Routine morning, then unthinkable terror

Teachers have described a scene of unspeakable terror at the school where the US shooting occurred. Source: AAP

FIRST, he killed his mother.

Nancy Lanza's body was found later at their home in Newtown - after the carnage at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Nobody knows why 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, why he then took her guns to the school and murdered 20 children and six adults.

But on Friday he drove his mother's car through this 300-year-old town and arrived at a local school. Somehow, he got past a security door to a place where children should have been safe from harm.

Theodore Varga and other fourth-grade teachers were meeting. The glow remained from the previous night's fourth-grade concert.

"It was a lovely day," Varga said. "Everybody was joyful and cheerful. We were ending the week on a high note."

And then, suddenly and unfathomably, gunshots rang out. "I can't even remember how many," he said.

The fourth-graders, the oldest kids in the school, were in specialty classes like gym and music. There was no lock on the meeting room door, so the teachers had to think about how to escape, knowing that their students were with other teachers.

Someone turned the loudspeaker on, so everyone could hear what was happening in the office.

"You could hear the hysteria that was going on," Varga said. "Whoever did that saved a lot of people. Everyone in the school was listening to the terror that was transpiring."

Gathered in another room for a meeting were principal Dawn Hochsprung and Diane Day, a school therapist, along with a school psychologist, other staff members and a parent. They were meeting to discuss a second-grader.

"We were there for about five minutes chatting, and we heard Pop! Pop!, Pop!" Day told The Wall Street Journal. "I went under the table."

But Hochsprung and the psychologist leaped out of their seats and ran out of the room, Day recalled. "They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on," she said. Hochsprung was killed, and the psychologist was believed to have been killed as well.

A custodian ran around, warning people there was a gunman, Varga said.

"He said, 'Guys! Get down! Hide!"' Varga said. "So he was actually a hero."

Did he survive? The teacher did not know.

Police radios crackled with first word of the shooting at 9:36, according to the New York Post.

"Sandy Hook School. Caller is indicating she thinks there's someone shooting in the building," a Newtown dispatcher radioed, according to a tape posted on the paper's website.

In a first-grade classroom, teacher Kaitlin Roig heard the shots. She immediately barricaded her 15 students into a tiny bathroom, sitting one of them on top of the toilet. She pulled a bookshelf across the door and locked it. She told the kids to be "absolutely quiet."

"I said, 'There are bad guys out there now. We need to wait for the good guys,"' she told ABC News.

"The kids were being so good," she said. "They asked, 'Can we go see if anyone is out there?' 'I just want Christmas. I don't want to die, I just want to have Christmas.' I said, 'You're going to have Christmas and Hanukkah."'

One student claimed to know karate. "It's OK. I'll lead the way out," the student said.

In the gym, crying fourth-graders huddled in a corner. One of them was 10-year-old Philip Makris.

"He said he heard a lot of loud noises and then screaming," said his mother, Melissa Makris. "Then the gym teachers immediately gathered the children in a corner and kept them safe."

Another girl who was in the gym recalled hearing "like, seven loud booms."

"The gym teacher told us to go in a corner, so we all huddled and I kept hearing these booming noises," the girl, who was not identified by name, told NBC News. "We all started - well, we didn't scream; we started crying, so all the gym teachers told us to go into the office where no one could find us."

An 8-year-old boy described how a teacher saved him.

"I saw some of the bullets going past the hall that I was right next to, and then a teacher pulled me into her classroom," said the boy, who was not identified by CBSNews.com.

Robert Licata said his 6-year-old son was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher. "That's when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door," he said. "He was very brave. He waited for his friends."

He said the shooter didn't utter a word.

"The shooting appears to have stopped," the dispatcher radioed at 9:38 am, according to the Post. "There is silence at this time. The school is in lockdown."

And at 9:46 am, an anguished voice from the school: "I've got bodies here. Need ambulances."

Carefully, police searched room to room, removing children and staff from harm's way. They found Adam Lanza, dead by his own hand after shooting up two classrooms; no officer fired a gun.

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Three boats intercepted in past 24 hours

THREE boats carrying a total of 214 people have been intercepted off Australia's north-east coast since Friday.

The boats were carrying between 54 and 101 people each.

HMAS Maryborough, operating under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), helped a vessel that sought assistance north-east of Christmas Island early on Saturday.

The vessel had earlier been detected by a Customs and Border Protection surveillance aircraft.

Initial indications suggest 54 passengers were on board.

On Friday a boat carrying 101 people was intercepted north of Christmas Island by HMAS Pirie, operating under the Border Protection Command, after being detected by an RAAF maritime patrol aircraft.

