Kenya to toughen poaching sentences

Poaching has recently risen in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Source: AAP

KENYA plans to bolster lenient sentences for convicted wildlife poachers or ivory smugglers in a bid to stamp out a spike in elephant killings, the government says.

Poaching has recently risen sharply in east Africa, with whole herds of elephants massacred for their ivory. Rhinos have also been targeted.

Last year poachers slaughtered 384 elephants in Kenya, up from 289 in 2011, according to official figures, from a total population of around 35,000. This year, poachers have already shot dead 74.

"We intend to fight poachers at all levels to save our elephants," government spokesman Muthui Kariuki said in a statement on Saturday.

A major obstacle to this is that Kenyan courts are limited in their powers to jail or fine those convicted of wildlife crimes, he said.

"One of the major setbacks are lenient penalties and sentencing for wildlife crime by the courts," he said.

"The government is concerned about this and has facilitated the process of reviewing the wildlife law and policy with a view to having more deterrent penalties and jail terms."

Passing tougher wildlife laws will be made a priority for Kenya's parliament, elected last month but which has yet to begin business.

"We look forward to... parliament giving priority to passing of a new wildlife law and policy," Kariuki added.

Kenya's wildlife act caps punishment for the most serious wildlife crimes at a maximum fine of 40,000 Kenyan shillings ($A450), and a possible jail term of up to 10 years.

Last month, a Chinese smuggler caught in Kenya with a haul of ivory was fined less than a dollar a piece.

The smuggler, who was arrested carrying 439 pieces of worked ivory while in transit in Nairobi as he travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Hong Kong, was fined $US350 ($A337) and was then set free.

Such fines pose little if any deterrence, with experts suggesting a kilogram of ivory has an estimated black market value of some $A2406.

The illegal ivory trade is mostly fuelled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns are used to make ornaments and in traditional medicine.

Africa is now home to an estimated 472,000 elephants, whose survival is threatened by poaching as well as a rising human population that is encroaching on their habitat.

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Call for witnesses to horror crash

A CRITICALLY injured woman was trapped in her car for more than an hour after ploughing into a road barrier at Wacol on Saturday afternoon.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward as officers attempt to piece together the crash, which left the woman with life-threatening injuries.

The Mitsubishi SUV smashed into the road barrier on Tile Street about 1pm Saturday.

The 52-year-old female driver was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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New PM vows to guard Lebanon from Syria

LEBANON'S newly named Prime Minister Tamam Salam pledged in his first speech to safeguard the country's security from the war raging in neighbouring Syria.

"There is a need to bring Lebanon out of its state of division and political fragmentation, as reflected on the security situation, and to ward off the risks brought by the tragic situation in the neighbouring (country) and by regional tensions," Salam said on Saturday.

Salam, 67, of the Western-backed opposition made the remarks in his inaugural speech shortly after being tasked by President Michel Sleiman with forming a new government.

His appointment comes two weeks after Najib Mikati resigned and effectively brought down his Hezbollah-dominated government.

Salam also pledged to work with all groups across Lebanon's political spectrum, which is split into pro- and anti-Damascus camps.

"I have accepted this nomination... out of conviction that it is my duty to work for my country's interest, in cooperation with all political parties," he said.

Lebanon was dominated politically and militarily by Syria until 2005, and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad still holds sway over Beirut through Hezbollah and other allies.

The March 14 opposition movement, meanwhile, is fiercely opposed to Damascus.

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NSW police nab boy over BMX bandit robbery

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged after a bottle shop in NSW's Southern Highlands was robbed by a knife-wielding youth who fled off on a BMX bike.

The youth was spotted stashing cigarettes and bottles of liquor into his backpack at the Mittagong bottle shop about 7.25pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, police allege.

A female shop assistant, 35, approached the boy, who threatened her with a large knife.

The teen then stole cash from the shop's till before fleeing on a BMX bike.

Police arrested the teenager on Thursday and charged him with several offences including robbery while armed.

He was refused bail to appear in Campbelltown Children's Court on Friday.

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Greek offshore accounts probed

OVER a hundred Greek offshore banking accounts will be probed by authorities after an international journalist group published information on over 122,000 tax haven accounts.

Finance ministry official Haris Theocharis confirmed on Thursday statements made to Greek daily Ta Nea, which is part of the global media investigation.

The probe was undertaken by the Washington-based international consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ).

Titled Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze, it tracks the alleged involvement of officials, their families and associates in France, Azerbaijan, Russia, Canada, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Canada, Mongolia and other countries.

