Body found after canoe tips on NSW river

A BODY has been pulled from the Murrumbidgee River in southwestern NSW following a police search for a man who fell from a canoe.

Police said the body of a 29-year-old man was recovered on the river south of Griffith at about 3pm (AEDT) on Monday but he was yet to be formally identified.

A search by police and emergency services crews was launched on Sunday afternoon following reports a canoe had tipped over and a man had fallen into the river near Darlington Point but had not resurfaced.

The search was suspended at nightfall but resumed at 9am on Monday.

Police say a post mortem examination will be carried out to determine the cause of death and a report will be prepared for the NSW Coroner.

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Myanmar to have first public NY countdown

MYANMAR (Burma) will ring in the new year with its first public countdown and a grand fireworks display in a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.

It's the latest, and perhaps most colourful, example of the country's emergence from decades of isolation.

Thousands were expected to attend the event at a large field in Yangon (Rangoon) with a backdrop of the famed Shwedagon Pagoda, where the Myanmar public will get its chance to do what much of the world does every December 31.

Singers, celebrities, light shows and other festivities were planned for the public party, which would have been unthinkable under the former military regime that banned public gatherings.

A large digital screen will show a live stream of New Year's Eve countdowns in Switzerland, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand leading up to a 60-second countdown to 2013 in Myanmar.

Until this year, New Year's Eve was celebrated privately or inside hotels but not with public fireworks and open celebration.

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Car bombing kills two south of Baghdad

TWO people have been killed in a car bombing outside provincial government offices south of Baghdad, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Iraqi officials nationwide.

The blast at 8.30am on Monday local time in the city of Hilla, 95km south of the capital, also wounded 17 people and badly damaged shops and cars, according to police.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and there are no details available on the victims.

But Sunni militants such as al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq regularly target officials and security forces in a bid to destabilise the government and push Iraq back towards the brutal communal bloodshed of 2005 to 2008.

Monday's violence came a day after three attacks on government officials north of the capital.

The deputy governor of Kirkuk province and the head of a city council in the province escaped separate assassination attempts, but the unrest still left one senior municipal official dead and eight people wounded.

Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks still occur almost every day.

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Person killed in head-on crash

A PERSON has died in a head-on collision between two cars on Tasmania's east coast.

Police said one person was killed, while another two were trapped in a vehicle as a result of the crash, which occurred on Gardens Road, The Gardens, near the tourist town of St Helens on Monday.

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US congress seeks last-gasp fiscal deal

AFTER weeks of failed haggling, the fiscal cliffhanger is at hand as US lawmakers convene in a bid to strike a year-end deal that avoids huge tax hikes and possibly spending cuts set to kick in January 1.

With the clock ticking ever closer to the New Year's time bomb, the suddenly alarmed Senate and House of Representatives were holding special sessions 36 hours before the year-end deadline for a plan that would keep America from tumbling off the so-called fiscal cliff.

The stakes in the game of holiday-interrupting brinkmanship are enormous.

Economists agree the $US500 billion ($A484.05 billion) in fiscal pain due to hit when the new year starts would stifle the US economic recovery and send the country back into recession, spelling bad news for the global economy as well.

Aides to both sides' leaders in the Democrat-controlled Senate worked feverishly behind closed doors on Saturday to fashion a deal palatable to Democrats as well as to Republicans, who control the House of Representatives.

The Senate convenes on Sunday at 1.00pm (0500 AEDT Monday) while the lower house goes into session an hour later, with no votes expected before 6.30pm (1030 AEDT Monday).

Both chambers would have little time to debate and then pass a deal that has eluded the White House and congress for weeks.

President Barack Obama, who called congressional leaders to the White House on Friday, will address the crisis once more when he gives an interview on NBC's Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press.

Amid the tense negotiations, Obama pressed legislators to clinch a deal, even if they must reach a compromise that lacks the significant deficit-reduction measures both sides had sought.

The country "just can't afford a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy", he said.

If lawmakers fail, "every American's paycheck will get a lot smaller", he warned. "Congress can prevent it from happening, if they act now."

The president, sensing a mandate from his re-election last month, wants to raise taxes on the rich. Republicans want only to close tax loopholes to raise revenue and demand significant spending cuts in return, notably to federal benefit programs like Social Security.

But if nothing is done by the deadline, all taxpayers will see an increase.

Following the White House talks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are heading efforts to craft a deal.

But any agreement would also have to pass the House, where there is doubt that an Obama-backed deal would win favour with restive conservatives in the Republican caucus.

While each side must for the sake of appearances be seen to be seeking a deal, one way out is to go over the cliff, then fix the problem in the first days of next year.

Under that scenario, Republicans who are philosophically opposed to raising taxes could vote to lower the newly raised rates on almost all Americans without formally hiking taxes.

Lawmakers, while ruing the inability to work out a multi-trillion-dollar grand bargain in time, have said a pared down version dealing mainly with taxes was within reach.

Citing unnamed people briefed on the talks, The Washington Post said one version under consideration would protect nearly 30 million taxpayers from paying the higher, alternative minimum tax rate for the first time and maintain unemployment benefits for two million people.

The plan also would halt a steep cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors and preserve popular tax breaks for both businesses and individuals, such as those for research and college tuition, the report said.

But the two sides were still at odds over where to set the tax limits on the wealthy - at $250,000 or $400,000 of annual income - and over taxes on inherited estates.

Nor has there been agreement on spending cuts so sought after by Republicans, who say excessive government spending is the main driver of US debt.

Republicans seeking leverage may try to hold Democrats' feet to the fire on the looming issue of the debt ceiling, setting up another battle over the government's borrowing limit, which the US Treasury expects will be maxed out by March.

Obama warned that if an agreement was not reached in time, he would ask the Senate to hold an up-or-down vote on a basic package that protects the middle class from a tax hike, extends unemployment insurance, and "lays the groundwork for future ... deficit reduction".

In a weekly Republican address, Senator Roy Blunt expressed some optimism, saying that "going over the fiscal cliff is avoidable".

But he criticised Democrats for focusing mainly on taxes while setting aside government spending, arguing that such inaction "shouldn't be an option".

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Abalone fisherman drowns off WA coast

A MAN diving for abalone has drowned off the coast off Western Australia, police have confirmed.

The man in his 40s, believed to be of Chinese origin who was living in Perth, was fishing in the waters near Cape Leeuwin in the state's southwest when he got into trouble.

He had been in a group of about 10 people fishing for the delicacy when disaster struck.

St John Ambulance crews attended the scene and attempted to revive the man but were unsuccessful.

The fisherman is the second person within two months to die while attempting to catch abalone in the waters off WA.

In November, a 20-year old was swept out to sea in treacherous conditions while on an abalone hunt north of Perth.

The Malaysian man was caught in a strong rip in Yanchep Lagoon, 55 kilometres north of Perth, and was swept away.

That group was searching for the expensive delicacy on the first day of the heavily restricted recreational fishing season.

The disaster triggered calls for metropolitan abalone fishing spots to be closed in dangerous weather.

However, the ocean conditions in the Lighthouse Bay area where Sunday's incident occurred were not thought to be dangerous.

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Indian gang-rape victim cremated

India has been engulfed by an outpouring of grief as the body of a gang-rape victim arrived home. Source: AAP

THE victim of a gang-rape which triggered an outpouring of grief and anger across India has been cremated at a private ceremony in New Delhi as it emerged she was planning to get married in February.

The unidentified 23-year-old, the focus of nationwide protests since she was brutally attacked on a bus in New Delhi two weeks ago, died on Saturday of her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she had been airlifted for treatment.

She was cremated on Sunday away from the public glare only hours after her body was repatriated.

The funeral pyre was lit after traumatised relatives and friends said their final prayers at a ceremony in southwestern Delhi, according to mourners who revealed she had been due to wed her boyfriend, who was injured in the same attack.

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi" for February, said Meena Rai, a close friend and neighbour.

"I really loved this girl," she said. "She was the brightest of all."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the main ruling Congress Party, were at Delhi airport to console the victim's parents as they arrived home on a chartered plane with their daughter's body at 4.00am (0930 AEDT) on Sunday.

The victim's death has prompted government promises of better protection for women and deep soul-searching in a nation where gang-rapes are a daily occurrence and sexual harassment is routinely dismissed as "Eve-teasing".

Waves of protests have erupted across India since the attack on the night of December 16 when the woman was not only repeatedly raped but also sexually assaulted with an iron bar, leaving her with terrible intestinal injuries.

Thousands took part in late-night candlelit vigils on Saturday after Singh led appeals for calm to prevent a repeat of the sometimes violent protests.

As police said the six accused of murdering the unnamed woman could face the death penalty, there was a widespread determination that the killing would serve as a tipping point for how the nation deals with violence against women.