Border Protection Command said 97 passengers and four crew were on board.

A third boat carrying 56 passengers and three crew was intercepted by HMAS Bathurst northeast of the Ashmore Islands, also on Friday.

Passengers from all three boats will be transferred to Christmas Island for the usual security, health and identity checks.

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Two dead after shooting at US hotel

US police say a man and woman are dead after a shooting at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Ray Steiber said the shooting happened at about 8.30pm on Friday at the Excalibur hotel-casino.

Steiber said a man shot a woman near the front entrance of the high-rise hotel and the man then turned the gun on himself and was found dead at the scene.

Steiber said the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Neither the gunman nor the victim was identified.

However, Steiber said the woman worked as a vendor at the hotel's concierge desk, where tourists can get show tickets and restaurant reservations.

He said the relationship between the shooter and the victim wasn't immediately clear.

No one else was injured.

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Philippine cops kill Malaysian 'terrorist'

PHILIPPINE police have killed a suspected Malaysian terrorist who was allegedly planning a bomb attack in one of the largest cities in the country's south, police say.

The suspected terrorist, identified as Mohd Noor Fikrie Bin Abud Kahar, was shot dead by police on Friday following a scuffle inside a hotel in Davao, a bustling port city and a regional commercial hub on the main southern island of Mindanao.

As the man and his Filipino wife were checking out of the hotel, he tried to grab a backpack from his wife containing a homemade bomb, Davao city police chief Ronald de la Rosa said.

Officers tried to seize the man, who broke free and threatened to detonate the device.

"You want the bomb? You want the bomb? Shoot me! Shoot me! I will explode the bomb," de la Rosa quoted the man as saying.

The threats prompted officers and people in the hotel lobby to scamper out for safety, the police chief said.

The man and his wife then ran into the street, where they hugged each other as the man raised a mobile phone, threatening to use it to trigger the bomb.

The man grabbed the backpack from his wife and ran toward a park full of revellers while his wife was arrested by police, de la Rosa told The Associated Press by telephone from Davao, about 980 kilometres south of Manila.

Guards locked the park's gate to keep the man out.

Still raising his hand that held the mobile phone, he then ran into a packed restaurant where a sniper shot him twice in the chest. Other officers then fired at him and killed him, de la Rosa said.

The bomb, which was subsequently defused, was fashioned from a mortar shell.

The police chief said intelligence reports indicated terrorists planned to explode a bomb in Davao.

Intelligence agents had received a tip from a "very reliable source" that the couple were staying at the hotel, de la Rosa said.

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High Court to test Centrelink fraud laws

THE High Court has agreed to hear the case of a Melbourne woman accused of defrauding Centrelink, testing the constitutionality of retrospective welfare fraud laws introduced last year.

Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) successfully applied on Friday to have the case of single mother Kelli Keating heard by the High Court, a case it says could affect 15,000 past convictions as well as future prosecutions.

Keating has been charged with welfare fraud under legislation passed in July last year which made it a criminal offence for a person to not tell Centrelink of any change that might affect their entitlements within 14 days.

The legislation applies retrospectively, from March 2000.

Centrelink alleges Keating was overpaid $6942 after failing to declare her income.

VLA's barrister, Debbie Mortimer SC, told the full bench of the High Court in Melbourne that the legislation "invented" and then imposed a duty on a person that was incapable of being performed.

"The commonwealth has criminalised conduct that was not criminal in any sense at the time it was committed," Ms Mortimer told Justices Kenneth Hayne, John Heydon and Virginia Bell.

Wendy Abraham QC, for the commonwealth, said welfare recipients were always aware of their responsibility to report changes to their income.

"Any recipient of a social security benefit would have been under no misapprehension ... that there is a requirement to notify of a change of circumstances," she said.

"One doesn't simply go on Centrelink and get it forever."

The High Court agreed to hear the matter next Tuesday.

Outside court, VLA director of civil justice Kristen Hilton said the case was about challenging the breadth of the law and whether or not parliament can pass retrospective laws.

She said one in three overpayments were the result of mistakes made by Centrelink.

"This is not about getting people off the hook where there has been clearly fraudulent behaviour," she said.

"It's about people who have made a mistake, it's about people who haven't understood the system.

"It's a very complex system and we know that people on Centrelink are generally people who perhaps don't have high literacy levels, they may be from non-English speaking backgrounds, they may have a mental health issue or a disability.

"It's the most vulnerable getting caught up in the system and this legislation intends to cast that net even wider."

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Gillard planting budget bombs: Baillieu

VICTORIAN drivers will pay more for licences as the state government claws back $750 million in revenue, and the premier has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of budget sabotage.

