist'

A FORMER personal assistant of Nigella Lawson and her art dealer ex-husband Charles Saatchi, who is accused of defrauding the couple, has denied she was a fantasist and a "shopaholic".

Francesca Grillo, 35, and her sister Elisabetta, 41, are alleged to have spent STG685,000 ($A1.26 million) on credit cards belonging to the TV cook and the multimillionaire Saatchi.

On Wednesday, the court heard that the siblings bought designer clothes, shoes and luxury holidays on the cards.

The younger sister was accused by prosecutor Jane Carpenter of lying about her expenditure on a work credit card having been authorised by Saatchi and Lawson, who divorced earlier this year.

"I haven't lied to this court," said Grillo. "I don't think I'm a fantasist as Ms Lawson suggested. I would have to disagree."

Carpenter said Grillo had admitted being a "shopaholic" in a phone call after the allegations of fraud came to light, but the defendant said of that claim: "I don't think so."

Addressing claims that she took advantage of her position and felt she was "on to a good thing", Grillo replied: "I didn't have to feel like I was part of a good thing.

"They were my family. I was very, very lucky. They loved me, I loved them back. Despite being here defending myself ... I still have feelings for them."

The seven men and five women on the jury were shown pages from Lawson's latest cookbook, Nigellissima, for which Grillo said she and her sister contributed a recipe for lasagne which was published.

"She refers to two friends from Calabria, or two sisters," added Grillo.

She claimed that during her trips to her native Italy while employed by the family, she would use the company card to buy food items and props for Lawson which were used in the book.

Asked why she offered to pay back money to the Saatchi-Lawson family when she was confronted with allegations of misusing the credit card, Grillo said she had hoped things would get back to normal.

She added: "It's difficult for people to understand how close I was to these people ... It's not like any person down the street. You want to make things better."

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Merkel says EU must be ready for changes

Why 2013 is the year of Jessica Hart

YES, we know she criticised Taylor Swift, but it's time to move on. If you ever doubted Aussie model Jessica Hart's star power, just wait until you see her Vogue cover.

Card signature is dead and buried

HANDWRITTEN signatures on credit cards used to purchase goods are dead after the ACCC approved a bid by major card companies to phase it out.

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'White powder in Nigella's handbag': PA

A London court has heard TV cook Nigella Lawson was unhappy in her marriage to Charles Saatchi. Source: AAP

NIGELLA Lawson's former personal assistant "frequently" found rolled-up banknotes with white powder on them in her handbag, she has told a court.

Francesca Grillo, who along with her sister Elisabetta is on trial accused of defrauding Lawson and former husband Charles Saatchi, said she never saw Lawson taking drugs although she did find evidence of drug use on many occasions.

She said she first saw the rolled-up notes at the food writer's Shepherd's Bush home, in the kitchen after a party and also in a guest bedroom.

One of her jobs as Ms Lawson's aide was to exchange items between her handbags, and she would find rolled-up banknotes in those, she told Isleworth Crown Court in west London on Tuesday.

Asked how often she found the banknotes, Grillo said: "Frequently. Every time I went through her handbag there was some notes. It was very frequent."

Asked if she ever raised the issue of drugs, she replied: "No. I didn't think it was my place."

Lawson would tell Francesca "you're good at finding things" and ask her to look for belongings in her handbags, the jury heard.

Lawson would sometimes come downstairs with white powder on her nose and Francesca would point it out to her, but would be told by the cook it was make-up.

Asked by defence counsel Karina Arden if the substance could have been make-up, Grillo replied: "Too white to be make-up."

She also noted that the TV cook often had a runny nose, the court heard.

Francesca Grillo, 35, and her sister Elisabetta, 41, are accused of defrauding the celebrity couple by spending 685,000 euros ($A1.06 million) on credit cards belonging to them.

The court has heard the siblings bought designer clothes, shoes and luxury holidays on the cards.

Francesca also recalled how she improvised an excuse to protect her employer when a child discovered a hollow book containing what the employee thought were drugs.

The defendant told the court: "She (the child) said 'Look what I found in (the) book!'.

"It was a small plastic bag with white powder. I made up something."

Grillo said the clandestine book also contained items of jewellery belonging to Lawson's late husband John Diamond.

She said she found cannabis in a child's room in the home, and the television cook would swig from bottles containing liquid medication.

She told the court: "Tazepam, Xanax ... Ms Lawson had medication for depression.

"She would take it directly from the bottle."

Asked by Arden how frequently she would see Lawson take medication in this way, Francesca said: "Very often. She had one bottle in the kitchen and one bottle in the bedroom."

She told the court she did not originally mention the alleged drug use in her first statement to police, but did so after photographs of Saatchi and Lawson at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair emerged in the press during the year.

"The one that stuck in my mind was the one of him picking her nose. Maybe he found something relating to drugs.

"I maybe thought if he didn't know that, he probably didn't know about the authorisation - the allowance - of the signatures (by Ms Lawson, on personal expenditure)."

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Knox 'afraid' to front Italian court

US murder suspect Amanda Knox has emailed an Italian court to say she is "afraid" to show up for her trial on charges of killing British student Meredith Kercher, judge Alessandro Nencini says.

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Helicopter maker issues safety alert

HELICOPTER manufacturer Eurocopter has issued a worldwide safety alert after a fault was found in the model of craft that crashed into a Glasgow pub, killing 10 people.