"We are aware that this is not the first case, nor will it be the last case of gang-rape in India, but it is clear that we will not tolerate sex crimes any more," said Bela Rana, a lawyer who joined a rally in central Delhi.

The city has been dubbed the "rape capital" of India. A report in Sunday's Hindustan Times said more than 20 women had been raped there since December 16.

According to police and prosecutors, the murder victim's ordeal began when six men lured her and her male companion onto a bus that they thought would take them home.

Instead a group of joyriders, who had been drinking heavily, launched a savage attack lasting some 40 minutes that only ended when the victims were thrown off the bus.

The attack has prompted intense debate among Indians who had grown almost inured to an epidemic of violence against women.

Gang-rapes are so common that they rarely get a mention in the newspapers. Victims are often deterred even from reporting them for fear of shaming their families or receiving a brush-off from police.

The Times of India said in an editorial on Sunday that two key questions must be addressed in the aftermath of the incident: "What exactly will the government do now to make the country a safer and better place for all women? And what will all of us do to tackle deeply entrenched prejudice and misogyny in our society?"

The government has already promised to bring in tougher sentences for the most extreme sex crimes and speed up a notoriously slow justice system.

A statement issued by United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "offers his sincerest condolences" to the victim's family and "utterly condemns this brutal crime".

"Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated," the statement said. "Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected."

Ban urged the Indian government to take steps to deter such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice, and to "strengthen critical services for rape victims", the statement said.

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19 Shi'ites killed in Pakistan bus blast

A CAR bomb attack on buses carrying Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims to Iran has killed 19 people and wounded 25 in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwest, officials say.

The remotely-triggered bomb hit a convoy of three buses in Mastung district on Sunday and set one of them ablaze, said Tufail Baluch, a senior government official in the district.

"At least 19 people have been killed and 25 injured. All of them were Shi'ite pilgrims," he told AFP, adding most of those killed were burnt to death.

"The bomb was planted in a car. The condition of some of the injured is critical," Baluch said.

Some 180 Shi'ite pilgrims were on their way to Iran in the buses when the bomb ripped through one of them, said Akbar Hussain Durrani, a senior government official in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

One bus carrying some 45 pilgrims was badly damaged, he said.

Mastung is some 30 kilometres south of Quetta.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The province has become an increasing flashpoint for sectarian violence between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shi'ites, who account for around a fifth of the country's 180 million people.

Baluchistan is also rife with Islamist militancy and with a regional insurgency which began in 2004. The insurgents demand political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's oil and gas resources.

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NSW road toll rises to eight

The NSW holiday road toll has risen to eight after a motorcyclist died in the state's north. Source: AAP

THE NSW holiday road toll has risen to eight after a motorcyclist died following a collision with a ute in the state's north.

Police said a man in his 60s was riding his motorbike on the Summerland Way, near Whiporie, when it hit a Mazda ute at about 10.45am (AEDT) on Saturday.

The motorcyclist died at the scene while the driver of the ute was not hurt, police said in a statement.

They said the Summerland Way was closed as a result of the crash.

The latest fatality followed the death of a 50-year-old male motorist at Mudgee on Thursday and a grim Boxing Day in which there were five deaths on NSW roads.

A 79-year-old woman was the first fatality of the holiday season after she died in a collision at Mount Ousley, near Wollongong, on Sunday.

Meanwhile, police said the number of people injured in car accidents over the holiday period so far had jumped by 17 per cent from last year.

They said 369 people had so far been injured in crashes during Operation Safe Arrival, which runs from December 21 to January 4, compared with 316 injuries at the same point last year.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander John Hartley said the increase in the number was "one of the biggest concerns for police".

Police have so far charged 415 people with drink driving and 6573 motorists with speeding over the holiday period.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Japan eyes security ties with Australia

Japan's new PM Shinzo Abe (pic) has sought to expand the Japan-US security partnership to Australia. Source: AAP

JAPAN'S hawkish new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to expand the Japan-US security partnership to Australia and India as it faces a bitter territorial row with China, a newspaper reports.

"The Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone," Abe, sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday, said in an interview with the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday.

"It's good to expand it to security co-operation among Japan, the United States and India. (Co-operation) among Japan, the United States and Australia will also contribute to stability in the region," Abe said.

"It is important to regain the region's power balance," he added without elaborating.

Abe won conservative support in national polls earlier this month with forthright pronouncements on the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, vowing not to budge on Japan's claim to them.

China also lays claim to the island chain, which it calls the Diaoyu.

Beijing has sent ships into the islands' waters many times since Tokyo nationalised the chain in September, with analysts saying China intends to prove it can come and go as it pleases.

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Fukushima an 'unprecedented challenge'

THE clean-up at Fukushima after its tsunami-sparked nuclear meltdowns is unlike anything humanity has ever tried, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says.

"The massive work toward decommissioning is an unprecedented challenge in human history," the newly elected Abe said on Saturday during a tour of the plant.

"Success in the decommissioning will lead to the reconstruction of Fukushima and Japan."

Abe was at the crippled Fukushima Dai'ichi facility just days after being sworn in following the triumph of his pro-business Liberal Democratic Party in national elections.

The prime minister's trip to the still-ruined site, on which he was accompanied by an AFP journalist, is part of a push by his administration to tackle an issue that has been a major talking point in Japan over much of the past two years.

Observers widely expect Japan to restart its nuclear program on the LDP's watch, despite public concerns that the party was partially responsible for the extent of the catastrophe because of a culture of complicity during its more than five-decade rule.

His government announced on Thursday that it would review a pledge by the previous administration to scrap nuclear power within three decades and would give the green light to any power plants deemed safe by regulators.

Japan's entire stable of 50 reactors was shuttered for safety inspections in the aftermath of the March 2011 disaster at Fukushima, where a tsunami swamped cooling systems, sparking meltdowns.

The reactors at the plant raged out of control for months after the initial catastrophe, spewing radiation over a wide area and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

Abe's visit comes around a year after experts said they had brought the wrecked units under control. However, melted fuel remains inside their cores and their full decommissioning and cleaning-up is expected to take decades.

Dressed in a protective suit and wearing a face mask, Abe was taken by bus to see two of the damaged reactors.

Thanking workers for their efforts at this time of year, when many people are celebrating New Year at home with their families, he said: "Decommissioning work is hard work, but it is progressing. We owe it all to you.

"We, the government, will give full support."

The disaster at Fukushima was the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986. Work to clean up at the site in Ukraine is still going on, more than a quarter of a century after a reactor exploded.

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National road toll rises to 29

The holiday road toll has risen to 29 after the death of a pedestrian hit by two cars in Tasmania. Source: AAP

THE death of a pedestrian killed after being hit by two separate cars in Tasmania has taken the holiday road toll to 29.

The 21-year-old man was standing on the Tasman Highway when he was struck by a ute at Cambridge, east of Hobart, at about 2.40am (AEDT) on Saturday.

The ute did not stop and shortly afterwards a sedan travelling west on the highway ran over the man, who was injured and lying on the road. The man died at the scene.

In Victoria, a man died following a crash involving two cars at Hoddle Street in East Melbourne.

One car ran into the back of the other vehicle just before 5.20am (AEDT), propelling it into a tree on the footpath.

A male passenger in one of the cars died at the scene.

Meanwhile, a NSW motorcyclist died following a collision with a ute in the state's north.

The man in his 60s was riding his motorbike on the Summerland Way, near Whiporie, when it hit a Mazda ute at about 10.45am (AEDT).

The motorcyclist died at the scene while the driver of the ute was not hurt, police said.

On Friday night, a 38-year-old woman died after a head-on collision near Bundaberg in central Queensland.

Four other people were taken to hospital as a result of the crash.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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30 people rescued after WA shark sighting

SURF lifesavers have rescued 30 people stranded on a rock off the Perth coast after reports of a six-metre great white shark lurking in the area.

Surf Life Saving WA said Twilight Beach in Esperance was closed between 11.15am and 12.30pm (WST) on Friday after a helicopter tour group spotted the shark.

It said 30 people were on a rock a short distance from the shore, but rather than ask them to swim back, a boat was sent to pick them up.

"Lifesavers transported 30 people via boat from Twilight Rock to the mainland without incident," Surf Life Saving WA said.

It follows the sighting of several other sharks in the south west region on Friday including three one-metre sharks that were feeding near Margaret River.

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India gang-rape victim has brain injury

Doctors in Singapore are battling to save the life of the student gang-raped on a bus in India. Source: AAP

AN Indian gang-rape victim is "struggling against the odds" to survive after suffering a heart attack and brain injuries, as medics criticised a decision to fly her to Singapore.

In a bulletin issued the day after her arrival in Singapore, doctors at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said the 23-year-old was battling an infection in her lungs and remained critically ill after the December 16 assault in Delhi.

"The patient is currently struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life," Kelvin Loh, chief executive officer of Mount Elizabeth Hospital where she was airlifted to from India, said in a statement on Friday.

