Seven killed in Pakistan blast

A BOMB has exploded near a Shi'ite religious procession in northwest Pakistan killing seven people, including four children, officials say.

At least 30 people, including five children, were also wounded when the bomb went off on the route of a minority Shi'ite community procession in the Dera Ismail Khan district, local hospital chief Aziz Baluch said.

The blast took place on Saturday as Shi'ite Muslims were gathering for a procession marking the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussain in 680, and security was tight across the country to prevent attacks.

"The bomb was planted in a dustbin, the blast was powerful and heard several kilometres away," police official Siddiq Khan said.

Pakistan on Friday suspended mobile phone services in major cities to prevent terror attacks against Shi'ite Muslim commemorations, officials said. Mobile phones are often used to trigger bomb blasts.

Mobile and wireless phone services were temporarily blocked in the commercial capital Karachi, the southwestern city of Quetta and several cities and towns in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and central Punjab province as well as in parts of the capital Islamabad.

It is the second time Pakistan has shut down mobile networks during the holy month of Muharram, which culminates with Ashura, the holiest day in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar when the faithful march to mourn the killing of Imam Hussein.

Authorities beefed up security across the country amid intelligence reports of possible attacks on Shi'ite gatherings.

A suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded 62 others at a Shi'ite procession in Rawalpindi on Thursday, the deadliest bombing in Pakistan for five months.

Ashura falls this year on Sunday and has been a magnet for sectarian attacks with rights groups heavily criticising the government for failing to stop extremist violence.

In December 2009, a suicide bomber killed 43 people in Karachi at a Shi'ite procession to mark Ashura.

Shi'ites account for around 20 per cent of Sunni-dominated Pakistan's 167 million population.

Nationwide sectarian violence between militants from the two communities is estimated to have killed more than 4000 people since the late 1990s.

Pakistan says 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

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Renault recalls over 6000 electric cars

French automaker Renault is recalling three quarters of its Twizy electric cars sold in Europe. Source: AAP

FRENCH automaker Renault is recalling three quarters of its Twizy electric cars sold in Europe to rectify potential problems with brake fluid leaks.

A Renault spokesman said earlier this week 6247 Twizy vehicles, made between January 27 and May 1 of this year, were affected by the recall. Most of the vehicles were sold in France and Germany, as well as in Switzerland.

"This is a pre-emptive recall," the spokesman said, adding that a single case of a brake fluid leak had been detected, without incident.

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Dallas star Larry Hagman dies at 81

American actor Larry Hagman, known for his role on the TV show Dallas, has died at the age of 81. Source: AAP

US actor Larry Hagman, who for more than a decade played villainous patriarch JR Ewing in the TV soap Dallas, has died at the age of 81, his family says.

Hagman, who had suffered from cancer and liver disease, died in hospital in Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Linda Gray, a long-time friend who starred alongside him in the TV show, called him her "best friend for 35 years", her agent told the BBC.

Gray, who played Hagman's on-screen wife, Sue Ellen Ewing, was by his bedside when he died.

In a statement from her agent she said: "Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years.

"He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously.

"He was an original and lived life to the full."

Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas on September 21, 1931, the son of actress Mary Martin and lawyer Ben Hagman, a biography on his official website said.

While in England with the US Air Force he met and married his wife of almost 60 years, Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple later had two children.

He became a star in 1965 in the TV comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, in which he played an astronaut haunted by the beautiful blonde genie, played by Barbara Eden.

But it was in 1977 when he landed the role of merciless oil magnate JR Ewing, the character at the centre of the show Dallas, that his worldwide fame was cemented.

The series ran for 13 seasons and on November 21, 1980 more than 350 million people tuned in to find out "who shot JR".

Hagman refused to be defined by his most enduring role, acting in films such as Nixon and Primary Colors.

But he also had health problems. In 1992 he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and three years later he had a liver transplant.

In October last year, he discovered a tumour on his tongue and was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation before it went into remission in March.

Earlier this year, he appeared in a new 10-episode series of Dallas, with a second series in production and due to run next year.

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Portugal pulls bulk of police from Timor

PORTUGAL has withdrawn the bulk of its police officers from East Timor as international forces wind up a 13-year mission in Asia's youngest nation, where thousands have died in political bloodshed.

Seventy-five of the officers boarded a Lisbon-bound plane in the former Portuguese colony, among the last of 1200 UN peacekeepers to return home before the official end of their mission on December 31.

Only around three dozen UN Police remain in the country, including several from Portugal, Australia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Most of them will leave next week and all will have to withdraw by December 31.

International forces began pulling out in earnest last month with Canberra this week saying it was sending home hundreds of troops from the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF), ending a six-year operation.

At the UN's terminal in Dili's Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport, officers in Portugal's black police uniforms and UN blue berets bade a tearful farewell to Portuguese expatriates who had come to see them off.

Captain Jorge Barradas, commander of the Portuguese police contingent, said he had mixed feelings about leaving a country where he has served on and off since 2001.

"It is kind of a sad feeling for us to leave East Timor. But on the other hand, leaving means that East Timor has developed and is secure so it's also a pleasure to leave," he said.

The UN entered the territory, officially known as Timor-Leste, after violence broke out in 1999 following the resounding "yes" vote for independence from neighbouring Indonesia.

The referendum was organised by the UN after Indonesia announced it would end a brutal, 24-year occupation in which about 183,000 people, or a quarter of the population, died from fighting, disease and starvation.

The nation conducted peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections this year, and UN peacekeepers last month handed full responsibility for policing back to the nation, which celebrated a decade of formal independence in May.

Portugal, which controlled East Timor for more than 300 years before Indonesia invaded, is among 44 nations that have served in the current UN Police mission dispatched after a second wave of violence hit in 2006.

It has made one of the biggest contributions to the force, sending 2,000 officers since 2006, when unrest ahead of elections left 37 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The only major violence in the impoverished half-island nation of 1.1 million people since 2006 has been a failed assassination attempt against then-president Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in 2008.