The company said there was a problem with the fuel indication system on some of its EC135 aircraft, the same type as the police helicopter involved in the Clutha bar tragedy in Glasgow last month.

Operator Bond Air Services temporarily suspended flights of its 22 EC135 helicopters last week after a fuel gauge fault was discovered on an air ambulance in the North West of England.

The suspension affected air ambulance and police helicopters across the UK, many of which have now resumed flights.

Eurocopter has now issued a safety information notice after tests revealed other aircraft may be affected by similar issues.

A statement said: "Eurocopter has been informed by Bond Air Services of an issue involving the fuel indication system experienced during normal operations by one of its EC135 EMS aircraft.

"Following this incident, fuel system functionality tests performed by Bond Air Services and two other EC135 operators in Europe have revealed possible similar supply-tank fuel gauging errors on some aircraft.

"This incident is currently under in-depth investigation by Eurocopter. The first analysis shows that the indication of the fuel quantity in the supply tanks could be over-estimated."

The safety notice warns crews that in the "worst case" scenario, a red low fuel warning could appear without any amber fuel caution beforehand.

In a statement, Bond said: "We note that Eurocopter has today issued a safety information notice to operators of the EC135 across the world confirming that some of their aircraft have a fault in the fuel indication and alert system which means that warning system may not work properly.

"This was a fault discovered by Bond during normal service operations on Wednesday 11th, which we immediately reported to Eurocopter and the appropriate authorities.

"We understand other operators have since conducted similar tests and found similar problems with their aircraft.

"As soon as we discovered this issue, in line with our commitment to the highest standards of safety, we took the prudent decision to temporarily suspend service operations whilst we conducted checks on our fleet of EC135s.

"The results of these tests were subsequently validated by Eurocopter, and appropriate repairs made before returning the aircraft to service."

The company said it had ordered that all its EC135s should have a minimum of 90kg of fuel on board at all times.

An initial report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) into the Glasgow crash said there was "no evidence of major mechanical disruption of either engine" of the Police Scotland helicopter.

In addition, the helicopter still had 95 litres of the 400kg of fuel that it had taken off with from Glasgow City Heliport.

The three people on board the Bond-operated aircraft and seven people in the pub died when it crashed on November 29.

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Aurizon to cut rail fleet, cancel project

FREIGHT and coal haulage operator Aurizon will take a hit of almost $200 million as it cuts the size of its rail fleet and cancels a major Queensland project.

The company, previously known as QR National, is reducing its locomotive fleet by 28 per cent and cutting the number of wagons by 12 per cent in a bid to bring down fuel and maintenance costs.

Aurizon's downsizing will appear as an asset impairment expense of $130 million to $150 million in its accounts for the first half of the 2013/14 financial year.

The company will also incur a $47 million impairment on recent changes to several projects, including Glencore Xstrata's decision to stop the Wandoan project because of weakening thermal coal prices.

Aurizon had proposed a 210 kilometre Surat Basin rail corridor from the Wandoan mine in a joint venture with the Swiss multinational.

"There's not any job losses that are related to that," chief executive Lance Hockridge told reporters on Monday.

In July, Aurizon launched a second voluntary redundancy program in a bid to save $230 million by 2015.

Some 248 voluntary redundancies have since been accepted.

"I think the bulk of it is done," Mr Hockridge said.

More than 2,000 employees have left the company since it was privatised by the former Queensland Labor government in 2010.

Mr Hockridge said he was "cautious but confident" about the thermal coal sector, as well as the future of projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin, where Aurizon has agreed to develop a rail project for the GVK-Hancock joint venture involving billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Aurizon shares dropped two cents to $4.68.

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Wesfarmers sells underwriting operations

DIVERSIFIED conglomerate Wesfarmers is selling its Australasian insurance underwriting operations to Insurance Australia Group (IAG) for about $1.85 billion - its biggest ever divestment.

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder said the sale followed approaches by a number of parties that were interested in the underwriting business.

Wesfarmers had spent a lot of money in recent years getting the Australian and New Zealand insurance underwriting business into much better shape.

"But it hasn't delivered satisfactory returns on average over the last five years to Wesfarmers," Mr Goyder told reporters.

"And over a period of time, if any of our businesses don't generate satisfactory returns, we'll look and see what we do with it."

Mr Goyder said the sale of the insurance underwriting business also reduced some of the risk in Wesfarmers' portfolio of industrial, mining, retail and financial businesses.

There was inherent volatility in the insurance business because of catastrophic events like earthquakes in New Zealand, and Cyclone Yasi.

The sale does not include the insurance division's broking operations in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and its Australian and New Zealand premium funding businesses which will remain part of Wesfarmers.

Wesfarmers expects a pre-tax profit of about $700 million to $750 million from the transaction, which will be included in the financial results for the second half of the 2014 financial year.

Mr Goyder said Wesfarmers had not yet decided what to do with the proceeds from the sale.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to take several months.

The acquisition comprises Wesfarmers' underwriting companies trading under the WFI and Lumley Insurance brands, and a 10-year distribution agreement with Coles.

IAG chief executive Mike Wilkins said the acquisition was a compelling strategic fit for IAG.

"Acquiring these businesses supports the group's strategic priorities of accelerating profitable growth in Australia and sustaining our market-leading position in New Zealand, and we expect attractive EPS (earnings per share) accretion," Mr Wilkins said.

IAG expects the acquisition will lift earnings per share by a modest amount in the first full year of ownership and by at least five per cent in the second year.