"Our medical team's investigations upon her arrival at the hospital yesterday showed that in addition to her prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury," he added.

"A multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working tirelessly to treat her since her arrival, and is doing everything possible to stabilise her condition over the next few days."

On Thursday night, the hospital revealed that the woman, who is a student in Delhi, had undergone "three abdominal surgeries and experienced a cardiac arrest in India" as it gave the first detailed rundown of her condition.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been treated in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital since she was thrown off a bus in the capital after six men took turns to rape her at the back of the vehicle on December 16.

She also suffered severe intestinal injuries as a result of being assaulted with an iron bar, according to police and prosecutors.

The decision to fly her in a special air ambulance was taken at a meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet on Wednesday, the government having already promised to pay all her medical bills.

But while ministers have insisted that the decision was taken purely on medical grounds, newspapers have suggested that authorities who have struggled to control nationwide protests over the attack were keen to have her transferred out of the country.

An unnamed doctor who was part of a team of experts consulted about the transfer told The Hindu newspaper that they had only been asked whether it was safe to move her rather than if it was the best course of action.

"The question was not whether there were any deficiencies in treatment that would be met by moving her.... She was being given the best possible care."

Samiran Nundy, chairman of the organ transplant and gastro-surgery department of Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told the paper that the transfer made little sense.

"I just can't understand why a critically ill patient with infection in blood and body, high grade fever and on the ventilator is being transferred," he said.

"It will take weeks in this case to even look into the possibility of an intestinal transplant so why hurry and take the patient out from a facility which works so well. It seems more of a political move."

Singh has ordered an official inquiry into the gang-rape and promised new laws to protect women as well as stiffer penalties for the worst sex crimes.

The government announced on Thursday that it would post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to publicly shame them. The campaign will begin in Delhi, which has been dubbed India's "rape capital".

"Our prayers are with the brave young girl. The best possible medical care is being provided to her," the premier told reporters on Friday.

"You have my assurance that our government is committed to bring the guilty to justice as soon as possible."

His comments were echoed by Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the main ruling Congress party and India's most powerful politician.

"Our only wish today is that the victim recovers and culprits are punished and no time is lost in bringing perpetrators of such barbarous and heinous crimes to book," she said alongside Singh.

The woman's family has flown to Singapore to keep a vigil at the hospital.

Although they have not spoken to reporters, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper quoted an official who had spoken to her father and two brothers.

"These are simple, rustic people, who have never dreamt of boarding an aircraft, much less travel to a foreign country in an air ambulance," said the source.

"The father said he is reassured that the best is being done for his daughter and the rest lies in the hands of God."

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Paper ordered to hand over Buswell notes

WEST Australian newspaper The Sunday Times has been ordered to hand over documents relating to an article it published containing allegations about the behaviour of state Treasurer Troy Buswell.

Mr Buswell, who is also WA's transport and emergency services minister, has launched a defamation case against his ex-lover, independent MP Adele Carles, after she made a string of accusations about him that were published in the newspaper.

A subpoena was issued seeking the correspondence between Ms Carles and the journalist including handwritten notes, emails, letters and audio recordings.

At a hearing in the WA Supreme Court on Thursday, lawyers for the newspaper argued the subpoena should be set aside because it was an abuse of process, a "fishing exercise" and had no legitimate forensic purpose.

However, Justice John McKechnie dismissed the application from the newspaper on Friday and ordered that The Sunday Times provide the documents by Monday.

Justice McKechnie rejected any argument that the subpoena would cause the newspaper to disclose confidential information.

"No question of journalist's privilege, if such a thing exists, or protection of sources arises," he said.

"The article purports to quote the defendant directly, and of course, names her prominently.

"Confidentiality alone or in combination with other factors is insufficient to set aside the subpoena."

Mr Buswell's lawyer, Martin Bennett, told reporters outside court he wanted to see all relevant notes made by the journalist that would provide some context for the comments extracted for the two stories published on December 9.

"They're all necessary documents to formulate a proper pleading in a defamation matter," he said.

Mr Bennett said there was currently no prospect of the defamation case being settled out of court.

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Indian teen pressed to drop case

A 17-YEAR-OLD Indian girl who was gang-raped has taken her own life after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relative say.

Amid the ongoing uproar over the gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi earlier this month, the latest case has again shone the spotlight on the police's handling of sex crimes.

One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their conduct after the assault during the festival of Diwali on November 13 in the Patiala region in the Punjab, according to officials.

The teenager was found dead on Wednesday night after swallowing poison.

Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill said on Thursday that the teenager had been "running from pillar to post to get her case registered", but officers failed to open a formal inquiry.

"One of the officers tried to convince her to withdraw the case," Gill, the police chief for the area, told AFP.

Before her death, there had been no arrests over her case although three people were detained on Thursday. Two of them were her alleged male attackers and the third was a suspected woman accomplice.

The victim's sister told Indian television that the teenager had been urged to either accept a cash settlement or marry one of her attackers.

"The police started pressuring her to either reach a financial settlement with her attackers or marry one of them," her sister told the NDTV network.

Meanwhile, the Press Trust of India reported that a police officer has been suspended for allegedly refusing to register a rape complaint in the northern state of Chhattisgar.

The woman and her husband later brought the case to the attention of a more senior officer and a hunt has been launched for her attacker, an auto rickshaw driver.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women.

The real figure is thought to be much higher as so many women are reluctant to report attacks to the police.

During an address to the chief ministers of India's states on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to bring in new laws to cover attacks on women.

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1500 farmers stay put as volcano erupts

ABOUT 1500 farmers living on the slopes of the San Cristobal volcano have refused to leave, despite being ordered to evacuate as the volcano spews gas, sand and ash.

"People have not evacuated because we do not want to go and leave the area abandoned," Maria Pereira told AFP on Wednesday.

Pereira lives in Grecia 4, a community of about 600 people at the base of the volcano, in the Chinandega department.

She said columns of ash "bathed the trees, houses, and roads in white" and "pretty sand fell" in the morning. She said by early afternoon volcanic activity had decreased, though in the evening new columns of ash shot up.

In another community near the volcano, Bethlehem, some farmers resisted efforts of civil defence officials to convince them to obey the evacuation order.

Around 140 civil defence troops have been deployed to "persuade" farmers to move away from the danger zone, state deputy Colonel Nestor Solis told reporters.

The government issued a yellow alert on Wednesday, ordering the evacuation of 300 families living near the volcano.

Reiterating the evacuation order on Wednesday, first lady Rosario Murillo, a government spokeswoman, said "the situation of the volcano is unstable".

But she did not specify how many had obeyed the evacuation order or where they were being housed.

San Cristobal, the tallest of Nicaragua's seven active volcanoes, is believed to have erupted for the first time in 1685.

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US paper publishes list of gun owners

A NEW York newspaper has sparked outrage by publishing a detailed map with thousands of names and addresses of gun permit holders in the wake of the Newtown school shooting.

The publication came amid a heated debate over gun control revived after the Connecticut massacre and drew intense criticism on social media outlets from gun owners, who called it a violation of privacy.

The Journal News in New York state's Westchester County obtained the publicly available information from county clerks and published it earlier this week in an interactive map alongside an article entitled The Gun Owner Next Door.

The paper obtained the names and addresses of more than 33,000 permit holders in two counties, though it said more than 13,000 had no activity in the past five years, and could belong to people who moved or passed away.

It said it was awaiting information on 11,000 permit-holders from a third county.

The newspaper defended the publication, saying the information was legally obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and that its readers had a right to know whether their neighbours owned firearms.

"We knew publication of the database would be controversial, but we felt sharing as much information as we could about gun ownership in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings," said CynDee Royle, editor and vice president of the Journal News, a Gannett Publication.

"People are concerned about who owns guns and how many of them there are in their neighbourhoods," she said. The newspaper had also asked for information about the type and number of weapons people owned, but that request was denied.

Critics slammed the move as an invasion of privacy that could put gun owners at risk, and the newspaper said it had received hundreds of calls from people who feared for their safety or felt their privacy had been violated.

"You're giving a shopping list to criminals," the newspaper quoted Tom King, president of the New York Rifle & Pistol Association, as saying.

"Does it matter if you own 47 guns or you own one gun? Everybody likes to think that someone who has all of these guns is evil, that there's some nefarious reason they have all these guns. There are collectors."

The newspaper's Facebook page drew hundreds of comments, positive and negative, with several irate users publishing the home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of the daily's publisher and editors.

"Don't you idiots realise you have just classified the law-abiding gun-owning citizen with sex offenders who have been released from prison?" wrote one user, identified as Sheila Gray.

"You also have told the street thugs where the armed homes are and where there are no guns."

The school shooting at Newtown, Connecticut earlier this month - in which 26 people, including 20 young children - were shot dead, has sparked renewed calls for new gun regulation.