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Singaporeans react to 'emotionless' tag

SINGAPOREANS have reacted to a survey depicting them as the world's most emotionless people with many saying the city state's competitive culture leaves them no room for feelings.

"Singaporeans are the least likely in the world to report experiencing emotions of any kind on a daily basis," US-based pollster Gallup said on Friday in a report on a three-year study conducted in more than 150 countries.

The Philippines came out as the most emotional society in the world, with Latin American countries dominating the top of the list.

Media in Singapore, one of the world's wealthiest and most stable societies, gave prominent coverage to the report, setting off some strong reactions.

"Where got time to laugh? Wake up, must fight for place on trains, lunch time, must fight for place to sit down and eat, go home must fight for place on trains," Edward Alexzandra Peters wrote on Facebook.

Kok Leong commented on Yahoo! Singapore: "It's so stressful to be living in Singapore. Our mind is all about $$$ - how to survive, how to raise family, tax, etc. Nothing is free here."

Another commentator wrote on Yahoo: "We have everything, and yet we have nothing. No one in this country actually lives life to the fullest; we merely exist. To our government, we are nothing more than a statistic."

"How can Singaporeans be the most emotionless in the world when they complain the most every day? I'm baffled," said a post by Melody on Twitter.

Gallup said it surveyed about 1000 respondents 15 years old and above in each country annually between 2009 and 2011.

They were asked if they felt five positive and five negative emotions the previous day.

The negative feelings were anger, stress, sadness, physical pain, and worry, while the positive emotions were feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, enjoyment, smiling and laughing a lot, and learning or doing something interesting.

Only 36 per cent of Singaporeans said they felt any of the emotions, Gallup said.

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LNP and premier meet over differences

Clive Palmer plans to spill the beans on the Newman government after quitting the LNP on Thursday. Source: AAP

THE Liberal National Party's president has denied he's embroiled in a power struggle with Queensland's premier.

LNP chief Bruce McIver said he got together with Premier Campbell Newman on Friday to "redefine boundaries" but there was no discord.

The meeting came as the LNP's biggest donor, billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer, accused the Newman government of being crooked and quit the party.

Mr McIver told reporters he'd "agreed on certain protocols" with Mr Newman at Friday's meeting.

"The premier is the premier of the state and he'll run the state," he told reporters.

"I am the head of the organisation and I'll run the organisation.

"We have a very good relationship."

Mr McIver denied there were any disputes over the party's role in government.

"We were just confirming an agreement that Campbell and I made a number of times before the election," he said.

"We talked about how we would operate."

Political analyst Paul Williams told AAP the meeting was a clear indicator of a power struggle between the party and the parliamentary wing.

"Campbell Newman seems to have a strong desire to not be seen as the premier under the LNP, but to be some sort of political entity in his own right," Dr Williams said.

"It seems the senior ministers and Newman want to wrest complete control and take LNP policy in their own direction."

He believes there's a tribal clash between the "old Liberals" and the "old Nationals."

Under the old Liberal Party model, policies rest with the parliamentary leader, Dr Williams said.

"... some of the old Nationals like Clive Palmer are arcing up and saying, 'Hang on, the organisation is not here to be wallflowers. We don't just raise money. We are here as partners.'

"There are different tribal cultures clashing."

Mr Palmer, who was a life member of the party, resigned on Thursday night despite being reinstated hours earlier following a suspension.

He was suspended from the party earlier this month after breaking a truce by launching another tirade against the premier, the deputy premier and the treasurer.

He denied he was pushed, insisting his decision to quit the LNP was because he had no faith in a government that's "much worse than anything that was around the time of the Fitzgerald inquiry".

Mr Palmer says he's now free to shine a light on the government.

"I'll be releasing a lot of information ... I'll be free to do that without any restrictions," he said.

He called Mr Newman a number of names, including Caesar, and compared him to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Mr Newman said now that Mr Palmer has quit the party, everyone can move on and focus on job creation.

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Afghan revenge attack kills 2, wounds 90

A SUICIDE car bomber has killed two people and wounded dozens more outside a NATO-run training base in Afghanistan.

The attack, early on Friday, has been claimed by the Taliban to avenge the execution of its prisoners.

Several NATO soldiers were lightly wounded by the blast, a spokesman for the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, without giving further details.

Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility, saying it was to avenge the execution on Wednesday of four Taliban members who had been on death row in Kabul.

"It was a car bomb by our mujahed on a military training centre," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

"It was a revenge attack by our mujahed in response to the execution of four mujahedeen by the Kabul administration."

A police spokesman said the blast was near "a joint co-ordination office for the Afghan army, police and NATO troops in Maidan Shar", the capital of Wardak province, some 50 kilometres from Kabul.

"From this centre they go for military operations," Abdul Wali said.

Two people were killed and at least 40 were wounded, he said. However, the head of the Maidan Shar hospital said 90 people were brought to the hospital.

"We have 90 wounded, 75 men and 15 women. Two killed have also been brought to the hospital. The rest were taken to private hospitals," Ghulam Farooq Mukhlis told AFP.

The four executed Taliban members were among a total of 14 prisoners hanged over two days this week in rare mass executions.

The Taliban, who are leading an insurgency against the Western-backed government and 100,000 NATO troops, had warned there would be "heavy repercussions" for government officials if any of their militants were executed.

President Hamid Karzai approved the executions of the men who were sentenced to death "on charges of terror, conducting attacks, explosions and organising suicide attacks", the government said.

The executions were condemned by the United Nations, the European Union and human rights groups, with many pointing out that Afghanistan's justice system is notoriously weak.

The Taliban described the hanged men as "prisoners of war" and had called on the UN and rights groups to prevent their deaths.

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Pell showed no empathy, Vic inquiry hears

An inquiry has heard Cardinal George Pell showed a "sociopathic lack of empathy" for rape victims. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic showed a "sociopathic lack of empathy" in dealing with victims who were raped by clergy, an inquiry has heard.