The acquisition will be partly funded from a $1.2 billion placement of shares to institutional investors, at $5.47 per share.

The integration of Wesfarmers' underwriting businesses is expected to generate pre-tax net benefits of about $140 million a year, with a significant proportion derived from reinsurance.

The integration process is expected to be substantially complete within two years, with pre-tax integration costs of $120 million.

Shares in Wesfarmers were 20.5 cents higher at $41.51 at 1515 AEDT. IAG shares are in a trading halt until the start of trading on Wednesday, December 18. They last traded at $5.70.

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Police assaulted at NSW soccer game

A POLICEMAN had to use "defensive strikes" to force a man to release his grip on his groin during a brawl at a Newcastle A-League soccer match.

Another police officer was punched in the head by another man in the melee, which saw a spectator punched in the face three times on Saturday night.

Police from the Public Order and Riot Squad and local officers were patrolling the match between the Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers at the Hunter Stadium when a fight broke out and objects were thrown at 9.40pm.

They say the crowd turned hostile towards them when they intervened.

During a scuffle, a 21-year-old man allegedly grabbed the policeman's groin and refused to let go.

The man, police say, had been hindering police when he was pushed out of the way and fell on the ground.

He was arrested and charged with assault police.

He will appear in Newcastle Local Court on January 16.

At the same match police spoke to three spectators who were allegedly causing trouble.

One man refused to follow a police direction to return his seat.

Police allege he punched another spectator in the face three times before turning on the officers who tried to arrest him.

The 41-year-old is accused of punching one officer in the side of the head.

He was charged with assault police and behave in an offensive manner.

He will also appear in Newcastle Local Court on Monday.

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Missing Qld man found after four days

A MAN who went missing for four days in southwest Queensland, sparking a massive air and land search, has been found.

Two aircraft, police and State Emergency Service volunteers helped search a property south of Quilpie after the man, in his 50s, was reported missing on Saturday morning.

But he had not been since Thursday, December 12, police said.

The man had been working on his property and went to check bores but did not return.

His bogged vehicle was found on a neighbouring property on Saturday.

Police said the man was found at 5.20pm on Sunday on a property near Eulo, in the area they'd been searching.

He was airlifted to Roma Hospital for treatment.

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Severe storm warnings cancelled

ANOTHER round of severe thunderstorms pummelled southeast Queensland tonight.

8.25pm: The worst of this evening's severe thunderstorms has passed, with the weather bureau lifting its earlier warnings.

The Bureau of Meteorology said dangerous weather systems are no longer affecting southeast Queensland.

Forecasters will continue to monitor the situation and will issue further warnings if anything is detected on radars.

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Nikki Duncan said the severe thunderstorm which swept over the region earlier this evening dropped a blanket of hail over the city. Picture: Nikki Duncan

8.15pm: Christine McMillan said the hail continued to belt her Willowbank home for 15 to 20 minutes.

"I have never seen anything this intense," she said.

"I also have a picture of the storm approaching but never expected this."

"I had to move from the doorway because they were smashing on the concrete outside and chunks were flying in at me." Picture: Sharon Wheatley at Rathdowney

Ms Duncan said she was lucky to have survived the storm unscathed.

"I've never had hail like that before. It looked like a White Christmas."

"I appear to have survived without any major damage. I'm yet to check my car."
 

Christine McMillan said the hail continued to belt her Willowbank home for 15 to 20 minutes. Picture: Christine McMillan

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7.55pm: The Bureau of Meteorology have updated a severe thunderstorm warning to include areas of Brisbane CBD, Ipswich, Boonah, Beaudesert, Beenleigh, Logan City, Cleveland, Strathpine, Esk, Redcliffe and Caboolture.

7.45pm: Ipswich residents must have been dreaming of a white Christmas, with the city transformed into a winter wonderland.

Nikki Duncan said the severe thunderstorm which swept over the region earlier this evening dropped a blanket of hail over the city.

"It was very sudden and loud," she said. "The severity was unexpected."

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7.50pm: A severe thunderstorm south of the NSW border is expected to hit Queensland by 8pm.

The cell is predicted to reach the McPherson Range, Rathdowney, Numinbah Valley, Laravale, Kooralbyn and the area south of Canungra by 8.05 pm.

Beaudesert will be next in the firing line, with the storm expected to strike about 8.30pm.
 

7.30pm: Sharon Wheatley said the earlier storm battered her property near Rathdowney.

"I was watching the clouds from the doorway and saw that one hailstone drop into the yard, nothing else, just that one, so I stuck a bucket over my head and ran out and grabbed it," she said.

"Gradually a few more dropped. There was no rain at first, just large hail dropping from the sky.

"I had to move from the doorway because they were smashing on the concrete outside and chunks were flying in at me. Then they just came down solidly for maybe 10 minutes or so."

7.15pm: The weather bureau has warned that while one severe thunderstorm is skirting dangerously close to Brisbane's CBD, another one is brewing just over the NSW border.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Otto said an earlier warning was still current for areas to the west of Brisbane, but the storm was unlikely to reach the city centre.

Further west, he said golf-sized hail stones have fallen on Mt Barney, with larger stones reported at Boonah.

"That storm is moving over the Ipswich area at the moment," he said.

"There is another cell south of the border that is likely to hit Rathdowney in the next half hour and it may head north after that. It's another very dangerous storm with large hail stones expected."