In Greece, only four of 107 offshore accounts held by Greeks in the British Virgin Islands and other havens are on government tax books.

Some are linked to state arms purchases while two were used to buy and refit the yacht Christina O once owned by legendary Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis, Ta Nea said.

"We will carefully examine the evidence published by the ICIJ and will try to make use of it in the best possible way," the finance ministry's Theocharis told the daily.

"If proof emerges on illegal or irregular activities we will proceed in the necessary fashion," he said.

The Greek account holders are apparently business executives and shipowners but also middle-class villagers from the country's poorer north, Ta Nea said.

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Children should leave Manus: Aristotle

ASYLUM seeker children and their families should be taken off Manus Island if the Australian government can't ensure adequate safeguards, a member of the government's asylum review panel says.

Australian authorities on Thursday transferred the first group of asylum seekers to the processing centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in two months.

But Paris Aristotle, part of former defence chief Angus Houston's refugee review panel, says safeguards to reduce risks to mental health are not in place at the detention centre.

The panel said any offshore processing arrangement needs to comply with international obligations, such as no arbitrary detention, the provision of legal assistance, review mechanisms, case management services and programs for physical and mental health.

Mr Aristotle says these safeguards aren't "just for the hell of it".

He's particularly concerned about the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, especially children, on Manus Island.

"Something needs to be done to address that immediately," he told ABC TV's Lateline on Thursday.

"Six months in, I don't think it's appropriate that children are still held in detention anywhere.

"If they were free to move around, if there were adequate services available for them and so forth, then that may have been an acceptable option."

He has had discussions with the federal government and immigration department and doesn't believe they are ignoring the panel's recommendations. Rather, it has been difficult to get the co-operation of the PNG government.

For example, he said, on Nauru an independent board had been set up with government and non-government organisations and civil representatives from both countries to oversee the detention centre.

That was working extremely well and had contributed to improvements in conditions.

But on Manus Island, PNG wanted a similar board to consist of government officials only, contrary to the expert panel's recommendation.

"It's a feature of the complexity of doing things with other countries, where those countries have their own views about certain things," Mr Aristotle said.

But Australia did have control over whether to send people there before adequate arrangements were in place.

"If they can't rectify that situation straightaway, then my view is that children and their families should be returned and managed and processed here in Australia," he said.

He didn't expect the government would shut down Manus Island, but said they "absolutely" should if the expert panel's principles were not adhered to.

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Severe storm warning for Gold Coast

Check out this incredible time-lapse of Brisbane's 'super storm'. Image Credit: Noelia Ramon, videographer - photographer journalist.

A SEVERE thunderstorm warning for the Gold Coast City Council area has been cancelled by the Bureau of Meteorology.

At 10.35pm, the Bureau of Meteorology cancelled a severe thunderstorm warning for southeast Queensland, saying the immediate threat of severe thunderstorms had passed.
 

Earlier, the weather bureau issued a warning about severe thunderstorms that were detected on the weather radar south of the border.

The thunderstorms were moving north and expected to hit Tweed Heads by 10.15pm and Coolangatta and Tallebudgera by 10.45pm.

The warning states damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding are likely.

Emergency Management Queensland advises that people should:

* Move your car under cover or away from trees.

* Secure loose outdoor items.

* Avoid driving, walking or riding through flood waters.

* Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

* Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.

* Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

* For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.

Earlier this afternoon, a quick moving storm was sweeping the outskirts of Brisbane's western suburbs.

Localised heavy rainfall was expected as the storm moved north, with Wacol already receiving 17mm of rain at the time.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Rick Threlfall said Brisbane CBD was likely to experience showers in the coming hour but severe weather warnings were unlikely.

"It's got some locally intense rainfall in that thunderstorm is it's to the west of Brisbane right now but accumulations so far haven't put it in the severe category," he said.

Mr Threlfall said the storm "won't last too long" and as of 4.30pm was "skimming the western suburbs" including Ashgrove and The Gap as it moved between Brisbane and Highvale.

"The really heavy rainfall is to the west. I don't think it will stay anywhere long enough to induce localised flooding just intense rainfall for a period of time," Mr Threlfall said.

The bureau warned an afternoon storm is also likely tomorrow afternoon.

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African forces suspend hunt for Kony

UGANDA'S top military official says African Union troops have suspended the hunt for the fugitive warlord Joseph Kony in Central African Republic because the new government there is not co-operating with the mission.

General Aronda Nyakairima, the Ugandan army chief, said on Wednesday Uganda-led African forces in Central African Republic stopped operations against Kony until their status is clarified by the African Union.