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Spain seizes 11 tonnes of hashish

Spanish police have seized around 11 tonnes of hashish in one of the country's biggest drug busts. Source: AAP

SPANISH police have seized 11 tonnes of hashish smuggled from Morocco on trucks with fuel tanks rigged to hide the drugs and arrested 35 people in what has been described as the breakup of a major smuggling ring feeding the European market.

The haul was displayed across a patio outside the headquarters of the National Police, with some hashish packaged in small amounts resembling bars of soap, while much of it was held in suitcases made out of tape and packaging material.

It was described as one of Spain's biggest drug seizures, but officials did not provide details of previous confiscations for comparison purposes.

Authorities said the hashish travelled in trucks that took cargo ferries from Morocco to southern Spain, and were then driven to a Madrid suburb where the hashish was extracted from the vehicles' fuel tanks. From there, some of the hashish was sent to Madrid for sale while the rest was put aboard other trucks carrying legal merchandise to countries including Belgium, Britain, France and Holland.

Those arrested included 31 Moroccans, three Spaniards and a Belgian woman. One of the Spaniards and the Belgian woman were truckers driving rigs with loads of carrots and clothing with the hashish hidden amid the legitimate cargo, National Police chief Ignacio Cosido said.

Cosido declined to put a value on the hashish seized except to say "it's very profitable".

Police in 17 raids also seized numerous bags of marijuana, 150,000 euros ($A190,000) in cash, 14 vehicles valued at 400,000 euros and 109 mobile phones during the course of an eight-month investigation that started when authorities broke up a Madrid hashish selling ring and went after that group's suppliers.

The ring used GPS systems to track the movements of their hashish loads, and the specially designed fuel tanks to hold the drugs were put back together again for reuse after being dismantled, said Jose Luis Conde, who heads the National Police's Madrid division.

Conde declined to say whether the hashish originally came from Morocco, a major producer, saying only that it was from North Africa.

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Myki only ticket in Melbourne from weekend

Melbourne's public transport system will only accept the myki smartcard from Saturday. Source: AAP

AFTER Friday, myki will be the only ticket in town.

Melbourne's public transport ticket Metcard will be relegated to the history books to make way for the new $1.35 billion myki smartcard system.

Metcard sales on trams and buses and Metcard use on trains, trams and buses ends on Friday, with myki the only ticket that can be used from the first service on Saturday.

This means commuters will need a myki card before boarding and there will be no top-up facilities on trams.

Cards can be topped up online, at a myki retail outlet or 7-Eleven, at a Premium Station ticket office or at a myki machine, found at all Metro train stations and some tram stops and bus interchanges.

Meanwhile, the Public Transport Users Association has welcomed the reintroduction of paper tickets as an alternative to myki on Mornington Peninsula buses.

The paper ticket will only be available to seniors card holders on routes 787 and 788.

Their introduction comes after it emerged the seniors daily fare covering that region would no longer be available under myki, forcing commuters to pay between $5.42 and $9.02 for a day's travel compared to the current $3.80.

The seniors ticket, which can be bought from the bus driver, is valid for one day's travel on the peninsula and in metropolitan Melbourne.

Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said the paper seniors ticket is "proof positive" that paper tickets can be made to work alongside myki and that two-hour and daily short-term tickets should be retained.

"Given the system can accommodate this option, it should be made available to occasional travellers, visitors and tourists who neither want nor need to pay $6 for a myki card that won't be used again for months," he said.

Regional centres such as Geelong will receive myki in the first half of next year.

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Abe endorsed as Japan's next PM

SHINZO Abe has been endorsed as Japan's prime minister by the lower house of parliament after he swept to power on a hawkish platform of getting tough on diplomacy while fixing the economy.

The powerful lower house on Wednesday named the 58-year-old as the country's new leader following a resounding national election victory for Abe's Liberal Democratic Party this month over the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

"This chamber decides to name Mr Shinzo Abe as prime minister," said lower house speaker Bunmei Ibuki after the vote.

Japanese MPs voted in Abe's favour by 328 votes to 57 for the DPJ's newly chosen leader Banri Kaieda, the industry minister during last year's Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Earlier on Wednesday, the yen tumbled against the US dollar on growing speculation that the Bank of Japan will usher in further easing measures to boost the economy - a key plank of Abe's campaign.

As Japan's seventh prime minister in less than seven years, Abe replaces Yoshihiko Noda, whose DPJ suffered a stinging defeat at the polls.

The party, which came to power in 2009, was seen as being punished for policy flip-flops and its clumsy handling of last year's atomic disaster at Fukushima.

As expected, Noda's cabinet resigned en masse on Wednesday morning before the LDP-controlled lower house named Abe as next leader.

Abe, who previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007, is expected to form a new cabinet later in the day as he rushes to draft an extra budget to spur the nation's flagging economy.

Japanese media have suggested Abe was likely to tap close associates and senior party members for key posts.

Taro Aso, another former prime minister in Japan's revolving-door political system, was widely expected to be named as both Abe's deputy and also finance minister, the reports said.

The new foreign minister was likely to be Fumio Kishida, who served as a state minister in charge of Okinawan affairs during Abe's previous tenure.

The expected appointment was seen as a reflection of Abe's desire for progress on the relocation of US military bases in the southern island chain.

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Xmas Day storms blamed for 3 deaths in US

TORNADOES across the US south and brutal winds, have knocked down countless trees, blown the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark.

Holiday travellers in the nation's much colder midsection battled treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions from the same fast-moving storms.

As predicted, conditions were volatile throughout the day and into the night with tornado warnings still out for some parts of Alabama. The storms were blamed for three deaths and several injuries, and left homes from Louisiana to Alabama damaged.

In Mobile, Alabama, a tornado or high winds damaged homes, a high school and a church, and knocked down power lines and large tree limbs in an area just west of downtown around nightfall.

Meanwhile, blizzard conditions hit the nation's midsection.

Earlier in the day, winds toppled a tree on to a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver, and a 53-year-old north Louisiana man was killed when a tree fell on his house.

Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pile-up in Oklahoma, and the Highway Patrol there says a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview.

The snowstorm that caused numerous accidents moved out of Oklahoma late on Tuesday, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 25 centimetres of snow was forecast. Wind gusts of up to 48km/h also caused about 71,000 customers to lose electricity.

Blizzard conditions were possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky with predictions of 10 to 17.5 centimetres of snow.

An apparent tornado caused damage in the west Alabama town of Grove Hill, located about 130km north of Mobile.

Trees fell on a few houses in central Louisiana's Rapides Parish but there were no injuries reported, said sheriff's Lt Tommy Carnline.

Near McNeill, Mississippi, a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, said Pearl River County emergency management agency director Danny Manley.

Mississippi governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in the state, saying eight counties have reported damage and some injuries.

At least three tornadoes were reported in Texas, though only one building was damaged, according to the National Weather Service. Tornado watches were in effect across southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

More than 500 flights nationwide were cancelled by the evening, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were cancelled into and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that got a few centimetres of snow.

Christmas lights also were knocked out with more than 100,000 customers without power in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

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Manila fires spark riots

ANGRY residents beat a man to death and threw rocks at firefighters after a shantytown fire left thousands of people homeless and another Christmas Day blaze in the Philippine capital left seven people dead.

A resident was beaten to death by his neighbours after shouting that he started Tuesday's shantytown fire in suburban San Juan city, a senior fire officer said.

The man was reportedly drunk and was not responsible for the fire, which started in a house where children were playing with lighted candles, the officer said.

About 5000 people were left homeless and 13 people were hurt in the shantytown. The injured included two firefighters and a volunteer hit by rocks thrown by residents who were impatient and tried to grab fire hoses to save their own shanties.

As firefighters struggled to penetrate the narrow alleys, one of them was mauled by a mob and rescued by a police officer. Two fire trucks also were damaged in the violence.

"It's Christmas and many of the men in the neighbourhood were drunk," the officer said, adding that some residents brandished knives.

In Quezon City, another of the 16 cities that make up metropolitan Manila, a pre-dawn fire on Tuesday killed a veterinarian and six household members who were trapped inside a house, an arson investigator said.

The blaze was suspected to be triggered by an overloaded electrical circuit, he said.

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Man held over elderly Vic couple's death

VICTORIAN police have made a breakthrough during the investigation of the deaths of an elderly couple found dead in their burning house at Yarraville last Saturday.

They have arrested a man in relation to the deaths and are now interviewing him.

At this stage they are not releasing any more details about the arrest other than to say the man is assisting police with their inquiries.

The fire that destroyed the house is believed to have been deliberately lit with police treating the circumstance of the deaths as suspicious.

On the day of the fire detective inspector John Potter described the incident as "gruesome".

He said police believed both people, aged in their 70s and 80s, could have been killed before the house was set alight.

