Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

The number of dead pigs found in a river running through Shanghai has reached more than 13,000. Source: AAP

THE number of dead pigs found in a river running through China's commercial hub Shanghai has reached more than 13,000, as mystery deepened over the hogs' precise origin.

Shanghai had pulled 9,460 pigs out of the Huangpu river, which supplies 22 per cent of the city's drinking water, since the infestation began earlier this month, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Shanghai has blamed farmers in Jiaxing in neighbouring Zhejiang province for dumping pigs which died of disease into the river upstream, where the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday another 3,601 dead animals had been recovered.

The Jiaxing government has said the area is not the sole source of the carcasses, adding it had found only one producer that could be held responsible.

Shanghai said it had checked farms in its southwestern district of Songjiang, where the pigs were first detected, but found they were not to blame, the Shanghai Daily said.

The scandal has spotlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy.

Samples of the dead pigs have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

"Due to some farming households having a weak recognition of the law, bad habits, and lack of increased supervision and capability for treatment have led to the situation," the national agriculture ministry's chief veterinarian Yu Kangzhen said.

Yu attributed a higher mortality rate among pigs to colder weather this spring, though he ruled out an epidemic, the ministry said in statement posted on its website over the weekend.

The thousands of dead pigs have drawn attention to China's poorly regulated farm production. Animals that die from disease can end up in the country's food supply chain or improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.

In Wenling, also in Zhejiang, authorities announced last week that 46 people had been jailed for up to six-and-a-half years for processing and selling pork from more than 1,000 diseased pigs.

China faced one its biggest food-safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

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Half a million new homes for Sydney

NSW Planning Minister Brad Hazzard has unveiled a 20-year blueprint for Sydney's growth. Source: AAP

A 20-YEAR blueprint for Sydney's growth has identified a need for more than half a million new homes by 2031 but lobby groups want clarity about where they will be built.

Unveiling the strategy on Tuesday, Planning Minister Brad Hazzard said 545,000 new homes would be needed to cater for a population of 5.6 million Sydneysiders in 20 years - a 17 per cent increase on the number forecast in 2010.

Seventy per cent of the additional 1.3 million people who will set up homes in Sydney will be the children of current residents.

"We're trying to be less constrictive and restrictive and what we are saying is the market place should have far more of a say in what the mix of housing is and where it will be," Mr Hazzard said.

"We can make forecasts on where we believe it should be, but we are not going to do what Labor did ... they allowed the planners to be the sole determinant."

Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson said the obvious location for higher density housing was around transport nodes and town centres.

But a range of housing types was needed, including new houses on the city's fringe and apartments in existing suburban areas.

"We need more detail on the type of housing densities planned, particularly for existing urban areas," he said.

Patricia Forsythe, executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber, said the strategy needed to address the density of housing along transport corridors.

"We need to increase housing density along existing transport corridors as a matter of common sense to continue to maintain a working city.

"Many existing transport corridors, especially along railway lines, have old three-storey walk-up apartment buildings that are reaching their use-by date.

"Reforming the planning and strata systems could see a flurry of building activity to redevelop these buildings into higher density, modern apartments."

Housing Industry Association executive director NSW, David Bare, said "urgent action is required".

As part of the plan, the government also wants to create 625,000 extra jobs over the next two decades, with 50 per cent of them in western Sydney.

The draft metropolitan strategy divides Sydney into nine key areas, known as "city shapers". These include growth corridors along Parramatta Road, Anzac Parade and the North West Rail Link, and an enhanced role for Parramatta as Sydney's second CBD.

A western Sydney employment area would be developed south of Mt Druitt.

"We need to make sure in whatever we plan, the jobs are near houses, the houses near jobs and infrastructure is there to connect them," Mr Hazzard told parliament.

He said western Sydney was at the heart of the government's economic strategy.

"Sydney is in effect the Aladdin's Cave, but the part of the Aladdin's Cave that is the critical part is the west," he said.

"The west is where the treasure lies for people to tap."

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Cost for water on the rise in southeast

RATEPAYERS in five southeast Queensland Council areas, including Brisbane, will pay an extra 3.9 per cent for water and sewerage this coming financial year.

Confirming the news this afternoon, Queensland Urban Utilities, which services the Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Scenic Rim council areas, said the increase should amount to about $28 to $37, or 53 to 71 cents per week for the average residential bill.

But consumers could be in for another hit yet, with the State Government yet to reveal any changes to the component of water bills that it controls - bulk water charges.

The increase comes after Queensland Urban Utilities froze its residential water and sewerage prices for the 2012-13 financial year.