6.45pm: Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Rosewood, Marburg, Lake Manchester, Upper Brookfield and Fernvale by 7.20 pm and Enoggera Reservoir, Enoggera, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and Albany Creek by 7.50 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms in northern NSW are forecast to affect Mount Barney, the McPherson Range, Rathdowney, Maroon Dam, Kooralbyn and Lamington National Park by 7:50 pm.

Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely, with hail larger than golf balls reported at Boonah earlier.

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6.20pm:  The Bureau of Meteorology has updated their thunderstorm warning, alerting residents that very dangerous thunderstorms were moving north.

The storms were detected on weather radar near Boonah, Aratula, Harrisville, Peak Crossing, Bundamba Lagoon and the area south of Amberley.

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Ipswich, Redbank Plains, Amberley, Rosewood, Marburg and Lake Manchester by 6:50 pm and Lowood, Fernvale, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and the D'Aguilar Ranges by 7:20 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near Bonalbo(NSW). Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Hail larger than golf balls was reported at Boonah at around 5:40pm.

5.20pm: The weather bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning after storms were detected over the Scenic Rim region near Mount Barney, Laravale and Kooralbyn.

The southeast Queensland warning said damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology said the thunderstorms were moving in a northerly direction, with Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast put on alert.

The storms are predicted to hit Beaudesert about 5.30pm.

More to come.
 

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:
* Move your car under cover or away from trees.
* Secure loose outdoor items.
* Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
* Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.
* Beware of fallen trees and powerlines.
* For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.
 

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Mandela's remains transferred to air base

The South African military has handed over Nelson Mandela's flag-draped coffin to the ANC. Source: AAP

THE remains of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela have been transferred to Waterkloof air base for a farewell from the African National Congress.

The military handed over Mandela's flag-draped coffin to the African National Congress (ANC) at a solemn ceremony broadcast live on South African television.

The remains were to be returned to military control later on Saturday.

It will then be flown to the Eastern Cape in preparation for Mandela's funeral the following day.

Mandela's casket is expected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and to be greeted by a full military ceremony.

The late president died just over a week ago at age 95.

His body lay in state for three days this week, drawing huge crowds of South Africans who mourned his death and celebrated his successful struggle against apartheid.

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SAfrica apologises for Mandela interpreter

The man accused of faking sign interpretation at Nelson Mandela's memorial claims he hallucinated. Source: AAP

THE South African government has formally apologised for any offence caused by the sign language interpreter it hired for Nelson Mandela's memorial, later exposed as a fake.

"We sincerely apologise to the deaf community and to all South Africans for any offence that may have been suffered," Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said in a statement on Friday.

The country's junior minister for disabilities, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, admitted on Thursday the government had made a "mistake", but defended the interpreter.

Enraged sign language experts said that Thamsanqa Jantjie's signing in front of US President Barack Obama and other world leaders gathered at Soweto's Soccer City stadium had amounted to little more than "flapping his arms around".

Jantjie later blamed his behaviour on a schizophrenic attack.

Contacted by telephone on Friday, he refused to discuss the incident, saying he was too busy drafting an explanation to the government.

"Yesterday I explained to all the media...(and) today I am busy with the government that want my side of the story," he said.

Minister Mashatile said parliament would pass a new law early next year to regulate the profession "so that this kind of incident doesn't happen ever again."

Bogopane-Zulu said Thursday the interpreter was not fake, but may have had problems with English or was overworked and tired.

South Africa's deaf organisations, however, said this was not a one-off incident, claiming they had complained to the government about Jantjie before.

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James Bond an 'impotent alcoholic'

JAMES Bond's martini habit likely made him an impotent alcoholic, according to a study published Friday in the British Medical Journal.

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Nigella accused of lying to court

ONE of the personal assistants accused of defrauding Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi has accused them of lying under oath as she gave evidence in her trial.

Elisabetta Grillo, 41, also said other members of the TV cook's "Team Cupcake" lied in court.

The defendant, who along with her sister Francesca Grillo, 35, is accused of spending STG685,000 ($A1.26 million) on credit cards belonging to the celebrity couple to buy designer goods and luxury holidays for herself, made the claims as she spent a second day in the witness box.

As she began cross-examining her, prosecutor Jane Carpenter asked: "Ms Grillo, is it your evidence that Ms Lawson has lied to the court?"

She replied: "Yes."

"And Mr Saatchi?"

"Yes."

"And you're the one telling the truth?"

"I am."

"And the other PAs, have they lied as well?"

"Yes."

The court previously heard that the defendants allege that Lawson, who divorced multi-millionaire Saatchi earlier this year, regularly snorted cocaine and smoked cannabis during her 10-year marriage.

But, giving evidence last week, Ms Lawson told jurors she had only taken cocaine with her late husband John Diamond when he found out he had terminal cancer, and on another occasion in July 2010 during her troubled marriage to Saatchi.

Giving evidence yesterday, Elisabetta said she regularly found signs that Lawson was using cocaine, including a packet of white powder found in a toilet in the home she shared with Diamond, as well as rolled-up banknotes and credit cards with white powder on them.

Asked if she had ever seen Lawson taking drugs, Elisabetta - who is also known as Lisa - said: "No."

But she told jurors she was aware that Lawson had taken illegal substances.

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NRMA customers stuck after power outage

ABOUT 200 people are stuck in their cars waiting for assistance after the NRMA's telephone and dispatch system was brought down in a power outage.

Long delays are expected for those needing help with their cars after power failed at the insurance company's western Sydney call centre on Tuesday afternoon, spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP.