About 3000 African troops under the AU's mandate are currently deployed against Kony's Lord's Resistance Army in CAR, where rebels deposed a president last month and announced a new government.

The African forces are supported by about 100 US military advisers.

Nyakairima said Ugandan troops would stay in the republic until the AU itself asks them to leave.

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Hollande vows new minister's law

FRENCH President Francois Hollande is vowing that a new law on the "publication and control" of ministers' wealth will be presented within weeks, after his ex-budget minister was charged in a tax evasion probe.

Hollande said on Wednesday the former minister, Jerome Cahuzac, "did not benefit from any protection" from top officials and that his actions were an "insult to the Republic".

Hollande promised "a ruthless fight against conflicts between public and private interests and to ensure the publication and control of the wealth of ministers and parliamentarians".

He said the government would submit a law to parliament on these measures "in the weeks to come".

The president also said elected officials convicted of tax fraud or corruption would be banned from holding public office and that new measures would be taken from this summer to reinforce the independence of the judiciary.

Cahuzac - the minister once responsible for cracking down on tax evasion - was charged on Tuesday with "laundering the proceeds of tax fraud" after he admitted to having a foreign bank account containing some 600,000 euros ($A740,000) following weeks of denials.

Hollande said he knew nothing of the account.

"He deceived the highest authorities in the country: the head of state, the head of the government, parliament, and through them all the French people," Hollande said.

"This was a mistake, an unpardonable mistake. It was an insult to the Republic.

"Every light will be shed on this and the justice system will pursue its work to the end and in all independence."

"Jerome Cahuzac did not benefit from any protection other than the presumption of innocence and he left the government at my request from the opening of a judicial inquiry."

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Sydney school fire 'suspicious'

POLICE are treating a fire which damaged an abandoned high school in Sydney's south as suspicious.

Emergency services were called to the former school on Willarong Rd, Caringbah about 3.30pm (AEDT) following reports an old gymnasium was alight, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said on Tuesday.

As a precaution, several people at an adjoining bowling club were evacuated while firefighters controlled the blaze.

Police said it's not yet known what caused the fire but the incident was being treated as suspicious.

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US priest to plead guilty to drug charge

A SUSPENDED Roman Catholic priest accused of making more than $US300,000 ($A289,000) from methamphetamine sales is expected to plead guilty to one of the charges.

The 61-year-old is scheduled to appear in the US District Court for a hearing in which he is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Authorities allege the priest had methamphetamine mailed to him from co-conspirators in California and made more than $US300,000 in sales out of his Connecticut apartment last year.

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CSG problems start with Labor: Joyce

NATIONALS Senator Barnaby Joyce has weighed back into the coal seam gas debate, saying it was Labor governments who oversaw approvals for projects now being brought into question.

The Queensland government is being urged to hold a full public inquiry into allegations the approval process for two major developments in that state were rushed.

The issue of coal seam gas (CSG) projects and their effect on water and agricultural land is also a hot topic in the federal electorate of New England in NSW.

Senator Joyce is hoping to get the nod to run as the Nationals' candidate for New England in the September 14 election.

The seat is held by independent Tony Windsor who has been a vocal advocate of the need for more scientific rigour in approvals of CSG mines.

Senator Joyce said the problems with licence approvals called into question the efficacy of new oversight processes the federal government has put into place.

"Don't forget that these problems emanate from a state Labor government that put in place these licences and a federal Labor government who had oversight," he told ABC TV on Tuesday.

He said the "Labor-Green-independent alliance" wanted to have it both ways on the matter.

"They're both for coal seam gas when they're handing out the licences and against coal seam gas when it suits them," he said.

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Afghan teenager fatally stabs US soldier

AN Afghan teenager has killed an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan by stabbing him in the neck while he played with a group of local children, officials say.

The killing comes as the monthly US death toll rose sharply in March to 14 with the start of the spring fighting season when the Taliban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks.

Sergeant Michael Cable, 26, was guarding Afghan and US officials meeting in a province near the border with Pakistan when the stabbing occurred last Wednesday, two senior US officials said on Monday.

The attack occurred after the soldiers had secured the area for the meeting, but one of the US officials said the youth was not believed to have been a member of the Afghan security forces or in uniform so it was not being classified as an insider attack.

The official said the attacker was thought to be about 16 years old, but the age couldn't be verified.

The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the US military.

The soldier was playing with a group of children outside when the attacker came from behind and stabbed him in the neck with a large knife, Khan said, adding the young man had escaped to nearby Pakistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the young man was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had joined the Islamic militant movement since fleeing the scene.