Cardinal George Pell, current Archbishop of Sydney, had tried to compel victims into silence when confronted with evidence of wrongdoing by parish priests, the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse was told on Friday.

Anthony Foster recalled meeting Cardinal Pell to discuss a priest who had repeatedly raped two of his daughters when they were at primary school.

He told the inquiry that Cardinal Pell, then the Archbishop of Melbourne, had told him, "If you don't like what we're doing, take us to court," and did not appear to be distressed by the incidents.

"In our interactions with the now-Cardinal Archbishop Pell, we experienced a sociopathic lack of empathy, typifying the attitude and responses of the church hierarchy," Mr Foster said.

Mr Foster's daughters, Emma and Katie, were repeatedly raped by the late Father Kevin O'Donnell in the 1980s and 1990s when they were at Sacred Heart Primary School in Oakleigh.

But the church was already aware that O'Donnell had been abusing children in 1946, 1958 and 1984 and failed to take any action, he said.

"Here are glaring examples of crimes that should have been reported to the police ... If they had been, Emma and Katie and scores of other victims would not have been assaulted by O'Donnell," Mr Foster told the Family and Community Development Committee.

Fr O'Donnell, who is referred to by a lawyer as a "two-a-day-man" in the Fosters' written submission to the inquiry, was charged with sex offences occurring over a 30-year period, pleaded guilty, and later died.

Mr Foster said his daughter Emma had turned to drugs and took her own life while Katie had been hit by a car while binge drinking and still needs 24-hour care for permanent disabilities.

His third daughter, Aimee, told the inquiry that she still fantasises about what life would have been like if her two sisters hadn't been sexually abused.

The church later offered the Fosters $50,000, then claimed the assaults never occurred, and finally settled for a higher undisclosed sum, the inquiry heard.

Mr Foster called for the vast wealth of the church to be accessible to victims, since current payments for victims were far below those that would be achieved in civil proceedings.

His written submission also urged the committee to call Victorian Governor Alex Chernov to give evidence on why compensation payments were capped when he was head of a compensation panel.

"Was Mr Chernov happy with this treatment of church victims?" the submission said.

The Fosters were the first victims to give evidence at the inquiry after fighting for a hearing for years.

Other victims on Friday criticised the church's internal handling of abuse, including moving pedophile priests from parish to parish.

Mairead Ashcroft told the inquiry she was abused as a child by Brother Bernard Hartman and had even received a letter of apology from him, but the church later said there was no record of her complaint.

She has spent years suffering post-traumatic stress and fearing her experience as a sex abuse victim would change her.

"I believed that I would grow up to be an abuser," she said.

Hearings will resume on Monday.

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Health expert to report on Barangaroo

A DEVELOPER has agreed not to move asbestos-contaminated material from one end of Sydney's Barangaroo development site to the other until a health expert has inspected work practices at the site.

The Barangaroo Delivery Authority (BDA) has planning approval to move up to 150,000 cubed metres of material fill containing up to 1 per cent bonded asbestos for use in the base of the new Headland Park, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) says.

But Steve Beaman, EPA director of waste and resource recovery, said on Thursday the watchdog had asked an epidemiology expert from Sydney University to review on-site practices.

This was in response to "a level of community concern" around the management of asbestos on the Barangaroo, he said.

"We have asked Dr (Tim) Driscoll to assess the current procedures and work practices in place at the Barangaroo site which deal with the management of asbestos and make recommendations to ensure that the processes are in line with worlds best practice," he said.

The material would not be moved before the completion of the review in early December.

BDA chief executive John Tabart welcomed Dr Driscoll's appointment.

"As a former industrial site, Barangaroo has a responsibility to remediate and manage the site for current and future generations," he said.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) official Rita Mallia told AAP any move to safeguard workers' health was welcomed.

But Ms Mallia, the CFMEU construction president for NSW, warned any review needed to be thorough.

"We would be very concerned if this were a quick and dirty process," she said.

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NKorea threatens to attack SKorean island

NORTH Korea has threatened to attack a South Korean island over what it calls Seoul's provocative claim that it was victorious in a deadly artillery exchange there two years ago.

North Korea shelled the front-line island in November 2010, killing two marines and two civilians.

South Korea returned fire, but Pyongyang says it suffered no military casualties.

South Korean marines believe they won in the artillery exchange and plan to open a "victorious battle memorial hall" on Yeonpyeong Island this week to mark its second anniversary.

An unidentified spokesman at the North Korean military's southwestern front command said in remarks released on Thursday that South Korea's moves are aimed at sparking a war and will lead to "the second Yeonpyeong Island disaster".

North Korea has made similar threats without following through.

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Duck hunt ban to stay in NSW: O'Farrell

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says his government has no plans to overturn a long-held ban on recreational duck hunting in the state, after the coalition backed licensing changes introduced by the Shooters Party.

A Shooters Party bill to expand the state's duck hunting program passed through parliament on Thursday, making the Game Council the sole authority for granting licenses.

The changes strip the National Parks and Wildlife Service of its role in the licensing process, a move the opposition said gives the Game Council too much power.

Under current laws, hunting is only allowed on farms for pest mitigation.

Despite the government backing the bill - in return for the Shooters' support of ports privatisation - Mr O'Farrell said the government would not overturn a 1995 ban on recreational duck hunting.

"The 1995 ban on duck hunting is one of the great pieces of Carr (government) spin," Mr O'Farrell told reporters.

"In Labor's last year in office, 2010-2011, (it) set a quota of more than 100,000 ducks on private land - something like 52,000, 53,000 of those ducks were shot.

"Duck hunting on private land has existed since Bob Carr claimed that duck hunting had ended in NSW."

Mr O'Farrell took credit for restricting the Shooters Party bill with a series of government amendments, including the creation of a new Game Bird Management Committee to set quotas and determine what species of bird can be hunted and where.