About 200 people are stranded and less than 80 are trying to contact the company.

"We will be working through the night to get to them," he told AAP.

The dispatch system is expected to return to normal by Wednesday morning, he said.

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Young locked out of property market: oppn

YOUNG people in NSW will struggle to buy property with state government cuts to the first home buyers grants effectively locking them out of the market, the state opposition says.

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Boat race pest wins appeal to stay in UK

Australian boat race protester Trenton Oldfield has won an appeal to stay in the UK. Source: AAP

BOAT race protester Trenton Oldfield has secured a victory over the British government that wanted to deport him while simultaneously declaring his family could never live in "racist" Australia.

Mr Oldfield on Monday successfully appealed against Home Secretary Theresa May's decision to kick him out of the country on the grounds that his presence was "not conducive to the public good".

Immigration tribunal Judge Kevin Moore, in overturning the deportation order, said Mr Oldfield was an asset to Britain.

"There is no doubt in my view to your character and commitment and the value you are to UK society generally," the judge said.

Mr Oldfield, originally from Sydney, has a British wife, Deepa Naik, 36, and a five-month-old baby daughter.

He's lived in the UK for more than a decade.

The Australian, 37, swam into the path of the Oxford and Cambridge rowing crews as they raced down the Thames in April 2012 to protest against elitism.

He was subsequently jailed for seven weeks.

"Australia is a particularly racist country," Mr Oldfield said on Monday when explaining that if deported he would be separated from his family.

Mr Oldfield said Ms Naik, who is of Indian descent, had never visited Australia and couldn't live there because some Indians in the community had suffered violent attacks.

There was also everyday "passive water-cooler racism", he said.

"Our home is here. Australia is on the other side of the world."

Mr Oldfield said when he disrupted the boat race he'd recently returned from Canada after seven months caring for his father-in-law who was dying from cancer.

He was saddened to realise wealthier people could afford better drugs and have a better quality of life when gravely ill.

"I was vulnerable in terms of realising how short life can be," Mr Oldfield said before breaking down in tears.

"I was very emotional. When you walk around London you see pockets of deprivation that still exist. I think I was heartbroken."

More than 250 staff and students from Oxford and Cambridge signed a letter of support ahead of Monday's hearing.

Two professors gave evidence that Mr Oldfield's work as an activist and independent publisher added to the debate about inequality.

A further 23 people wrote character references and were present at the tribunal.

The Australian's lawyer, Stephanie Harrison QC, insisted the 2012 protest was an isolated incident.

"It won't be repeated, he has learned his lesson," she said.

But Home Office representative Darren Morley insisted Mr Oldfield broke the law by endangering himself and others, and it was appropriate for the government to reject his spousal visa.

"The whole country saw this ... there's a need to be firm against this type of behaviour," he said.

Mr Oldfield's solicitor Natalia Garcia said outside the tribunal it was extremely unusual for an immigration judge to allow an appeal on the spot.

It was proof of her client's good character and contribution to the UK, she told reporters.

Judge Moore's full determination will be delivered within 10 days.

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Ring 'thief' bailed after colonoscopy

A JUDGE has granted an accused jewel thief bail after he laid out crucial evidence for police.

David Watts had a colonoscopy on Monday morning to retrieve a diamond ring he allegedly swallowed after stealing it from a jewellery store in southwest Brisbane two weeks ago.

Watts allegedly stole and ate another ring, but police lost it after throwing out a waste bag they forgot to search while he was in custody.

Legal Aid Solicitor Nicholas Hanly applied for bail on behalf of Watts in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon.

Magistrate Paul Kluck asked why the application had been made so late in the day.

Mr Hanly told him that the rings had only been "extracted" on Monday morning, which drew smirks and giggles from prosecutors, court officers, the public gallery and a prisoner who was waiting in the dock for his matter to be heard.

"I don't want to hear anything about rings being extracted," the magistrate shouted.

Prosecutors did not oppose the application and Magistrate Kluck granted bail without conditions.

Watts is due to reappear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 13.

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Police rescue Afghan woman from stoning

A WOMAN sentenced by the Taliban to death by public stoning was rescued by police in northern Afghanistan, a police official said.

"Taliban [judicial] commission charged a woman named Halima ... to be stoned to death for having an affair with a man in Dasht-e-Archi district three days ago," said Saeed Tabar Hussaini, a police official in northern Kunduz province.

The woman was due to be executed on Sunday evening, but police received a tip-off and arrived at the scene before the execution took place.

Taliban fled the area, the official said.

Hussaini said the man who was sentenced along with the woman had evaded arrest by the Taliban.

There have been isolated reports of stonings in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

On Sunday, a UN report said that prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators of violence against women in Afghanistan remained low, with most cases settled by mediation.

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Aussie boat race pest pleads to stay in UK

BOAT race protester Trenton Oldfield has told an immigration tribunal hearing that if he is deported from the UK his British wife and five-month-old baby daughter won't move to Australia with him because it's a "racist country".

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Vic minister slams hospital delay claim

OPPOSITION claims that sick Victorian kids are being forced to wait due to delays in building a children's hospital are wrong and hypocrisy in the extreme, the health minister says.

Baulderstone Pty Ltd will build the 230-bed Monash Children's Hospital, with construction to begin mid-next year, it was announced on Sunday.

But opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings says the hospital should be being finished now, not being started, with the government promising to deliver it in its first term.

"Families who have been waiting for better care for their children, continue to wait," he told reporters.