QUU chief executive Louise Dudley said factors including increased operating costs and lower-than-expected growth had been taken into account when determining the increase.

Ms Dudley said she understood some found it hard to pay their bills and payment plans had ben developed to help those in need.

Charges for non-residential customers will also increase by 3.9 per cent in 2013/14, with final prices to be released in June.

Changes to the QUU water and sewerage access charges will be reflected on residential accounts issued from July 1 while consumption charges, including the state's bulk water charge, will be reflected on accounts issued from October 1.

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Airbus wins record order from Lion Air

EUROPEAN aircraft maker Airbus on Monday announced a record order worth 18.4 billion euros ($A23.1 billion) from Indonesia's Lion Air for 234 medium-haul A320 jets.

Lion Air, Indonesia's largest private carrier and one of the world's fastest growing airlines, is a new client for Airbus as it has previously been equipped almost exclusively by US rival Boeing.

French President Francois Hollande said a deal he described as the biggest in the history of civil aviation would create 5,000 jobs in France over the next 10 years.

The agreement, hailed as "historic" by Hollande, was signed at the president's official residence, the Elysee Palace, by Airbus head Fabrice Bregier and his Lion Air counterpart Rusdi Kirana.

Lion Air will buy 60 A320 planes. The remainder involves its newer and more fuel-efficient Neo plane, which bears a catalogue price tag of more than $US100 million, though discounts are common for large orders.

According to the Elysee, the A320s currently under production will be delivered from next year while the Neos will be supplied from 2016.

The news comes just days after Airbus received an order worth as much as $US15.5 billion from Turkish airlines for up to 117 planes. That order also centred on Airbus's A320 medium-haul family.

Southeast Asia has emerged as one of the world's top market for medium haul planes as rising incomes and a burgeoning middle class have significantly boosted air travel.

Founded in 1999 by brothers Kusnan and Rusdi Kirana, who are ranked the 33rd richest Indonesians with collective wealth of $US900 million, Lion Air is the country's first private airline.

Currently it operates a relatively modest 92 planes - all Boeings except for one McDonnell Douglas - which makes it number nine among regional carriers in terms of fleet size.

The company is however set to expand rapidly, having already ordered 230 Boeing 737s for $US22.4 billion during US President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia in 2011.

With some 240 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous nation and most far-flung archipelago with more than 17,000 islands scattered across 33 provinces. Air passenger numbers are currently growing at 20 per cent per year.

Lion Air's 72 destinations are mostly in Indonesia, and the furthest it flies is to Saudi Arabia - a route mostly packed with domestic workers and construction labourers. The company is banned from US and EU skies over safety fears.

In France, where economic stagnation has sent unemployment to record highs, Airbus is one of the few companies that continues to recruit in significant numbers.

In January, Bregier said the company would hire 3,000 people worldwide in 2013.

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Saudi Arabia sentences Indon maid to death

A SAUDI court has sentenced an Indonesian housemaid to death after she was convicted of decapitating her employers' four-year-old child, sparking two other deaths, a newspaper reports.

The maid was "charged with decapitating the girl with a cleaver when her parents were away at work and her sisters were at school," the Saudi Gazette said on Monday, adding that the woman's lawyer will file an appeal.

The court on Sunday sentenced to death an "Indonesian housemaid who was found guilty of murdering Tala al-Shehri, a four-year-old girl, in (the Red Sea city of) Yanbu last September," the English-language daily reported.

The woman was also handed down an eight-month jail term and 200 lashes for attempted suicide after committing the horrific crime, it said.

The victim's parents have refused to forgive the maid in return for blood money, as allowed under Islamic law, the daily said.

The maid's lawyer, appointed by the Indonesian mission in Riyadh, said the consulate would initiate legal action in Jakarta against a man who the newspaper said had convinced the woman in text messages to commit the crime.

Al-Watan daily said the girl's mother, a teacher, found the house locked upon arrival on the day of the crime. The maid refused to open the door, threatening to kill the already-dead girl.

Alerted, the husband rushed to the house by car and in his panic, had a car crash in which he killed a motorist and injured his six-year-old daughter who later also died of her wounds, Al-Watan said.

In April last year, local media reported 25 Indonesian maids were on death row in Saudi Arabia and 22 others have been pardoned and sent home.

In June, 2011, Indonesian maid Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, was beheaded after being convicted of killing her Saudi employer, prompting Indonesia to recall its ambassador in Saudi Arabia for "consultations."

Indonesian anger over the treatment of its manual labourers in the oil-rich Gulf monarchy has grown after a spate of cases of abuse and killings.