Questioned about the deal with the Shooters Party over the government's leasing plans for Port Botany and Port Kembla, Mr O'Farrell said: "We're working with the upper house we have."

During the debate on the bill, the opposition's environment spokesman Luke Foley said Labor supported the current system of hunting by farmers for pest mitigation, but the shooters' bill was "a bridge too far".

"If recreational shooters play a part in a legitimate mitigation effort, we don't see a problem with that," Mr Foley told the upper house.

"We don't believe the regulatory arrangements contemplated by (the Shooters Party) are balanced."

Shooters Party MP Robert Brown said the bill simply removed the red tape involved with the licensing system.

"The current system is inefficient with two licensing systems running in parallel," he told parliament.

Greens MP John Kaye blasted the government for backing the duck hunting bill in return for the Shooters Party vote on its ports privatisation bill, which passed through parliament late on Wednesday night.

"(The government) is absolutely happy to trade off animal welfare in order to get its legislation through this chamber," he said.

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Rinehart launches new book

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has unveiled her new book and her vision for the nation in Sydney. Source: AAP

MINING magnate Gina Rinehart has gathered tributes from advertising millionaire John Singleton and Indian industrialist GVK Reddy for her new book, which she is launching in Sydney on Thursday.

The book, "Northern Australia and Then Some", has been held in relative secrecy ahead of a two-day publicity tour by Ms Rinehart, who is chairman of Hancock Prospecting, through Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The preface describes the new tome as "a compendium of speeches, articles and images" and says Ms Rinehart "offers the reader a comprehensive insight into her thoughts about national prosperity" and an "intimate glimpse" of her life and times.

A series of photographs from the book, made available to media ahead of the launch in Sydney, show Ms Rinehart with her late father, Lang Hancock, in a number of situations including at her 21st birthday and on one of the family's iron ore tenements in the West Australian Pilbara.

Mr Hancock wrote his own book, Wake Up Australia, to outline his vision of the essential place of mining at the centre of the nation's economic and political future, in 1979.

Mr Singleton, in his tribute to Ms Hancock's book, writes that people need only read two books to understand "the future of Australia and its destruction by government".

"Read Lang's book and it will light up your mind. Read Gina's book and it puts our future under the brightest light I have ever seen," Mr Singleton wrote.

Dr Reddy is chairman and managing director of the giant industrial conglomerate GVK Power and Infrastructure which bought the majority share of Hancock Prospecting's Queensland Galilee Basin coal holdings under a joint development agreement.

Dr Reddy writes that Ms Hancock, who has been involved in a bitter court battle with her children over control of a multi-billion dollar family trust, is "a caring and loving individual ... who cares not only about the wellbeing of her family and those close to her but also about the nation".

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States react to federal NDIS draft bill

STATE disability ministers have criticised the lack of flexibility in draft federal legislation to establish a National Disability Insurance Scheme ahead of its planned introduction to parliament next week.

Federal Families Minister Jenny Macklin is likely to present the bill, which is yet to be publicly released, in the lower house during the year's final sitting week before the summer break.

NSW Disability Minister Andrew Constance on Wednesday warned the bill reflects Ms Macklin's failure to "consult widely and broadly" and as a result the disability sector may be disappointed.

Mr Constance also said Labor had "put a timeframe on this to suit their election timetable" and described the draft bill as "overly bureaucratic".

"There's been a lack of engagement and consultation by Jenny Macklin with the disability sector," Mr Constance told AAP on Wednesday.

"I haven't seen anything that gives me comfort."

Mr Constance said the bill had been drafted in the "prism of a social security bill", creating a lack of flexibility.

"It will potentially risk some of the fundamental outcomes of having a national scheme in place, such as people's ability to have choice and control when it comes to development of their own plan," he added.

"The sector doesn't want to see a prescriptive bill."

West Australian Disability Minister Helen Morton and South Australia's Ian Hunter echoed Mr Constance's concerns.

"It is clear this legislation is based on a social security model and that if left unchanged will lead this state towards a Centrelink-type approach to disability services," Mrs Morton said.

"This would take WA backwards to a rigid, compliance-based system and undermine the progress we are making to give people choice and control over services."

Mr Hunter said while he was pleased there had been significant changes to the draft laws he had raised concerns with Ms Macklin over its "overly prescriptive nature".

"I will continue to lobby for a greater emphasis on choice and flexibility for people with disability," he said.

A parliamentary committee will examine the draft legislation and feedback will be sought from people with disabilities, their families, carers and disability workers.

The NDIS is expected to cost around $15 billion a year to run when fully implemented in 2018/19.

The Labor government has set aside $1 billion to fund five launch sites around the nation from mid-2013, but future funding commitments fall outside the four-year budget estimates period.

Last month Ms Macklin hinted at extra money in the next year's federal budget for the national roll-out.

Mr Constance also said the states were yet to hear what input they would have on appointments to the board that will govern the NDIS.

"We need to see more details around the planning processes associated with the individual," he said.

A spokeswoman for Ms Macklin maintained the bill had been developed in consultation with people with disabilities, their families and their carers.

"The NDIS will give people with disability, their families and carers more choice and control over their lives, and the legislation reflects this," she said.

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Singapore dissident to run for office

ONE of Singapore's most outspoken opposition politicians plans to run for parliament again after settling defamation damages awarded to two former prime ministers.

"I look forward to standing for elections in 2016," Chee Soon Juan, 50, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), told AFP on Wednesday.

Chee was declared bankrupt in 2006 after failing to pay his debts to former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. Singaporean law bans people who are bankrupt from running for parliament.

The government's Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office confirmed Wednesday that Chee, a vocal critic of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) once led by Lee and Goh, will have his bankruptcy formally annulled on Friday.

Chee became ineligible to run for office in 2006 after failing to pay Sg$500,000 (around US$400,000 at current rates) in damages awarded to Lee and Goh over remarks he made in the 2001 general election.