At least 14 US soldiers died in March, compared with four in the previous two months, according to an Associated Press tally.

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Qld cops see double over drink drivers

QUEENSLAND police have pulled over the same car four times in one afternoon, resulting in drink driving charges for a man and woman who took turns in the driver's seat.

Officers first stopped the vehicle on North Stradbroke Island, southeast of Brisbane, at lunchtime on Monday, and breath tested a Redbank Plains woman behind the wheel.

The 27-year-old allegedly recorded a reading of 0.126 and was charged with drink driving.

A short time later, the woman's male passenger had taken the wheel when police pulled the vehicle over again.

The 34-year-old Redbank Plains man recorded a breath test reading of 0.110, and was also charged with drink driving.

The pair were released, but police say a short time later they saw the man back behind the wheel.

He recorded another positive breath test and was charged with drink driving for a second time as well as driving while suspended.

Not to be deterred, his partner allegedly got behind the wheel yet again.

She was again charged with drink driving, as well as driving while suspended.

Both are due to appear in the Cleveland Magistrates Court on May 14.

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Asian markets fall

ASIAN markets slipped in holiday-hit trade Monday, with investors unimpressed by a slight improvement in key economic indicators out of China and Tokyo.

The yen climbed against the dollar and euro ahead of a Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy meeting this week, while there are lingering concerns about political uncertainty in Italy as well as debt-ravaged Cyprus.

Tokyo slipped 2.12 per cent, or 262.89 points, to 12,135.02 on the back of the stronger yen and Seoul lost 0.44 per cent, or 8.90 points, to 1,995.99.

Shanghai slipped 0.10 per cent, or 2.22 points, to 2,234.40.

Sydney, Hong Kong and Wellington were closed for the Easter break.

The BoJ's closely watched Tankan survey of large Japanese manufacturers for the past three months showed a slight improvement in optimism for the world's number three economy, the first uptick in three quarters.

The survey showed sentiment at minus 8 between January and March, up from minus 12 three months earlier. The figures represent the percentage of firms saying business conditions are good minus those saying they are bad.

However, the figures were unable to prevent a sell-off in shares and a jump in the yen.

Hideki Matsumura, senior economist at Japan Research Institute, told Dow Jones Newswires: "Sentiment is getting better broadly, but the improvement isn't as strong as expected."

And Tachibana Securities market analyst Kenichi Hirano said the negative reaction "may have resulted from the perception that with the Nikkei having performed so well (gaining 19 per cent so far in 2012), general business sentiment should have been at least a little better".

The dollar slipped to 93.55 yen early in Asia, against 94.20 yen in New York trade on Friday, when trade was limited by the Easter holiday.

The euro bought $1.2812 and 119.85 yen compared with $1.2818 and 120.78 yen.

Australian bank Westpac said in a note to clients that investor focus was on Thursday's BoJ announcement, the first under the stewardship of Haruhiko Kuroda. He has promised aggressive measures to kick-start the economy and end decades of deflation.

"Some disappointment around this meeting is likely and we have a downward bias for the dollar-yen in the week ahead," Westpac said.

In China data showed manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in almost a year last month, indicating the world's number two economy was showing signs of improvement.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) hit 50.9 in March, the highest since April 2012 and up from 50.1 in February. However, it was below the 51.0 that had been forecast.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion while anything below points to contraction.

Separately, British bank HSBC -- with a survey that focuses more on smaller enterprises -- said its final PMI for March stood at 51.6, up from 50.4 in February. That figure was also slightly off the 51.7 in HSBC's preliminary PMI last week.

Oil prices fell, with New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in May, down 50 cents to $96.73 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for May was down 37 cents to $109.65.

Gold was at $1,597.90 an ounce at 1030 GMT compared with $1,598.45 late on Friday.

In other markets:

-- Singapore was almost unchanged, slipping 0.52 points to 3,307.58.

United Overseas Bank shed 1.37 per cent to Sg$20.10 while oil rig maker Keppel Corporation gained 1.25 per cent to Sg$11.34.

-- Taipei fell 0.24 per cent, or 19.37 points, to 7,899.24

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.50 per cent higher at Tw$101.0 while leading smartphone maker HTC shed 1.64 per cent to Tw$240.5.

-- Manila closed 0.12 per cent, or 7.88 points, down at 6,839.59.

-- Jakarta was flat, 0.07 per cent or 3.41 points to 4,937.58.

Palm oil firm Astra Agro Lestari slipped 0.81 per cent to 18,350 rupiah and mobile phone provider Indosat fell 1.54 per cent to 6,400 rupiah.