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Free Christmas lunches spread cheer in NSW

Thousands of people got some festive cheer as volunteers hosted free Christmas lunches in Sydney. Source: AAP

FROM back-alley barbecues and plates of sandwiches for a few needy people 50 years ago, Sydney's free Christmas Day lunch volunteers now feed and cheer up thousands.

Not even heavy downpours could dampen spirits at the free lunches in the city on Tuesday, hosted to help out the homeless, the hard-up and the lonely.

Reverend Graham Long of the Wayside Chapel at Potts Point said an annual Christmas Day street party had been hosted there since 1964.

"Originally it started out as a smallish barbecue in the back alley and it just grew over the years," he said.

An estimated 1000 people were fed on Tuesday.

New volunteer Sheila said it was her first time skipping Christmas Day mass, but she'd waited 35 years for an opportunity to contribute at Wayside.

"Just very gently, you've touched somebody in your life," she said.

Ken Sharpe, 80, said he thought the party was "a damn good idea".

"Look around - the feeling. As the daughter says, she hugs and kisses people that another time you'd cross the street to get away from," he told AAP.

"People should do good things for other people and they don't need religion as a crutch - they should just do it."

At a Christmas Day lunch at Ashfield in Sydney's inner west, the Exodus Foundation laid on more than 65 hams, 55 turkeys, 220 litres of gravy and 330 litres of custard to feed an expected 3000 people.

Reverend Bill Crews it was the foundation's 27th free Christmas Day lunch and each year there were increasing number of people turning up.

He said the annual lunch began with a plate of sandwiches for two lonely people 27 years ago and this year was set to be the biggest yet.

"Just because you're lonely or you can't afford Christmas doesn't mean you have to go without," Reverend Crews said.

At Eveleigh in inner Sydney the Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission fed about 1500 people in its 16th year of operation, with 150 volunteers giving part of their day to help out.

Meanwhile, thousands of worshippers attended church services across the state.

It was standing room only at St Mary's Cathedral for the morning service led by the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.

In his homily, Cardinal Pell said the birth of Jesus contained a message "that produces love and goodness".

"This baby did grow up to redeem us by his life, death and resurrection," he said.

Outside church, one worshipper, Sean, said the service was a chance to connect with his family's past.

"My father has always come, my grandfather has always come, and my son has decided he wants to come - it goes back generations," he said.

Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral hosted a Lord's supper on Tuesday morning, followed by services through the day, including an address by Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen.

In his annual Christmas message released earlier, he said Christmas was a time to fix feuds and forgive.

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US killer ambushes firefighters

A US ex-convict set a house and car ablaze, and shot dead two firefighters before killing himself. Source: AAP

A FORMER convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighbourhood to lure firefighters, then began shooting at them, killing two.

He then engaged police in a Christmas Eve shootout before killing himself.

Several homes were damaged by fire while police used an armoured vehicle to evacuate the area.

Police could not establish a motive and said the killer's sister was unaccounted for.

Police said the gunman, 62-year-old William Spengler, shot at the arriving firefighters, probably with a rifle.

"It does appear it was a trap," town police chief Gerald Pickering told a news conference.

"These people get up in the middle of the night to go put out fires. They don't expect to be shot and killed."

Spengler had served more than 17 years in prison for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death in 1980 at the house next to where Monday's attack happened, Pickering said.

Spengler was granted parole in 1998 and had led a quiet life since, authorities said. He lived with his 67-year-old sister, Cheryl Spengler, and mother, Arline, who died in October.

Police said he was not allowed to own weapons.

A friend said Spengler didn't seem violent but "couldn't stand" the sister who lived with him. Roger Vercruysse said Spengler "loved his mama to death".

He said he believed Spengler "went crazy" after she died in October.

Two firefighters died at the scene on Monday and two were taken to hospital. A fifth man who was passing by was also injured.

Two of the firefighters arrived on a fire engine and two in their own vehicles, Pickering said. After the gunman fired, one of the wounded men managed to flee, but the other three couldn't because of flying bullets.

Pickering said seven houses were destroyed and police have not been able to get inside to determine if there are any more victims.

The incident happened in a neighbourhood which is popular with recreational boaters but is normally quiet at this time of year.

"We have very few calls for service in that location," Pickering said.

"Webster is a tremendous community. We are a safe community, and to have a tragedy befall us like this is just horrendous."

The incident came after other shootings, including the massacre of 20 students and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Grieving firefighters declined to talk to reporters. At an impromptu memorial vigil on Monday evening, about 100 people stood in the cold night air, some holding candles.

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Man critical after boat capsizes off Vic

A MAN has been airlifted to the Alfred Hospital after nearly drowning in a boating accident at Venus Bay in Victoria's southeast.

The 22-year-old man was with three mates in an aluminium craft off Venus Bay when it tipped over, throwing them into the water, police said.

The three others got to shore safely but the young man had to be revived on shore by paramedics before being flown to hospital.

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Myanmar plane crash kills child, rider

A FLIGHT packed with Christmas tourists has crash-landed on a road in central Myanmar (Burma), killing two people and injuring 11.

Four foreigners were among the injured, state television reported on Tuesday. The airline said the injured were American, British and Korean.

The fatalities included an 11-year-old passenger believed to be a Myanmar citizen and a man riding a motorcycle on the road where the plane came down, state TV said.

The Air Bagan flight was carrying 63 passengers, including 51 foreigners, and six crew members.

It was flying from the city of Mandalay to Heho airport in Shan State, the gateway to a popular tourist destination, Inle Lake, Air Bagan said in a brief statement on its Facebook page.

The airline described the incident as an "emergency landing".

Authorities gave a different and more dramatic account, saying the pilot mistook the road for a runway due to bad weather.

"While descending, the plane mistakenly landed ... due to fog beside the runway," state television reported. It said the aircraft made a hard landing on a road and then came to a stop in a nearby rice paddy field.

"The rear end of the plane broke and caught fire," state TV said, carrying a statement posted on Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut's Facebook page.

Rescuers brought the fire under control about 45 minutes later, he said.

Witnesses said smoke filled the plane when it hit the ground and was still rising from the plane's badly charred wreckage hours later.

Airport officials in Heho said that injured passengers were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Taunggyi for treatment.

Air Bagan is one of five private airlines that fly domestic routes in Myanmar. It is a unit of Htoo Trading Company, which is owned by business tycoon Tay Za.

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Bushfire threat eases near Wyong in NSW

EASING weather conditions have helped firefighters gain the upper hand over a bushfire that threatened homes on the NSW Central Coast.

More than sixty firefighters and six water bombing aircraft have been battling the blaze and protecting homes between Bumble Hill Road and Forest Road at Kulnara northwest of Wyong.

A watch and act alert was issued early on Monday afternoon but that was reduced to an advice later on Monday.

The Rural Fire Service said conditions had improved and the immediate threat to properties had eased.

But in an advice it warned residents in the area that embers may be blown ahead of the main fire front to start spot fires that could threaten homes

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser

AN Afghan policewoman has killed an American adviser at the Kabul police headquarters.

Kabul's Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin says an investigation is under way to determine whether the killing on Monday was intentional or accidental.

It was not known if the victim was a military or civilian adviser. The NATO military command says it's looking into reports of the shooting but had no independent information.

At least 53 international troops have been killed by Afghan soldiers or police this year.

Most international forces are due to withdraw by 2014 and have speeded up efforts to train and advise Afghan military and police units.

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Indian prime minister appeals for calm

Police shot dead a journalist during a protest over a sex assault on an actress in northeast India. Source: AAP

INDIAN Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed for calm after violent protests sparked by the rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus.

At least 68 protesters and 78 policemen were injured in Sunday's clashes as the police tried to evict the demonstrators from a high-security area of the capital, New Delhi. One policeman was reported to be in critical condition.

A dozen state buses and police vans were damaged as some of the protesters turned violent, breaking barricades and throwing stones.

Police fired tear gas and forcibly dispersed the crowd from the site near government offices and the presidential palace.

The woman, a physiotherapy student, was gang-raped on a moving bus and beaten unconscious before the attackers threw her and her male companion from the vehicle near New Delhi's airport on December 16.

The attackers, who were drunk, had stolen the bus. All the suspects have been arrested.

The woman is in critical condition on a ventilator, according to doctors.

"Anger at this crime is justified, but violence will serve no purpose," Singh said on Monday. "I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm."

Singh promised a speedy response to the "terrible crime" and said the government was examining measures to protect the safety of women and children.

Most of the thousands of protesters in the streets of the capital and several other cities were young people demanding swift action against rapists and safety for women.

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Man charged over Sydney stabbing

A 19-YEAR-OLD man has been charged over the stabbing of a 26-year-old man during a confrontation at Punchbowl in Sydney's southwest.