In July this year, Chee offered to pay them Sg$30,000 to settle his debts, which Lee and Goh accepted.

The PAP has dominated Singapore politics since 1959 and its leaders have in the past been accused by critics of using lawsuits to sideline opponents - something they said they needed to do to protect their reputations.

Chee, who raised the money to pay his debts through public donations and proceeds from a book, said his exit from bankruptcy "means that the party is further strengthened as far as the next elections are concerned".

His party failed to win a single seat in the 2011 election, which saw the PAP receive an all-time low of 60 per cent of the vote but still win 81 seats in the 87-member parliament.

The opposition took the remaining six seats, despite winning 40 per cent of the vote, under a system critics see as stacked in favour of the PAP.

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Japan ex-PM to leave politics

FORMER Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama says he will retire from politics at next month's election and leave the party he founded.

Hatoyama, whose wild-eyed expression contributed to his being dubbed "The Alien" by the Japanese press, met Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday.

Noda told reporters that Hatoyama had said he "will not run in the general election, and is retiring from politics".

Commentators say the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will get a drubbing at the December 16 poll.

Hatoyama's opposition to Noda's sales tax rise and plans to join a trans-Pacific free trade deal were instrumental in the decision, earlier reports said.

"I don't have a choice but to leave the party because the party's policy is way too different from my ideals," he told supporters, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

Hatoyama became prime minister in 2009 when the DPJ ended half a century of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party.

He was initially seen as the bringer of change, but his reputation took a battering when he reversed course on a plan to remove a controversial US airbase in Okinawa.

He resigned from the post after just nine months in office, short even by the standards of Japan's revolving-door premiership.

Hatoyama, whose sometimes oddball comments proved a stumbling block for party managers, hails from a powerful political and business clan.

He is a fourth-generation politician and the second in the family to become prime minister, after his grandfather. His other grandfather founded tyremaker Bridgestone.

Hatoyama's wife Miyuki is a former actress turned lifestyle guru with an interest in spirituality. She famously said her soul once visited Venus on a triangular spaceship and that she met Tom Cruise in a previous life.

Opinion polls suggest no one party will achieve a majority in the election and that a possibly shaky coalition is a likely outcome.

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Melbourne Airport 'needs rail link'

Melbourne Airport will build a $50m third runway to cope with the huge growth in passenger traffic. Source: AAP

THE Victorian government needs to come to the party on a rail link to Melbourne Airport and improved road access, the airport's boss says.

The airport is planning a $500 million third runway, with construction likely to start in 2016.

The runway would take two to four years to complete and allow more aircraft movements, which are expected to jump from 200,000 to 281,000 by 2022-23.

But Melbourne Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff says the government needs to support the expansion with a greater commitment to improving access.

"What are we doing about the Tullamarine Freeway? What are we doing about the widening of that? What are we doing about giving Skybus, for example, a priority lane?" Mr Woodruff said on Wednesday.

The Skybus carried nearly 2.5 million passengers a year but was caught in traffic congestion on the Tullamarine Freeway, he said.

Mr Woodruff said he expected the government to give a solid commitment to a rail link to the airport when the airport released its master plan in February or March.

Melbourne Airport was spending $300 million on capital projects this year and planned to spend $500 million annually over the next 20 years, he said.

"I look to the state government to come to the party," Mr Woodruff said.

"On our own we are producing significant economic benefits for this state."

Mr Woodruff said while a rail link would take more than seven years to complete, widening of Tullamarine Freeway could be done within a year.

Premier Ted Baillieu said the government had committed $6.5 million to a study on a rail link to the airport.

"It's not a simple exercise to simply drop a rail link into an airport," he said.

Passenger numbers at Melbourne Airport are forecast to reach 40 million by 2020 and more than 60 million by 2033.

Suburbs such as Gladstone Park, Broadmeadows and Westmeadows would be under the path of aircraft using the new east-west runway.

Broadmeadows resident and Fight the Flight Path co-chair Jody Freestone said the frequency of planes was already disruptive.

"You can't sleep," Ms Freestone told AAP.

She said there should be a curfew review for Melbourne Airport and an environmental impact study before the airport's master plan goes to the federal government for approval.

Environment Victoria campaigns director Mark Wakeham said it was reckless to decide to build another runway without any examination of the likely emissions consequences.

Meanwhile, the government has launched plans for an aviation hub at Tullamarine, with a view to enticing different parts of the industry to work together, including components manufacturers and training providers.

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Two trade deals good for jobs: Gillard

PM Julia Gillard will hold talks on trade and security with national leaders at the EAS on Tuesday. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says two developments in trade talks are good news for Australian jobs.

Ms Gillard met with US President Barack Obama and nine other regional leaders at the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Cambodia on Tuesday to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The prime minister said the 11 TPP nation members had resolved to finalise negotiations by October 2013 for the trade deal, covering about 30 per cent of the world's economic output.

The TPP includes the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and Canada.

Sixteen regional leaders attending the summit in Phnom Penh also threw their weight behind a new set of talks, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The pact will be based on existing trade deals in the region, including the free-trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN nations.

Trade officials are keen to conclude the talks by 2015.

Ms Gillard said both the TPP and RCEP were important to reaching the long-term goal of creating the world's largest free-trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Australia is a great trading nation and freer trade arrangements mean more jobs for Australians," Ms Gillard told reporters in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Speaking during his talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiaboa, which included discussions on trade and tensions in the South China Sea, Mr Obama said he was ambitious to open up trade in the region.

"As the two largest economies in the world, we have a special responsibility to lead the way in ensuring sustained and balanced growth, not only here in Asia, but globally," Mr Obama said.

Mr Wen said China was committed to enhancing business co-operation and engaging in "large-scale co-operation" in terms of economic ties.