-- Kuala Lumpur lost 0.24 per cent, or 4.02 points, to close at 1,667.61.

-- Bangkok eased 0.74 per cent, or 11.51 points, to 1,549.55.

Supermarket operator Siam Makro added 6.39 points to 566.00 baht, while telecoms company Advanced Info Service fell 2.08 per cent to 235.00 baht.

-- Mumbai rose 0.15 per cent or 28.98 points at 18,864.75 points.

Indian drug maker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose 3.34 per cent to 1,825.3 rupees. Engineering giant Larsen and Toubro rose 2.18 per cent to 1,394.7 rupees.

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Alarm over child solidier killings in CAR

SOUTH African soldiers who survived last week's rebel takeover of the Central African Republic are traumatised after discovering later that some of the rebels killed were child soldiers, local Sunday newspapers reported.

In what has turned out to be South Africa's heaviest military loss since apartheid, 13 soldiers were killed last weekend in Bangui in clashes with Seleka rebels who toppled president Francois Bozize.

Around 200 South African troops fought against some 3,000 rebels during the battle for the Central African capital that lasted several hours.

Some of survivors who have returned home recounted to local newspapers that they only discovered after the battle that they had been fighting against some teenage rebel soldiers.

"It was only after the firing had stopped that we saw we had killed kids. We did not come here for this... to kill kids. It makes you sick. They were crying calling for help... calling for (their) moms," a paratrooper told the Sunday Times.

South African President Jacob Zuma in January had approved the deployment of 400 soldiers to the Central African Republic to help local troops\ as part of a bilateral pact with the administration of now deposed Bozize.

In the end about 200 soldiers were sent.

Some of the Central African rebels were "teenagers who should be in school," the soldier told the paper.

In the City Press a soldier was quoted as saying many of the rebels were "only children".

The two papers also quoted the soldiers saying the South African troops were running out of ammunition.

South Africa's government now faces increasing calls at home for a probe into why troops were sent to the Central African Republic.

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N Korea vows to strengthen nuclear weapons

NORTH Korea has vowed to strengthen its nuclear weapons, a day after announcing it is in a "state of war" with South Korea, and says it will never trade its atomic deterrent for aid.

Tensions have risen sharply on the peninsula since the United Nations tightened sanctions in response to the North's nuclear and missile tests, and the United States and South Korea launched military drills south of the border.

On Saturday the North declared it was in a "state of war" with the South and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict.

A meeting on Sunday of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party, guided by leader Kim Jong-Un, decided the country's possession of nuclear weapons "should be fixed by law", the official KCNA news agency reported without elaborating.

The nuclear armed forces "should be expanded and beefed up qualitatively and quantitatively until the denuclearisation of the world is realised", it added.

Members also decided to develop a light water reactor as part of a civilian nuclear power industry to ease electricity shortages, KCNA said.

The North in 2010 disclosed the existence of a uranium enrichment facility and light water reactor, purportedly to generate power. Experts said it could easily be reconfigured to make fuel for nuclear weapons.

The North in April 2009 formally abandoned six-party talks offering it economic and security benefits in return for denuclearisation.

On Sunday it reiterated its atomic weapons are not a bargaining chip.

"They are a treasure of a reunified country which can never be traded with billions of dollars," KCNA quoted the central committee members as saying.

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Clashes erupt in Mali's Timbuktu

MALIAN troops backed by French forces have clashed with Islamist fighters who infiltrated the northern city of Timbuktu, leaving two jihadists dead and four Malian soldiers wounded.

"Jihadists have infiltrated the centre of Timbuktu ... Our men are currently fighting them with the support of a unit of our French partner," a Malian officer told AFP by telephone.

"Two jihadists have been killed and four Malian soldiers have been injured. That's the provisional toll," the officer said, adding the fighting "is not yet over".

The Islamist fighters who had controlled the fabled Saharan city before French and Malian soldiers recaptured it in January have been able to blend into the population to launch attacks, infiltrating it by foot or bicycle.

The officer said the fighting began when the Islamist rebels opened fire on two sides of the centre of the city, targeting a hotel and a military base.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew himself up when he tried to force his way through a military barricade at the western entrance to Timbuktu, wounding a soldier manning the checkpoint.

Mali has been the target of a series of attacks claimed by Islamist insurgents since France launched on January 11 a military intervention against al-Qaeda-linked groups that had seized the north of the country.

The French-led operation has forced the extremists from the cities they had seized for 10 months in the chaotic aftermath of Mali's military coup in March 2012.

But French and African forces have faced continuing suicide blasts and guerrilla attacks in reclaimed territory.

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