Shortly before 11.30pm (AEDT) on September 29 police found the 26-year-old with stab wounds at The Boulevarde and he was taken to St George Hospital for treatment to back wounds.

It's alleged he was stabbed during an altercation with a group of men.

On Monday, police arrested a 19-year-old man at unit in Punchbowl and charged him with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and was due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Monday.

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NZ police trial surveillance drone

NEW Zealand police are trialling an unmanned aerial drone using technology from war zones such as Afghanistan.

One drone has been bought and has been used twice in investigations. Police will decide in the coming months whether to continue using the technology, 3News reports.

The confirmation of the trial came after a complaint to the ombudsman.

The drone can provide high resolution images, infrared images at night, and 3D images to help with operational planning.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor says it is an innovative breakthrough for police.

Mr O'Connor said that despite concerns of privacy campaigners, innocent members of the public had nothing to fear.

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Emperor Akihito in good health on birthday

JAPANESE Emperor Akihito has reassured thousands of well-wishers on his 79th birthday that he has regained his health since heart by-pass surgery.

The softly spoken monarch gave his birthday address on Sunday from a glass-covered balcony at the Imperial Palace as crowds waving small flags braved bitterly cold weather.

"In February, I had heart surgery and worried many people. Please remain assured that I am now living normally like before," he said in a brief speech.

The Japanese throne is held in deep respect by much of the public, despite being stripped of much of its mystique and its quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II.

"He represents the people, and it was nice to see him in such good shape," said retiree Takeo Nagahashi, who was among more than 10,000 people who came to the palace to see the emperor's address.

"I was worried and seeing his healthy face made me happy. I hope he will live for a long time."

Another retiree, Yuichiro Sato, said: "It was a beautiful speech that reassured me. He seems healthy."

During his birthday address, Akihito said his thoughts were with those who have been unable to return to their homes since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northern Japan in March 2011.

"I plan to spend my time praying for the happiness of all of the Japanese public, particularly those who were affected by the disaster," Akihito said, describing the year as a "difficult" one.

Before his birthday, Akihito told a ceremonial press conference he had recovered to the point where he could play tennis.

He said he wanted to continue carrying out his public duties at the same level as before, despite calls from his family and court officials to reduce his workload.

Since his heart surgery, Akihito and his wife, Michiko, have travelled around Japan. In May they visited Britain to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, the royal couple's first overseas trip since 2009.

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Driver dies in Tasmanian crash

Tasmania has recorded its first road fatality of the holiday road toll period. Source: AAP

A MAN has died north of Hobart in Tasmania's first road fatality of the holiday season.

The driver was alone in a car when it crashed on East Bagdad Road near Bagdad about 1.45pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

Police said the man was the only occupant, but further information was not immediately available.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012 until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Three die in Vic as road campaign begins

A man has died after his car smashed into a tree and flipped on its side in Melbourne's southeast. Source: AAP

THREE people have died on Victoria's roads in a horror start to the state's annual holiday road safety campaign.

Police say an elderly woman died after a car crashed into a light pole in Bentleigh East, in Melbourne's southeast, on Sunday afternoon.

She had been a passenger in the vehicle. The driver is in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The crash came only hours after a man died when his car veered off the road in nearby Moorabbin and smashed into a tree, flipping on its side.

He died at the scene.

The third crash came at 4.15pm (AEDT) in Kerang, in the state's far north.

Police say a sedan veered into oncoming traffic on the Murray Valley Highway and collided head-on with a truck.

The sedan driver, a woman and sole occupant of the vehicle, died at the scene while the truck driver was taken to hospital.

The three deaths came on the first day of Victoria's 12-day holiday road toll campaign.

There were nine deaths in Victoria during last year's campaign.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012 until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman dies

LEE Dorman, the bassist for psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, has died at age 70.

Orange County sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Krause says Dorman was found dead in a vehicle on Friday morning. A coroner's investigation is under way, but foul play is not suspected.

Krause said Dorman may have been on his way to a doctor's appointment when he died.

Iron Butterfly was formed and rose to prominence in the late 1960s. Its second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, sold more than 30 million copies, according to the band's website.

The title track's distinctive notes have been featured in numerous films and TV shows including The Simpsons, That '70s Show and in the series finale of Rescue Me.

Douglas Lee Dorman was born in September 1942 and had been living in Laguna Niguel, a coastal city in Southern California, when he died.

A message sent through the band's website was not immediately returned.

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Sydney Harbour heliport plans put on hold

The company that was set to run a heliport in Sydney Harbour says it is putting the project on hold. Source: AAP

THE company that was set to run a heliport in Sydney Harbour says it is putting the project on hold to consider the operation's "feasibility".

Newcastle Helicopters, which was set to operate a floating heliport to provide for quick transfers to and from Sydney airport and scenic flights over Sydney harbour, announced on Saturday that it would be halting the plans until further notice.

"Effective immediately, Newcastle Helicopters has put the project of the Sydney Harbour Floating Heliport on hold until further notice, in order to consider the feasibility of the operation going forward," it said in a statement.

"It is Newcastle Helicopter's intention to address the relevant concerns and queries with thoroughly considered and accurate information, and is taking the appropriate steps to do so."

The announcement comes after Fairfax media reported on Saturday that the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) landing barge in Sydney Harbour was reportedly approved two weeks before it had asked about air safety or air traffic control regulations.

In a series of tweets earlier this week, Malcolm Turnbull also criticised the operation, saying he was told the decision to approve the helicopter service from a barge in Sydney Harbour was made by the RMS without consulting the premier or cabinet or community.

"Frankly what troubles me most is safety, summer afternoon, harbour full of boats, most with kids, noreaster ......," the federal member for Wentworth tweeted.

On Saturday, Mr Turnbull posted further tweets, urging people opposed to the heliport to sign a petition.

"So the NSW Govt Maritime Services dept only start to think about safety AFTER they have issued the helipad licence," he tweeted.

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US judge approves settlement in BP lawsuit

A FEDERAL judge has given final approval to BP's settlement with businesses and individuals who lost money because of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP PLC has estimated it will pay $US7.8 billion ($A7.47 billion) to resolve economic and medical claims from more than 100,000 businesses and individuals hurt by the nation's worst offshore oil spill. The settlement has no cap; the company could end up paying more or less.

US District Judge Carl Barbier, who gave his preliminary approval in May, made it final on Friday in a 125-page ruling released Friday evening.

"None of the objections, whether filed on the objections docket or elsewhere, have shown the settlement to be anything other than fair, reasonable, and adequate," he wrote.

BP and lawyers for the plaintiffs said they were pleased.

"We believe the settlement, which avoids years of lengthy litigation, is good for the people, businesses and communities of the Gulf and is in the best interests of BP's stakeholders," company spokesman Scott Dean said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "Today's decision by the Court is another important step forward for BP in meeting its commitment to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf and in eliminating legal risk facing the company."

A statement from plaintiffs' lawyers Steve Herman and Jim Roy praised the settlement program's administrator, Pat Juneau.

"This settlement has - and will continue to - bring the people and businesses of the Gulf the relief they deserve," the lawyers wrote.

The April 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well triggered an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and spilled more than 757 million litres of oil into the Gulf, closing much of it for months to commercial and recreational fishing and shrimping.

There is still a lot of litigation left, including a trial to identify the causes of BP's blowout and assign percentages of fault to the companies involved, Barbier wrote. That trial is scheduled next year.

Still unresolved are environmental damage claims brought by the federal government and Gulf Coast states against BP and its partners on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and claims against Switzerland-based rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Houston-based cement contractor Halliburton.

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Supermarket looting spreads in Argentina

LOOTERS have ransacked supermarkets in several Argentine cities, causing two deaths and evoking memories of widespread theft and riots that killed dozens during the country's worst economic crisis a decade ago.

Santa Fe Province security minister Raul Lamberto described the attacks on Friday on stores as simple acts of vandalism and not social protests.

Lamberto said two people were killed by a sharp object and gunfire after attacks early Friday on about 20 supermarkets in the cities of Rosario and Villa Gobernador Galvez. He said 25 people were injured and 130 arrested during the looting about 190 miles (305.71 km) northeast of Buenos Aires.

Closer to the capital, riot police fired rubber bullets to drive off a mob that was trying to break into a supermarket in San Fernando, a town in Buenos Aires province.

A police lieutenant was hit on the head with a crowbar and suffered severe injuries during the clashes in San Fernando, authorities said. Officials said 378 people had been arrested in those confrontations.

Some shops closed in several cities despite the busy Christmas shopping season, worrying that the looting might spread.

The troubles followed a wave of sporadic looting that began on Thursday when dozens of people broke into a supermarket and carried away television sets and other electronics in the Patagonian ski resort of Bariloche. The government responded by deploying 400 military police to that southern city.

The unrest brought back memories of violence during Argentina's economic crisis in 2001, when jobless people stormed supermarkets, shops and kiosks.