Ms Gillard, who also discussed trade and security issues in a meeting with Mr Wen, told reporters Australia was not taking sides on the disputed territories in the South China Sea, but backed the future adoption of a code of conduct for dealing with conflicts.

ASEAN leaders broke up their summit held just before the EAS without agreeing on the code of conduct, but backing further talks.

A minority of nations including Vietnam and the Philippines argued the issue needed to be dealt with multilaterally, but China argued it was working to resolve individual issues on a bilateral basis.

Ms Gillard also announced Australia would fund a $50 million program to combat people trafficking and fight malaria.

Asked whether Mr Obama had offered her advice on how to beat a conservative party, Ms Gillard said: "We will get about doing that in our own way."

The summit is due to wrap up about 9pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

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Top Bandido arrested in Qld drug raids

Queensland police launched a series of raids agains the Bandidos motorcycle gang, making 28 arrests. Source: AAP

THE Bandidos national sergeant-at-arms is among 32 members and associates of the outlaw motor cycle gang who have been arrested during police raids in southeast Queensland.

Detectives concluded an 11-month long operation on Tuesday morning with multiple raids across the region, resulting in 173 charges being laid.

Police seized methylamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis, firearms, cash and three mobile phone stunning devices.

Detective Acting Superintendent Tony Duncan says Operation Kilo Subdue targeted the Bandidos Brisbane chapter, focusing specifically on drug distribution to the city's entertainment precincts.

Five people - two gang members and three close associates - were charged with trafficking and one other is expected to be charged late on Tuesday, he said.

Supt Duncan said six of those arrested were Bandido members, while the rest were linked to the gang.

The raft of charges related to not only trafficking, but serious assaults, firearm offences and lesser drug-related crimes, he said.

"The people arrested included the national sergeant-at-arms for the Bandidos," Supt Duncan told reporters in Brisbane.

He said the operation would make a significant impact in the drug supply chain in Brisbane.

"I think anything that can disrupt organised crime is always pleasing," he said.

"Any strategies that can be put in place to disrupt the distribution of drugs is always good."

One person was due to face Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, while the rest are expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

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Fears indigenous job providers could close

THERE are fears some organisations helping indigenous people get jobs will have to close at the end of the year because of funding uncertainty.

During Senate question time on Tuesday, Liberal senator Marise Payne asked the federal government to justify changes to the indigenous employment program that could see some job service providers close.

Senator Payne warned the changes could result in the imminent closure of the Aboriginal Employment Strategy, which has placed 10,000 indigenous people into jobs, and of the Replay Group, which operates in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

"Some organisations have indicated they will have to close their doors from December 1 this year because they have no certainty," Senator Payne said.

She asked whether providers under the current system would be able to survive.

The federal government is moving towards a jobs services agency model rather than an employer-driven model, the Senate was told.

There was confusion over which Labor frontbencher was responsible for the area.

Finance Minister Penny Wong told the chamber she had to check she was the representative for Indigenous Employment Minister Julie Collins in the Senate.

"I'm advised the government will continue to discuss these contracts, prior to expiry with existing providers," she said, reading off a brief.

She said last month the AES successfully tendered to provide traineeships under the $50.7 million indigenous youth career pathway program.

Senator Wong said an independent public tender process had taken place.

Aboriginal Employment Strategy chief executive Danny Lester told AAP the job providers weren't asking for additional money.

He said there had been a moratorium placed on contracts for the indigenous employment program.

Mr Lester said there was $9 million left out of a $24 million contract that had not yet been spent.

The 4000 job placements had nearly been achieved, but the leftover money could go towards additional placements, he said.

That money could tide his organisation over until June 2013, because from December 31 their funding would dry up.

The organisation wants to work with the government on a new model next year.

AES has been in talks with both the prime minister's and Minister Collins' offices and hopes to know its fate by the end of November, Mr Lester said.

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Temporary hold on ground invasion: Israel

SENIOR Israeli ministers have decided to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official says.

"A decision was taken that for the time being there is a temporary hold on the ground incursion to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," he told AFP on Tuesday.

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Arrium narrowly avoids first strike

STEEL-MAKER Arrium has narrowly avoided a first strike against its executive remuneration package, as its chairman urged frustrated shareholders to keep faith in the company's mining-led future.

Chairman Peter Smedley said he was willing to engage with any suitor offering to acquire the company but that the recent $1.2 billion, 88 cents-a-share, offer by Hong Kong-based Noble Group and South Korea's Posco was not a fair price.

Some shareholders criticised the board and management at the company's annual general meeting on Monday about the woeful performance of its share price, noting executive salaries continued to rise.

Arrium's share price was just over three dollars in February 2011, and closed up 0.5 cents on the day at 72 cents on Monday.

The shareholders' meeting on Monday culminated in a significant protest vote of more than 19.6 per cent against the remuneration report.

However, this was below the first strike threshold of 25 per cent that can lead to a board spill if the vote is above the threshold two years in a row.

Mr Smedley rejected the view of proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis that chief executive Geoff Plummer's salary of $2 million-plus was higher than similar-sized companies, saying Arrium was more complex due to its diverse mining, consumables, and steel-making segments.

Arrium also announced on Monday that Mr Plummer would leave the company next year, with a replacement to be appointed by halfway through 2013.

Mr Smedley said there had been no face-to-face meetings with the recent bid consortium, called Steelmakers Australia, and there was no need while the offer was too low.

He said the best defence against unfair offers was for the company to meet its targets and control what it could, such as costs, achieving iron ore shipments of six million tonnes a year and maximising earnings out of its other divisions such as steel making and mining consumables, including grinding.

"We believe we're doing everything possible to be competitive by international standards," Mr Smedley told shareholders.

The company released a quarterly report on Monday showing it shipped 1.6 million tonnes of iron ore in the three months to the end of September at about $US83 a tonne, down $US26 previously.

Mr Plummer told reporters after the annual general meeting that he was confident of near-term improvements in the iron ore and steel markets in China now that its leadership transition was over.