"Families are waiting longer than they should have."

Health Minister David Davis said the government had promised to start building the hospital in its first term.

He said Labor's delay claims were wrong and "hypocrisy in the extreme" because they failed to build the hospital in 11 years in government.

"(Now Opposition Leader) Daniel Andrews was parliamentary secretary for health first and health minister later and he allocated not one cent to build the Monash Children's Hospital," Mr Davis told AAP.

He said the need for a dedicated children's hospital in Melbourne's southeast was first identified a decade ago.

"This is an important hospital for Melbourne's southeast, a hospital that we look forward to seeing in operation," Mr Davis said.

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Qld 30-year vision sets the bar high

Expanding children's literacy and numeracy levels is a primary target in a bold plan for Queensland. Source: AAP

AN ambitious 30-year plan for Queensland aims to have half of the state's population living outside the southeast and to narrow the gap between the wealthy and poor.

Ensuring all Queensland children have basic literacy and numeracy when they finish primary school is another key target in The Queensland Plan, released for review on Sunday.

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Andrew Powell says the bar has been set high.

"The working draft is based on a compilation of what Queenslanders have told us they want in 30 years' time," he said in a statement.

"We don't expect everyone will agree with these preliminary targets, but we now have a great opportunity as a community to realise the future we want."

Mr Powell is urging all Queenslanders to have a look at the draft to ensure the 30-year vision reflects the aspirations of the Sunshine State.

"Test us. These targets are bold, they are different and some have never been measured in Australia before," he said.

Ensuring Queenslanders have the lowest incidence of preventable diseases in Australia and increasing the life expectancy of the state's indigenous peoples are also among the 16 primary targets outlined in the draft plan.

The final Queensland Plan is expected to be released by mid-2014.

The working draft is online and will be available for review until March 7 2014.

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Crews monitor Sunshine Coast blaze

At Sippy Downs. The buildings are University of Sunshine Coast. Picture: Kaye Keioskie Source: Supplied

FIRE crews are asking Sunshine Coast residents to avoid an out-of-control grass fire near Mountain Creek.

7.45pm: CREWS are still monitoring the fire at Kawana Waters which is burning in containment lines.

There are still two urban crews and nine rural crews at the scene.

They are likely to stay on scene for several more hours.
 

Sinead Duncan took photographs of the fires from Buderim and closer to Kawana Way. "We're just trying to get out of Brightwater at the moment .... it's getting bad." Reader picture: Sinead Duncan

3.50pm: Sinead Duncan took photographs of the fires from Buderim and closer to Kawana Way.

"We're just trying to get out of Brightwater at the moment because we've been visiting friends," she said.

"The smoke is still thick and billowing, but thankfully the wind is keeping most of the smoke away from the houses."

The grass fire near Mountain Creek. Picture: QPS/Sara Matulich

GALLERY: Reader pictures of Sunshine Coast blaze

Jackie Clark said aerial support was trying to control the situation.

"It's getting bad," she said.

Resident Nadine Brooks took these pictures from her vantage point at nearby Grand Pde, Parrearra. Reader picture: Nadine Brooks

"Police, fire and ambulance have set up on Kawana Way."
 

GALLERY: Reader pictures of Sunshine Coast blaze

Resident Nadine Brooks took these pictures from her vantage point at nearby Grand Pde, Parrearra. Reader picture: Nadine Brooks

3.30pm:  Resident Nadine Brooks said there seemed to be two or three different blazes from her vantage point at nearby Grand Pde, Parrearra.

"It looks like they are moving north," she said.

"We are lucky the smoke is not coming (our) way."

3pm: TRAFFIC is heavy along the Sunshine Coast Motorway thanks to a large grass fire.

Motorists are reporting congestion from the Dixon Rd turnoff to Mountain Creek.

Kawana Way has been closed as 16 fire crews battle the blaze.

GALLERY: Reader pictures of Sunshine Coast blaze

1pm: The fire at Kawana Way, near Brightwater Estate, was first reported at 11.20am.

Helicopters are currently water bombing the fire between Brightwater Estate and the Chancellor Park area, and 16 fire crews are battling the blaze.

No property is under threat, but a large smoke haze has settled over Mountain Creek and neighbouring suburbs.

Residents have been advised to close windows and doors, with reports of ash the size of fingernails falling on the area.

Motorists using Kawana Way have been urged to drive to conditions.

GALLERY: Reader pictures of Sunshine Coast blaze

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Water search for person overboard

A PERSON has fallen overboard between Bribie Island and the mainland.

Around 8.30pm a person fell off a boat at Pumicestone Passage.

Water police, volunteer marine rescue groups and a rescue helicopter are searching for the missing person.

More to come.

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Storm hits Europe, kills one in Scotland

GALE-FORCE winds have hit Scotland, causing a fatal truck accident, halting all trains and leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity as much of northwestern Europe braced for a storm that was expected to bring flooding to coastal areas.

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I'm not proud of drug use: Nigella

British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson says the idea that she is a habitual drug user is ridiculous. Source: AAP

NIGELLA Lawson has told a court she would rather be "honest and ashamed" than "bullied with lies" after revealing details of her past drug use.

The television chef said she was not proud after admitting she has taken cocaine and cannabis but denied her admission was damage limitation.

"I'm not proud of the fact I have taken drugs but that does not make me a drug addict or a habitual drug user," she said on Thursday.