Former President Fernando de la Rua resigned on Dec. 20, 2001, after days of protests against his handling of the crisis amid rioting that caused dozens of deaths and injuries.

The National Security Secretariat said this week's looting in at least six Argentine towns was the act of "vandals" instigated by union leaders who oppose President Cristina Fernandez.

With inflation running at about 25 per cent a year, Argentines have sought to change their pesos for dollars, but the government has cracked down on such trades and made it nearly impossible to obtain dollars legally.

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Caterpillar lays off 50 workers: union

A union has slammed machinery maker Caterpillar's decision to lay off 50 workers ahead of Christmas. Source: AAP

THE Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union says mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has laid off up to 50 workers at its operation in Tasmania.

Union state secretary John Short says the workers will be cut loose from the company's manufacturing plant in Burnie.

"It's a pretty mean-spirited act to lay off workers on the eve of Christmas," Mr Short said in a statement.

"It will take the merriness out of the family time meant to be enjoyed for these workers.

"The dedicated and skilled workers here in Burnie deserve better than this."

Mr Short said the company had started building machinery at a new plant in Thailand.

"When you add in job lay-offs before Christmas and the commencement of operations in new premises in Thailand, I think workers and the Burnie community have every right to know what Caterpillar's real plans are," he said.

Caterpillar did not immediately respond to AAP's inquiry.

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Fiji's military to 'monitor' parliament

FIJI'S ruling military has warned it will closely monitor parliament when the coup-plagued nation finally elects a new government, as officials wrapped up work on a draft constitution.

Military leader Voreqe Bainimarama, who seized power in a 2006 coup and tore up the last constitution, has pledged to hold elections in 2014 after introducing reforms he said were needed to make the country a proper democracy.

However, the role of the military, a key political player in the Pacific nation that has endured four coups since 1987, remains contentious, with the author of the draft constitution calling for it to stay out of politics after 2014.

But in a submission to the commission tasked with working on the new constitution, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) indicated it had no intention of restricting its role after the elections.

The military exists "to deal with both internal security situation and external threats," said the submission, which was seen by AFP.

"The forces cannot and will not be complacent in dealing with situations that undermine national interest."

The military said it would not allow any government that won office in 2014 to undermine its reforms.

"The RFMF will monitor the ongoing situation in the parliament and in Fiji, ensuring that what it had adopted since 2006 ... is fully implemented," it said.

Kenyan academic Yash Ghai, the head of the five-person Constitutional Commission that handed the draft document to the government on Friday, said the military should be subject to parliamentary oversight and focus on national defence.

"We think the professional military, their conscience should be to defend Fiji against external aggression and we would rather the police handle internal disorder issues," he told Radio New Zealand.

"We feel that the military must be responsible to the government and to parliament and they have to act within the confines of the constitution."

The new constitution is intended to guarantee, through a People's Charter, principles such as one-person-one-vote, an independent judiciary and transparent governance, as well as establishing a secular, corruption-free state.

The draft constitution is scheduled to be formally adopted by the end of March.

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Boom state WA forecasts budget deficit

THE West Australian government has flagged the boom state's first deficit in 13 years, sparking calls for a complete review of capital expenditure programs.

In its Mid Year Economic Review, released on Friday, the state's books were tipped to slide into the red by $187 million in 2013/14 with the softening in mining royalties expected to continue.

That would follow an expected surplus for the current financial year of $140 million, down $56 million from budget estimates.

Treasurer Troy Buswell said it had become increasingly evident the WA economy was faced with "structural challenges" in commodity and foreign exchange markets - so much so that it had changed its forecasting methodology.

For instance, the WA government previously assumed the iron-ore price would return to its long-term average within four years but had stretched that out to 10 years, and believed commodity price volatility had become the new norm.

Mr Buswell said he was confident that the looming deficit could be avoided - if revenue projections proved too pessimistic and if spending was curbed - but opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt said it was impossible.

"There's no way he's going to correct it in just one (financial) year," Mr Wyatt told reporters.

Mr Wyatt was also damning of the state government's projected steady rise in net debt over the forward estimates to $24.76 billion in 2015/16 - despite its previously stated pledge to cap debt at $20 billion.

"Troy Buswell has presided over average expense growth of 10 per cent every year that Colin Barnett has been premier," Mr Wyatt said, adding that it was time for the scandal-prone minister to go.

"When a treasurer can stand up during one of the state's great boom times and produce books that forecast a deficit in two years' time, it's time for that treasurer to acknowledge and for the premier to acknowledge that he's not focused on the job, he's more interested in part-time gags.

"I think every Western Australian who will be paying for this set of financial books for a long time yet were expecting a lot more."

Mr Buswell said the higher debt levels were needed to meet the infrastructure and services demands of a growing population, with some 1500 new arrivals in WA each week, and that managing expense growth was a core priority.

But the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA's chief economist John Nicolaou said the next WA government - given the state election was set for March - should commit to doing a full review of capital expenditure programs "to ensure the lion's share of the burden of balancing the books isn't left to business".

"Efficiency dividends will only go so far before a complete review of programs is required," Mr Nicolaou said.

"Net debt levels will remain a key challenge facing an incoming government, to ensure WA retains its AAA credit rating and the ability to fund election priorities."

Ratings agencies on Thursday warned that the state was at risk of losing its AAA credit rating due to high debt levels.

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Police warn of High Court case scam

POLICE are appealing for victims of a widespread fraud which they say has seen Australians hand over more than $2 million.

NSW Police said on Friday that they had launched an investigation into the allegedly fraudulent scheme, which asks people to provide funds for a supposed High Court case.

People are being told the case relates to "national security" and is shrouded in secrecy.

"They are promised a higher return on any investment or payment they make towards the cause," police said in a statement.

"Consequently, these victims have deposited funds into a bank account."

So far, police believe more than $2 million has been lost to the fraud.

Since 2007, funds have been provided by a number of victims at a range of financial institutions in NSW, Victoria, the ACT, Queensland and South Australia.

"We would urge anyone who is approached along these lines to be cautious and not hand over any money, it's a fraud," Detective Senior Constable Nathan Hogg, from Albury Criminal Investigation Unit, said.

"Also, we need anyone who has knowledge of this fraud or is an existing victim to contact Crime Stoppers immediately."

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Fire threatens homes in Sydney suburb

A WARNING is in place for residents of the south western Sydney suburb of Airds where firefighters are fighting to contain a blaze that is threatening homes.

Inspector Ben Shepherd of the Rural Fire Service said firefighters were getting the upper hand on the fire but residents should remain vigilant.

The fire is burning at Georges River Parkway reserve behind Greengate and Woolwash roads.

"The fire activity has settled down somewhat ... but we still need people just to be vigilant," he said.

A number of fire trucks and aircraft are fighting the fire.

The fire is being treated as suspicious.

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Europe launches British military satellite

A EUROPEAN rocket has launched a major satellite designed to expand telecommunications for the British military from the Kourou space base in French Guiana, flight operators say.

Skynet 5D - the fourth in Britain's new generation of Skynet military satellites - was taken aloft by a heavy Ariane 5 at 2149 GMT on Wednesday (0849 AEDT on Thursday), Arianespace said in an internet feed of the launch.

The 4.8-tonne satellite was partnered by a second payload, Mexsat Bicentenario, a 2.9-tonne telecoms satellite for the Mexican government.

The Skynet system is a public-private arrangement between Britain's Ministry of Defence and the space firm Astrium, which builds the satellites.

Under it, British forces pay an annual charge for which they are guaranteed bandwidth for their communications, and any surplus is sold to fellow NATO countries or other allies.

Skynet 5D is designed to provide coverage over the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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Sudan bus collision kills 33 people

THIRTY-THREE people have been killed and 24 injured when two inter-city buses collided in Sudan, in one of the country's worst road accidents in years.

The crash between a full-sized passenger bus and a minibus occurred late on Wednesday near the small community of El Kamlien, about halfway between Khartoum and Wad Medani.

"The minibus tried to overtake another vehicle and then collided with the bus," which was travelling in the opposite direction, a police statement said.

Deadly road accidents, often involving buses, are relatively common in Sudan, where driving skills are poor.

The latest follows complaints by city bus drivers in Khartoum that Sudan's surging inflation and sinking currency have driven maintenance costs out of control.

In October, 13 people died and 26 were injured when a passenger bus blew a tyre and collided with a minibus on the road to Wad Medani southeast of the capital, official media reported at the time.

Twenty-one people died in April 2009 when a bus and a truck collided south of Khartoum.

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Banks shocked by rate manipulation

LIBOR governs the price of more than 500 trillion US dollars worth of loans and transactions around the world, including household mortgages.

So when Barclays was fined hundreds of millions of pounds for trying to rig the London Interbank Offered Rate interest in the rate spread far beyond the trading floor.