He was also hope of improvements in the mining consumables segment - with markets hoping for stronger economic growth.

Arrium is Australia's second biggest steel maker behind BlueScope.

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Macdonald rushed mining tender, ICAC told

FORMER NSW resources minister Ian Macdonald rushed to open up the Bylong Valley to coal mining despite advice from a top bureaucrat that the process should be more orderly, a corruption inquiry has heard.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Monday was told that from May 2008 Mr Macdonald was pushing his department for information on coal deposits in the Bylong Valley, in central NSW, in a scramble to put a number of exploration licences out to tender.

One of the disgraced minister's former staffers said Mr Macdonald even ignored the advice of Alan Coutts, the respected deputy director-general of the Department of Primary Industries, who was urging the minister to slow down the process.

The Labor MP's then deputy chief of staff, Jamie Gibson, said Mr Coutts and Mr Macdonald had clashed repeatedly over the headlong rush to open up 11 areas of the state, including the Mt Penny tenement in the Bylong Valley.

Mr Macdonald is accused of favouring his former colleague Eddie Obeid by granting an exploration licence at Mt Penny, where the Labor powerbroker and his family owned property.

Mr Gibson told the inquiry that from May 2008 Mr Macdonald had shown a particular interest in Mt Penny and had been the one to decide to open up the area to mining.

It was the speed at which he wanted the invitation-only expression of interest to go ahead that concerned Mr Coutts, who had wanted more exploration work done on the proposed mining areas, Mr Gibson said.

"Was he suggesting that it should proceed at a more orderly and slower opening up, rather than what appears to be the rather expedited time period that was put on these specific areas?" junior counsel assisting the inquiry, Nicholas Chen, asked.

"To my recollection he was," Mr Gibson replied.

"He was advocating as well as he could, as his position in his department allowed, to the minister."

"Was he suggesting that the pace at which these were being opened should be far slower?" Mr Chen asked.

"I do remember he was advocating a proper look at the process before it commenced," Mr Gibson replied.

Mr Gibson said the pair "certainly disagreed" often, before Mr Coutts was moved on to head the NSW Food Authority in November 2008.

"Ministerial officers and ministers and departmental heads from time to time have very robust debates," Mr Gibson said.

"And if you mean strongly, do I mean things like swearing and things like that, then yes, that is a natural part of executive government, unfortunately.

"From your observation from the dealings you had with Mr Coutts, did you form the view that something was going to give in the relationship between Mr Coutts and Mr Macdonald?" Mr Chen asked.

"Yes."

"And that was always going to be, I take it, Mr Coutts?"

"Yes," Mr Gibson replied.

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All options open for super trawler backers

The federal government is extending a ban on commercial fishing by the super trawler Abel Tasman. Source: AAP

JILTED super trawler operator Seafish Tasmania says all options are on the table, including possible legal action, in response to the federal government's two-year ban on the Abel Tasman.

Seafish director Gerry Geen has pleaded for "a fair go" after Environment Minister Tony Burke exercised new powers and stopped the giant factory ship trawling Australian waters while the potential impacts are assessed.

A legal challenge now looks likely once Seafish has consulted with Dutch joint venture partner Parlevliet & Van der Plas over the 142m vessel, formerly known as the Margiris, which is stranded at Port Lincoln and costing its backers tens of thousands of dollars a day.

"All options will be on the table," Mr Geen said in a statement.

"People reckon we have copped a raw deal.

"We followed all AFMA's (Australian Fisheries Management Authority's) rules and regulations and were given the green light ... but then at the last minute the Australian government pulled the rug."

Mr Burke conceded a court battle could result from his announcement, made 60 days after legislation was tabled to increase his ministerial powers.

"The company have made clear, (in) public and personally, that if they thought they needed to they would pursue all legal options available to them," Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.

But he said the government was on "completely strong legal ground" to counter any compensation claims or legal challenges.

Seafish Tasmania had attempted to appease the government by offering to use less than half the factory ship's freezing capacity and to move on from fishing areas once a certain tonnage was caught.

Mr Burke said his department remained dissatisfied with the "genuine uncertainty" around the vessel.

Mr Geen said he had received little response to his company's offer of concessions.

"All we want is a fair go," he said.

"Both Minister Burke and the Australian government have told us what we can't do - we want them to tell us what we can do.

"We wrote to the ministers Burke and Joe Ludwig directly, seeking their assistance and direction as to alternative solutions.

"But we heard nothing back."

Mr Burke and Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig will now establish an expert committee to study the environmental impact of super trawlers over the next two years.

Once the panel has assessed the science, the Abel Tasman could in theory begin fishing if given the all-clear.

The Greens and environmental groups, who mounted a massive campaign against the ship, welcomed the news.

"Australia should be setting international standards for fisheries management and sustainable industries, and today's announcement from Minister Burke is a step towards that," Greens senator Rachel Siewert said.

Greenpeace said overfishing of the world's oceans needed to be addressed.

"Monster boats like the Abel Tasman have no place in our waters," spokesman Ben Pearson said.

"Australia must make it clear that super trawlers have no place here, or anywhere."

The federal opposition's fisheries spokesman Richard Colebeck said Mr Burke had put politics before science.

"All of the credible science ... supported the sustainability of this fishery," he said.

"That Mr Burke constructed his own 'uncertainty' by not talking to any of these leading institutions is yet another indictment on the decision-making processes of this Gillard government."

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Search for missing Sydney diver suspended

SEARCH teams have failed to find any trace of a diver missing off Botany Bay in Sydney.

The 27-year-old had been diving with two mates near Bare Island at La Perouse early on Sunday morning.

The group decided to return about 8.45am but he failed to come ashore.

The other two men waited briefly before swimming back to where they had been diving.

They found their friend's equipment but there has been no sign of him since.

Emergency services and volunteers from Surf Life Saving Australia searched the area until 5pm on Sunday and resuming their efforts on Monday morning.