Indonesia had also announced a moratorium on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Indonesians toil as maids and labourers.

Rights groups say millions of mostly Asian domestic workers are regularly exposed to physical and financial abuse in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of the oil-rich Gulf because of poor or non-existent labour laws.

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Somali car bomb attack kills eight: police

AT least eight people have been killed by a car bomb in central Mogadishu in one of the bloodiest attacks in the war-ravaged capital in recent months, police say.

Security sources added that a top intelligence official was the target of Monday's attack, and he was wounded in the blast, although there was no immediate official confirmation.

Police official Mohamed Duale said: "We've counted at least eight dead so far. It was a car bomb attack near the National Theatre."

A suicide bomber in a car laden with explosives war reported to have driven into the vehicle carrying security officials.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have launched a series of guerrilla-style attacks in Mogadishu.

"Many have been killed, some of them were in a minibus that was hit by the blast," said Hassan Salad, who witnessed Monday's attack.

"This is a disaster, there is smoke and dead bodies thrown all around."

The insurgents have vowed to topple President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office last year after being chosen by the country's new parliament.

While the Shebab in recent months have been on the back foot in Somalia, having lost a string of key towns to a 17,000-strong African Union force fighting alongside Somali soldiers, they remain a potent threat.

Large rural areas remain under their control and they have carried out a series of guerrilla attacks in areas supposed to be under government control.

On Sunday the Shebab retook the southern town of Hudur - the capital of Bakool region - after Ethiopian troops pulled out of the town.

The recapture of Hudur marks a sharp turnaround for the Shebab as the first territorial victory for several months.

Mogadishu has been rocked by several small attacks - including both car bombs and suicide attackers - in recent months.

Monday's attack is the worst in the city since September, when two suicide bombers killed 18 people in a restaurant.

Somalia has been ravaged by conflict since 1991 but a new UN-backed government took power in September, ending eight years of transitional rule by a corruption-riddled administration.

Many have said the new government offers the most serious hope for stability since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

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PM facing landslide loss in new poll

THE latest Fairfax Media/Nielsen poll offers no glimmer of hope for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government which shows the Labor Party seemingly entrenched at a 31 per cent primary vote.

With the Tony Abbott-led coalition unchanged on 47 per cent, it represents electoral oblivion for the government at the September 14 election.

The two-party-preferred split has the government on 44 per cent and the opposition at 56 per cent - a six per cent swing to the coalition from the 50/50 result in 2010 and a landslide victory if carried through to the election.

Fairfax says a telephone survey of 1400 people taken last week also showed Ms Gillard's satisfaction rating continuing to slide and Mr Abbott's continuing to improve.

The Opposition Leader is now preferred prime minister by 49 per cent of voters against Ms Gillard on 43 per cent - down two points.

To make matters worse for the prime minister, voters prefer a Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party by two to one with 62 per cent against opting for Mr Rudd as opposed to Ms Gillard's 31 per cent.

But if Mr Rudd is not in charge there is less appetite for a change that would bring three other Labor leadership possibilities - cabinet ministers Bill Shorten, Greg Combet and Bob Carr.

Fairfax says that of the three, Foreign Minister Senator Carr had the most support with 41 per cent to Ms Gillard on 50 per cent.

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'Pray for me', new Pope Francis urges

POPE Francis has appeared before some 150,000 pilgrims massed in St Peter's Square for his first Angelus prayer and asked the faithful to pray for him.

"Thank you for your welcome, and for your prayers," the first Pope from Latin America said from a window of the papal apartment high above the square on Sunday. "Pray for me."

Dozens of flags from Francis' native Argentina were waving in the square, along with the Vatican's yellow and white standard, as the former cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio recited the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, the first of his papacy.

Flags from other Latin American nations including Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Mexico, could also be seen in the crowd.

One banner read: "Francis, You Are the Springtime of the Church", reflecting a groundswell of hope that the choice of a humble outsider has inspired in many Catholics weary of Vatican scandal and dysfunction.

Gabriel Solis, 33, an Argentine pilgrim, spoke of his "indescribable emotion".

"He will bring much peace because he seems more humble, more spontaneous," he said. "He seems closer to the people. We didn't feel that with the pope we had before."

The Angelus has traditionally been a moment to comment on international issues, but Francis instead used the occasion to emphasise his Italian roots.

The former Buenos Aires archbishop, whose parents hailed from Italy, said he chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi because of his "spiritual ties with this land".

Earlier the Pope grabbed an opportunity to shake hands with well-wishers, plunging into crowds pushing against barricades outside a Vatican gate as security men and Swiss Guards stood nervously by.