Lawson said she objected to stories "peddled" by her ex-husband Charles Saatchi, including that he was checking her nose for cocaine when he was photographed gripping her throat outside Scott's restaurant in central London.

"The fact is, I would rather be honest and ashamed.... I wasn't going to be bullied with lies," she said.

"Mr Saatchi was not examining me for cocaine. That's a story he made up afterwards to clear his name."

Lawson was continuing her evidence in the fraud trial of two of her former personal assistants.

Wearing an all-black outfit, she was greeted by a huge pack of photographers, reporters and cameramen as she arrived for a second day at Isleworth Crown Court in west London.

Jurors were previously read an email sent to Lawson from Saatchi in which he said the defendants would get off on the basis that she was "so off her head" on drugs she allowed them to spend whatever they liked.

On Wednesday Lawson denied being a drug addict and spoke of the "intimate terrorism" she suffered at the hands of Mr Saatchi.

She said she first took the class A drug (cocaine) with her late husband John Diamond when he found out he had terminal cancer and on another occasion later during her troubled marriage to Mr Saatchi.

But the 53-year-old, who also admitted to smoking cannabis, said the idea that she is a "drug addict or habitual user of cocaine is absolutely ridiculous".

"I did not have a drug problem, I had a life problem," she said.

Francesca Grillo, 35, and her sister Elisabetta, sometimes referred to as Lisa, 41, are accused of committing fraud by abusing their positions by using a company credit card for personal gain.

Prosecutors claim the Italian sisters lived the "high life", spending the money on designer clothes and handbags from Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood.

The pair are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by the TV cook and her ex-husband to spend more than STG685,000 ($A1.25 million) on themselves between 2008 and 2012.

The Grillo sisters, of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, west London, deny the charge against them.

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Govt, opposition deny Holden pull out plan

THE federal government and the opposition have quickly poured cold water on speculation Holden will pull out of Australia from 2016, both saying no decision had been made on the company's future.

The ABC sparked concerns the car company's Australian manufacturing operations were nearing an end with reports senior ministers believed the company would cease local production from 2016.

"It's understood Holden will close its doors as early as 2016," the ABC reported.

Holden issued a statement saying its discussions with government were continuing.

This was swiftly followed by comments from a spokeswoman for Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and Opposition Industry spokesman Kim Carr, also denying a decision had been made.

Mr Macfarlane's spokeswoman Kylie Barron said the minister had met with Holden on Thursday and talks were continuing as they had been.

"They haven't made a decision about their future in Australia," Ms Barron told AAP.

"There is no change."

The speculation came as the productivity commission continues an inquiry into the future of the car industry that is expected to determine Holden's future.

If the commission sides with continued government help, the commonwealth is likely to negotiate a new assistance package.

But if it recommends against ongoing funding, Holden is likely to follow Ford and close its assembly facilities.

In a submission to the inquiry, Holden said a long-term Australian policy that was globally competitive was needed to keeping its manufacturing alive in the country.

"Without public assistance, Holden's local manufacturing cannot compete globally," the submission said.

Preliminary findings are expected to be released on December 20 ahead of a final report by March 31.

Senator Carr urged the government to act to ensure the company would continue its Australian manufacturing operations.

"I frankly cannot understand why they haven't had a delegation to Detroit by now to discuss these questions with the global leadership of General Motors," Senator Carr said.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

New test may help with Bladder cancer

A SIMPLE urine test may be able to distinguish between aggressive and low-grade bladder cancers, allowing doctors to tailor personalised treatments, say scientists.

Researchers measured levels of a protein shed by bladder tumours in 600 patients. They found that higher amounts of the protein, EpCAM, in the urine were associated with more aggressive cancers.

Study author Dr Douglas Ward, from the University of Birmingham, said: "This protein could be used to help doctors to decide what the best course of investigation or treatment for the patients is, and may prevent unnecessary delays.

"We've known for some time that the protein EpCAM is released from some tumour cells but it wasn't clear whether it would be useful as a way to decide the best investigation and treatment for patients suspected of having bladder cancer. We are now planning further studies to test the benefits of urine biomarker testing to patients and the NHS."

Each year around 10,300 bladder cancers are diagnosed in the UK and 5,000 people die from the disease.

In many cases, the tumours are superficial and do not pose a significant risk to life. Invasive cancers that spread into the surrounding muscles of the bladder are less common but can be fatal.

Martin Ledwick, head information nurse at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: "This research has shed new light on a protein that we've known for some time is linked to certain types of cancer. Developing a urine test to work out how aggressive or advanced a patient's tumour is could replace the need for more invasive and costlier tests used by doctors at the moment."

The research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

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Haiyan rebuilding to take five years

The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has soared past 5600 and continues to rise. Source: AAP

REBUILDING areas devastated by a super typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines will take up to five years and cost more than two billion dollars, officials said.

The comments came as the death toll from Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the country, continued to rise.

On Saturday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 5,632 people had been confirmed dead while 1,759 were still missing following the category five storm earlier this month.

"The total rehabilitation will take three to five years, depending on the pace of our support system and the projects we implement," Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the NDRRMC, said.

He told reporters that President Benigno Aquino did not want to merely repair the damage but wants the new structures to be better than those that were standing before the storm.

"Our president wants the rehabilitation to be 'build-back better communities," so they can withstand future storms," del Rosario said.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said: "We are looking at over a hundred billion pesos ($A2.42 billion) of reconstruction, from livelihood, commerce, social services," as well as infrastructure and power facilities.