The search will recommence at first light on Tuesday.

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ASEAN adopts rights pact despite criticism

SOUTH-EAST Asian leaders have endorsed a human rights declaration which they called a breakthrough for the region but critics said it fell well below global standards.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the joint declaration at their annual summit in Phnom Penh, saying it would enshrine human rightS protections for the bloc's 600 million people.

"It's a legacy for our children," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters on Sunday after the signing ceremony.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and more than 60 rights groups called this month for the pact to be postponed amid concerns it undermined universal human rights standards by allowing loopholes for governments.

ASEAN's members have a wide range of political systems, from authoritarian regimes in Vietnam and Laos at one end of the spectrum to the freewheeling democracy of the Philippines at the other.

Campaigners also slammed the lack of transparency and the absence of consultation with civil society groups during the drafting of the text.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the bloc's foreign ministers had made an amendment to the text on Saturday aimed at addressing those complaints.

The amended text affirmed ASEAN nations would "implement the declaration in accordance to the international human rights declarations and standards".

But the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, said it was not enough to fix the "flawed" pact, which he said would justify crackdowns based on "national context" or on grounds of "public morality".

"Our worst fears in this process have now come to pass," Robertson said in a statement on Sunday.

"Rather than meeting international standards, this declaration lowers them by creating new loopholes and justifications that ASEAN member states can use to justify abusing the rights of their people."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa urged observers not to jump to conclusions.

"It's an important benchmark for ASEAN to be kept honest in terms of its human rights obligations," Natalegawa told reporters.

Human rights has been a sensitive issue for some ASEAN members, with the grouping's policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs often preventing the issue from being discussed more thoroughly at annual meetings.

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Backyard pot grown for health: survey

ALMOST half of people growing small quantities of cannabis in Australia use if for medicinal purposes, a new study has found.

In the first study of its size in Australia, the National Drug Research Institute is conducting an anonymous online survey to find out more about people who grow small amounts of cannabis in their backyards, cupboards and sheds.

A research fellow at the institute, Monica Barratt, said about 250 people had taken part so far and it was hoped the responses would double in coming months before the information was collated and compared with similar studies in the US, Canada, the UK and across Europe.

"The majority grow for personal use and also to avoid contact with criminals," Dr Barratt told AAP on Sunday, ahead of her presentation at a major alcohol and drug conference in Melbourne this week.

Almost half of the survey respondents said they grew cannabis for medicinal purposes, including people hoping to improve their appetite while taking medication for cancer and HIV, Dr Barratt said.

Nearly all of the respondents were men with a median age of 34. More than half of respondents lived outside major cities and were generally well educated and employed, she said.

Some 85 per cent of growers said they did it for personal use and cultivation had sparked contact with police for about one-third.

Growers typically reported growing six juvenile (four mature) plants. The most common places to grow cannabis were the garden (45 per cent), inside a cupboard (26 per cent), in parks or bush (21 per cent) and inside a shed (19 per cent).

Dr Barratt said it was hoped the survey would give growers a say about policies concerning cannabis, which differ from state to state.

Almost all said tht even if cannabis was decriminalised there should be regulations in place for growers, such as how many plants and what types of people should be allowed to cultivate the drug.

The World Wide Weed team conducting international research into cannabis cultivation was looking for more respondents.

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GrainCorp boss eyes growth, not sale

EASTERN Australia's largest grains handler, GrainCorp, says it is more interested in unlocking $110 million of annual profit improvements it has identified than being acquired.

The grains marketer and maltster rejected a $2.68 billion takeover proposal from US-based food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) on Friday.

It reported a 19 per cent lift in annual profit to $204.9 million on the same day.

Chief executive Alison Watkins said she believed the company's profit result and plans to lift annual earnings would give shareholders an understanding of GrainCorp's fundamental value, which was greater than ADM's $11.75 a share cash offer.

"We're not in the mode of selling the company," she told ABC TV's Inside Business on Sunday.

"We considered the ADM proposal. We took that very seriously. We have a great growth strategy, very excited about getting on and delivering that."

Ms Watkins cited the recent $472 million acquisition of Goodman Fielder's Gardner Smith and Integro food oils businesses as growth drivers.

GrainCorp would be more focused on organic growth - rather than bolt-on acquisitions - through its existing east Australian assets involving wheat, barley, canola and storing, processing and marketing those grains, she said.

New York stock exchange-listed agribusiness giant ADM is the world's largest corn producer and increased its stake in GrainCorp to 14.9 per cent from 4.9 per cent last month.

The possible foreign control of a major Australian wheat exporter led NSW Nationals Senator John Williams to argue against its approval, which would have to be given by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

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Qld's southeast battens down again

A severe storm warning has been issued for Queensland's southeast. Source: AAP

DANGEROUS thunderstorms with large hailstones are moving into Queensland's southeast corner, with the weather bureau issuing warnings for the region.

The bureau says residents in Logan City and parts of the Brisbane City, Gympie, Ipswich City, Sunshine Coast, Scenic Rim and South Burnett can all expect a buffeting, with wind gusts reaching 110km/h.

It said dangerous thunderstorms were expected to hit Peak Crossing, Bundamba Lagoon, Greenbank and Redbank Plains accompanied by flash flooding.

Emergency Management Queensland advises people to move their cars under cover and away from trees, not to attempt to drive, walk or ride through flood waters and avoid using the phone during a thunderstorm.

The Department of Community Safety said about 60 calls had been received on Sunday, to help with minor flooding, leaking roofs and tarping.

Senior Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) forecaster Jonty Hall said weak storms throughout the day kept temperatures low.

"So we didn't see the heat which enhances the storms," Mr Hall told AAP.

On Saturday, Brisbanites only knew a ferocious storm was upon them when they were being pounded by almost cyclonic winds and hail.

The BoM was criticised for failing to issue a warning until five minutes after the storm began to hammer the inner city, with its Facebook page hit with negative messages.

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