Chanting "Viva Il Papa" and calling his name, the well-wishers jostled to greet the new pontiff, who has projected a common touch by breaking with many formal traditions since his surprise election to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics on Wednesday.

The 76-year-old Pope's informal style is markedly different from that of his more austere 85-year-old predecessor Benedict XVI, who stunned the world last month by announcing his resignation citing his advanced age.

A million people may attend the Pope's inauguration mass on Tuesday, including world leaders who are set to begin flying into Rome on Sunday.

Among them is Argentine President Cristina Kirchner who had tense relations with Bergoglio, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, before his elevation to Pope.

US Vice President Joe Biden was also due to arrive later on Sunday.

Francis, whose Italian father was a railway worker, has already spoken to Catholic leaders about the need for spiritual renewal and evangelisation and cautioned them against worldly glories, as well as calling for a "poor Church" that should be closer to ordinary people.

Francis is a moderate conservative who is unlikely to change key doctrine but experts say that he could push for more social justice and a friendlier faith.

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Count under way after Zimbabwe referendum

ZIMBABWE is tallying the ballots from a constitutional referendum that looked set to curb President Robert Mugabe's powers and tee up crucial elections in the violence-plagued nation.

The first incomplete trickle of results pointed to landslide backing for the text, which would introduce presidential term limits, beef up parliament's powers and set polls to decide whether the 89-year-old Mugabe stays in power.

Mugabe has ruled uninterrupted since the country's independence in 1980, despite a series of disputed and violent polls and a severe economic crash propelled by hyper-inflation.

The draft constitution is part of an internationally backed plan to get the country on track. Zimbabweans' verdict on the draft is expected to be known within five days of the voting.

According to the Movement of Democratic Change, the party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, of the nearly 90,000 votes initially counted in the second city of Bulawayo only 6250 were against the draft.

Mugabe has backed the proposed constitution, which enshrines his drive to put land in the hands of black Zimbabweans. Also, the clauses are not retroactive so he could if re-elected remain president for another 10 years.

His political rival Tsvangirai has also lent his support to the text, although turnout is expected to be low.

But that has not prevented the threat of violence from looming over the vote, as party militants keep one eye on the general election.

A vote is expected to take place in July, but doubts remain about whether it can take place as planned.

Shortly before polls opened on Saturday, gunmen later identified as plain clothes police detectives, seized a member of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from his home northeast of Harare.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba told AFP Samson Magumura had been arrested on charges of attempted murder in connection with a recent firebomb attack that injured a Mugabe ally.

While casting his vote on Saturday, Mugabe, whom many blame for past unrest, urged Zimbabweans to ensure the referendum proceeded peacefully.

"You can't go about beating people on the streets, that's not allowed, we want peace in the country, peace, peace," he said.

Mugabe, the target of 11 years of Western sanctions over political violence and rights abuses, also used the opportunity to vow the United States and European countries would not be allowed to monitor the upcoming general election.

"The Europeans and the Americans have imposed sanctions on us and we keep them out in the same way they keep us out," he said.

Tsvangirai on Saturday expressed hope that a positive outcome would help catapult the country out of a crisis marked by bloodshed and economic meltdown.

Zimbabwe police detained three senior aides to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the wake of a key referendum, the premier's office said.

They "were arrested in Harare (on Sunday) morning," a source in Tsvangirai's office told AFP, adding that the charges were not specified.

The three were detained by plain clothes police officers at their homes.

They were named as Thabani Mpofu, Anna Muzvidziwa and Felix Matsinde.

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Pope turns on charm at press meeting

POPE Francis has shared intimate insights into the moments after his papal election, telling journalists he was immediately inspired to take the name of St Francis of Assisi because of his work for peace and the poor.

"Let me tell you a story," Francis said in a break from his prepared text during a special gathering for thousands of journalists, media workers and guests on Saturday.

Francis then described how was comforted by his friend, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, as it appeared the voting was going his way and it seemed "a bit dangerous" that he would be elected.

"He hugged me. He kissed me. He said don't forget about the poor," Pope Francis recalled. "And that's how in my heart came the name Francis of Assisi."

St Francis of Assisi, the Pope said, was "the man of the poor. The man of peace. The man who loved and cared for creation - and in this moment we don't have such a great relationship with the creator. The man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man who wanted a poor church."

He then joked that some other cardinals suggested other names: Hadrian VI, after a great church reformer - a reference to the need for the Pope to clean up the Vatican's messy bureaucracy.

Someone else suggested Clement XV, to counter Clement XIV who suppressed the Jesuit order.

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