And in the wake of the scandal lawmakers are pressing ahead with far-reaching reforms which will make it a criminal offence to manipulate rates such as Libor.

Barclays was fined 290 million pounds for manipulating Libor in June, sending shockwaves throughout the banking industry.

A number of traders were found to have rigged rates to boost profits and bonus rewards, while the bank was also accused of lowering submissions in a bid to alter the perception of the lender's finances.

The claims ultimately led to the resignation of Barclays boss Bob Diamond, sparked a criminal investigation and became the focal point of a bitter row in Westminster over ethics in the banking sector.

Libor is considered one of the most important figures in finance, governing the rates at which banks are prepared to lend to each other in the wholesale money markets.

Financial Services Authority (FSA) managing director Martin Wheatley reviewed the Libor system and produced a 10-point plan to stamp out rate manipulation.

And Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clark said Wheatley's recommendations would be accepted in full, including ditching the British Bankers' Association (BBA) as the group in charge of running Libor.

A new administrator is now being sought to run Libor in place of the BBA, while a code of practice will also be drawn up for banks submitting lending rates.

The BBA came under heavy criticism for being "careless" and having "clearly failed" in overseeing Libor, the Wheatley review said.

The lasting impact of Libor on banks and wider financial stability is likely to be felt for some time.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) recently said lenders were understating the amount of capital they held to protect against future financial shocks by not fully recognising the impact of past failures, including Libor manipulation.

The FSA is as a result expected to start immediately asking banks to increase their capital buffers, which act as a cushion against shocks in the financial system and future crises.

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Gunmen target Pakistan polio workers again

GUNMEN in Pakistan have opened fire on health workers carrying out polio vaccinations in three new attacks, after the killing of six people involved in the campaign.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

However, efforts to stop the highly infectious disease have been hampered by resistance from the Pakistani Taliban, who have banned vaccination teams from some areas.

Six people working to immunise children against the crippling disease have been shot dead in Pakistan since the start of a UN-backed three-day vaccination campaign on Monday.

Two workers were giving out polio drops in a suburb of Peshawar, in the northwest, when gunmen on a motorbike rode up and sprayed them with bullets, Janbaz Afridi, doctor in charge of the immunisation campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said.

One of the workers was in a critical condition in hospital after the attack, Afridi said.

Senior police official Asif Iqbal confirmed the attack and said police were investigating the motive and who was behind it.

Two other polio teams were targeted in similar attacks in the towns of Nowshera and Charsadda, police and health officials said, but the polio workers escaped unharmed.

One passer-by was slightly injured in Nowshera.

Violence has blighted every day of the polio campaign so far: one health worker was shot dead in Karachi on Monday and four more were killed in the city with another gunned down in Peshawar on Tuesday.

After Tuesday's attacks, the government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is capital, halted the immunisation drive, and Afridi said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would have no choice but to follow suit.

"We are holding an emergency meeting with our donors and we have no option but to postpone the vaccination campaign for the time being. We will formally announce it after the meeting," he said.

Rumours about polio drops being a plot to sterilise Muslims have long dogged efforts to tackle the disease in Pakistan, but suspicion of vaccination programs intensified after the jailing of a doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden in 2011 using a hepatitis vaccination program.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the polio worker attacks, but in June the Pakistani Taliban banned immunisations in the tribal region of Waziristan, condemning the polio campaign as a cover for espionage.

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Police raid Perth Glory owner's businesses

SEVERAL companies associated with Perth Glory owner and businessman Tony Sage have been raided by federal police.

It is understood the Australian Federal Police (AFP) spent several hours in the soccer club's Leederville building as well as at the office of mining company Cape Lambert Resources, which Mr Sage chairs.

An AFP spokeswoman said she could not comment on an ongoing investigation but did confirm several commercial and residential premises were raided in Perth and Sydney on Wednesday.

"The AFP can confirm that today a number of search warrants were executed on commercial and residential premises in Perth and Sydney," she said in an emailed statement.

The searches were part of an ongoing AFP investigation in partnership with commonwealth agencies including the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Tax Office, and Australian Securities and Investments Commission, she said.

"The investigation is ongoing, therefore it is not appropriate to make any further comment at this point in time," she said.

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Xie to stand trial for Lin murders

LIAN Bin 'Robert' Xie will stand trial in the Supreme Court next year charged with murdering five members of his wife's family in their Sydney home.

If convicted of the 2009 Lin family murders, Xie, 48, faces life imprisonment, Central Local Court heard on Wednesday.

Following lengthy committal proceedings, Magistrate John Andrews ruled there was enough evidence against Xie to put the case before a Supreme Court jury.

Xie applied for bail immediately after the decision was handed down, which was opposed by the Crown on the basis that if convicted, he faces life imprisonment.

Xie's wife, Kathy Lin, who has supported him throughout the proceedings, wept in court as she pledged to give in her passport as well as her husband's if he was granted bail.

Xie also started crying as he witnessed his wife's distress.

He is accused of murdering his brother-in-law, Min "Norman" Lin, 45, Mr Lin's wife, Yun Li "Lily" Lin, 43, her sister, Yun Bin "Irene" Yin, 39, and two boys, aged nine and 12, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Their bodies were found in a North Epping house, in Sydney's northwest, on July 18, 2009.

They had been beaten to death in their bedrooms with a hammer-like object, while the cause of death for four of the victims also included asphyxia.

During four weeks of hearings, the Crown alleged there was a "compelling" case Lin murdered the family in a crime of "extreme hatred and hostility".

Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said the prosecution case against Xie was a circumstantial one that rested on "looking at all of the strands of information" that pointed to him being the killer.

This included DNA evidence in the form of a spot, which was found on the floor of his garage.

Mr Tedeschi submitted it contained the DNA of at least four different people and could "only be blood" taken from the crime scene.

He conceded, however, the case in relation to Xie's motive was "weak".

Defence barrister Graham Turnbull SC said the case against Xie was based almost entirely on speculation and he had no chance of being convicted.

He argued the DNA evidence would be inadmissible at trial.

Opposing bail, Mr Tedeschi said Xie had strong financial and family links to his native China and posed a significant flight risk.

Lester Fernandez, representing Xie, said the prosecution case was weak and Xie had strong community ties that would prevent him from fleeing.

Mr Andrews will hand down his decision on bail on Thursday.

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US concerned for 'detained' Laos activist

POLICE in Laos have detained a prominent development campaigner, a source close to the activist says.

Footage from closed circuit cameras revealed that Sombath Somphone, who went missing on Saturday in Vientiane, "was taken away by plainclothes policemen", according to a person familiar with the case who asked not to be named.

It was unclear why he was detained.

Laos officials were not immediately available to comment.

United States officials on Tuesday said diplomatic and aid agency representatives had been in contact with Sombath's wife, adding that they had "concerns for his well-being and safety".

"We have registered our concern with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Laos and encouraged them to make every effort to locate him and figure out what's happened here," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told journalists.

Sombath won the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership for his work in poverty reduction and sustainable development in one of South-East Asia's poorest countries.

A member of the activist's Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) said that Sombath's family was searching for the activist.

"I am still shocked and everybody here is praying about it," the aid worker said.

Laos is a one-party communist state which exerts total control over the media and does not tolerate criticism of its institutions.

Earlier this month authorities expelled the outspoken country director of Swiss charity Helvetas, Anne-Sophie Gindroz, for criticising the Laos government.

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Aust to help Fiji in wake of Cyclone Evan

The federal government is giving Fiji immediate humanitarian assistance in the wake of Cyclone Evan. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA will give Fiji and Samoa an initial $1 million worth of emergency assistance each to help recover from Cyclone Evan.

The cyclone has left a swathe of destruction after battering Fiji for more than 12 hours, destroying homes, flooding rivers and stranding thousands of tourists.

Western parts of main island Viti Levu bore the brunt of the cyclone's fury but there are no reports of deaths. About 8500 locals sheltered from the cyclone in evacuation centres.

The head of AusAID in Fiji, John Davidson, says Australia is giving Fiji 1000-plus family care packages as a first step.

"We will continue to monitor the situation very closely," he told AAP from Suva on Tuesday.

"The response we've provided so far is very much an immediate response to help the people of Fiji.

"I would expect it would be a much larger response once we're able to ascertain the full extent of the damage."

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the government was sending two disaster relief experts to assess the damage, and an extra foreign affairs official to give consular help to Australians.

"The Australian Civilian Corps is also on standby for early deployment," he said in a statement.

Mr Davidson said further assistance could include water purification, hydration, soap, tents and school infrastructure.

AusAID may also provide vaccinations and mosquito nets to prevent typhoid and dengue fever outbreaks, Mr Davidson said.

Evan killed five people when it pummelled Samoa late last week. The Australian High Commission in the capital Apia reopened on Tuesday after closing due to storm damage.

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