That figure does not include the huge amounts already spent on immediate relief for the millions of people who were injured or left without food, water or shelter.

About 15 to 20 billion pesos will go to providing shelter with some 60,000 to 80,000 families to be re-settled in two to three years, said Singson.

This will include the people whose homes were destroyed by the storm as well as those who will have to move out of a recently-declared 40-metre "no-build zone" from the coastline, Singson added.

The zone is intended to prevent a repetition of the large number of deaths that occurred after Haiyan brought massive storm surges that flattened seaside communities.

A spokeswoman for the local UN office, Orla Fagan, told a news conference on Friday that donors had forked out $US164 million ($A180.41 million) so far.

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Plane crash in Alaska, four dead

A PLANE crash near the remote western Alaska village of Saint Marys has killed four of the 10 people aboard, including a baby boy, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said.

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UN report on trauma of Syrian refugee kids

The UN warns Syrian refugee children are paying a cruel price as civil war rips their country apart. Source: AAP

SYRIAN refugee children are paying a cruel price as civil war rips their country apart, the United Nations warns in a report with heart-rending testimony from youngsters driven from their homes.

"This is impossible to forget. It's like someone has stabbed me with a knife when I remember," 15-year-old Taha, who saw seven corpses near his house in Syria, told interviewers with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

He and scores of other Syrian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon were interviewed for a 60-page UNHCR report, starkly laying out the trauma of young exiles from a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people.

The children's last names were not revealed, to protect them and their families.

"It is important that this human face of the refugee crisis is not forgotten," Volker Turk, UNHCR head of international protection, told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

"And if you look at what children face, they illustrate very strongly what this crisis is all about," he said.

Children make up about half of the more than 2.2 million Syrians who have fled their homeland, according to UN numbers of registered refugees.

Syria's neighbours meanwhile estimate some three million Syrians have already left the war-ravaged country, which means around 1.5 million Syrian children are living as refugees.

"Looking back over the last 20 years, the Syria refugee crisis for us is unparalleled since the Rwanda crisis," Turk said, referring to the 1994 genocide in the African nation.

He pointed out that children also represent about half of the 6.5 million people driven from their homes but who remain inside Syria.

In the report, the children describe in words and with drawings the horrors they have witnessed and the turmoil within.

"There is blood up to people's knees in Syria," said 17-year-old Sala.

And 16-year-old Maher, who was tortured in Syria and whose father remains missing there, said: "My first wish would be to go back to Syria and to have my father released."

Some of the children also drew pictures of weapons of war and bodies.

"The idea of home and warmth is gone with a stroke," said Turk.

"There is a lot of psychological scarring and a lot of trauma ... You see it in sleeplessness, children being very withdrawn, there is stuttering, bed-wetting."

Anger was also common, with some boys wanting to return to Syria to fight.

Other scars are physical: 741 Syrian children were treated for war wounds in Lebanon in the first six months of this year, and 1000 cared for in the vast Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan.

The massive influx of Syrians has stretched food, water, healthcare and accommodation resources to the limit in the host countries, and also overwhelmed their education systems.

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Toddler found walking down NSW road

A TODDLER has been found wandering along a main road on the NSW mid-north coast.

A driver spotted the one-year-old boy while heading through Edgeworth, near Lake Macquarie, on Friday night, police said.

The boy is in good health and has been taken to the Toronto police station.

A door knock is underway as police search for the toddler's parents.

Anyone with information about the child or his parents is asked to contact police.

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Russian court releases Aussie activist

Jailed Australian activist Colin Russell is set to appeal his detention in Russia on Friday. Source: AAP

GREENPEACE activist Colin Russell has been released on bail from a Russian jail.

The Australian was the last of the Arctic 30 being held in detention in St Petersburg, Russia, after his fellow activists were released in the past week.

A Russian court on Thursday released Mr Russell, with Greenpeace tweeting: "Excellent news! Colin Russell from Australia is granted bail."

Mr Russell's wife Christine, who departed Australia for Russia this week, said this was wonderful news.

"My daughter and I are one step closer to being in the arms of my darling Col. I am so relieved that my beautiful, peaceful man will soon be out of detention," she said in a statement released by Greenpeace.

Mr Russell, from Tasmania, was the radio operator aboard the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise. He and the other 29 activists were detained in September following a protest against Russian oil drilling in the Arctic Sea.

He was the last to be released on bail after 71 days in detention.

Like those already released, Mr Russell will have to post bail of two million roubles ($A66,190).

Greenpeace International will put up the bail with the expectation that Mr Russell will be released by the weekend.

However, he and the others still face charges of hooliganism, downgraded from the initial charges of piracy.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said this was an enormous relief.

"We will not rest until Col and the rest of the crew no longer face these ridiculous charges for what was a peaceful attempt to hang a banner off an oil platform," he said in a statement.

"The crew was there to raise awareness of the risk of spills to the pristine Arctic and for this they should be congratulated, not punished."

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government welcomed the decision to grant Mr Russell bail and looked forward to his early release from detention.

"Australian officials are seeking urgent clarification of the bail conditions that will apply to Mr Russell," he said.

"The government will continue to urge that Russian authorities extend due legal process to Mr Russell during the remainder of the investigation period."

The spokesman said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop would continue to monitor developments in the case.

If necessary, she will follow up her recent representations to her Russian counterparts.

Officials from the Australian Embassy in Moscow are continuing to provide consular support to Mr Russell and are planning to visit him as soon as practical, he said.

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