Delivering a slim $137 million surplus forecast for 2012/13, Premier Ted Baillieu said $1 billion had been wiped from the state's bottom line since this year's budget, largely due to a weak property market.

Estimated stamp duty revenue has been revised down by an average of $293 million a year over the next four years.

Vehicle taxes are also predicted to be $40 million less than forecast in the May budget.

Victorians will pay for the revenue downgrade with more expensive driver's licence fees and a tightening of eligibility for the $7000 first home owner grant.

Three-year driver's licence fees will be $20 more expensive from April next year and 10-year permits will be $70 higher.

To qualify for the $7000 first home owner grant, buyers will have to live in the property for a minimum of 12 months, instead of just six months.

The government is expecting to raise $75 million by selling off state-funded aged care places to private providers in Melbourne.

Government departments will be expected to trim $290 million in spending through a two per cent efficiency dividend to start from January 1, 2014.

Treasurer Kim Wells did not rule out further public sector job cuts on top of the 4200 already announced.

He said the current voluntary redundancy program was ahead of schedule, with 2300 already accepted.

Mr Wells said the states were facing sharp revenue falls but he did not support raising the rate of the GST or broadening its base.

Mr Baillieu said the federal government was to blame for a significant part of the state's revenue woes.

He said the commonwealth had announced major policies such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Gonski education reforms that would deliver a nasty blow to the states' finances.

"It is a real problem, it's a real challenge," he told reporters.

"You can't have all of these noble initiatives without having revenue streams to be able to pay for them.

"There are time bombs being planted into the forward estimates of the commonwealth budget and state budgets and they are being planted by the commonwealth."

Shadow treasurer Tim Holding said the government was reducing services to families and was formulating a plan to increase taxes.

"The government is clearly hatching a secret plan to dramatically increase the tax burden on Victorian families and it's always someone else's fault," he told reporters.

Community and Public Sector Union Victorian secretary Karen Batt said the government was rehashing the Kennett era strategy of privatising services.

"They say it won't affect services but believe me it will," she told reporters.

"It will have a direct impact on the ability of this state to provide for our aged parents into the future."

Opposition aged care spokeswoman Jenny Mikakos said once aged care beds moved to the private sector there was no guarantee services would be available to families across Victoria.

"Once the beds get sold there is no guarantee that these private providers will keep the same number of beds open in any particular location," she told AAP.

Comment was being sought from Aged Care Minister David Davis.

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Russia denies saying Assad may fall

RUSSIA'S foreign ministry has denied that a top diplomat said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is losing control of his country.

It said in a statement on Friday that Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov "has not made any statements or special interviews recently" on Syria, but was simply citing the stance of the Syrian opposition while giving a speech on Thursday.

Russian state-owned news agencies had quoted Bogdanov as saying that rebels might win the civil war, a comment that appeared to dramatically shift Russia's stance on Syria.

The US later on Thursday commended Russia for "waking up to the reality" by acknowledging the regime's impending fall.

Analysts viewed the diplomat's statement as Russia's attempt to begin positioning itself for Assad's eventual defeat.

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Tokyo stocks close mixed ahead of polls

TOKYO stocks have finished mixed ahead of weekend elections in Japan, as the nation's central bank said confidence among manufacturers had plunged in the final months of the year.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index on Friday was flat, dipping 5.17 points to 9,737.56, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.23 per cent, or 1.83 points, to 801.04.

Japan's premier stock exchange saw one of the year's heaviest trading sessions in the run-up to the Sunday elections, with opinion polls pointing to a sizeable victory for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party.

"Short-term money has locked in profits before Sunday's pivotal elections," said Tatsunori Kawai, chief strategist at kabu.com Securities.

The yen was under pressure on Friday after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its key Tankan survey that showed confidence among large manufacturers at its lowest level in nearly three years, raising concerns over the economy.

The quarterly survey tumbled more than expected to minus 12 from minus three in the third quarter. Economists had expected a reading of minus 10.

The survey of more than 10,000 firms shows the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good minus those saying they are bad, and is a key measure used by the BoJ in formulating monetary policy.

The opposition LDP's leader Shinzo Abe has vowed to pressure the bank to adopt more aggressive easing measures, with his comments weighing on the safe-haven Japanese currency.

The weakening yen helped Tokyo stocks shake off European and US market sell-offs as worries intensify that Washington's fiscal cliff negotiations were dragging on with little progress, analysts said.

Sony was up 2.25 per cent at Y906, Toshiba climbed 1.37 per cent to Y294, and mobile carrier Softbank slipped 2.81 per cent to Y2,930.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was up 1.57 per cent to Y388 on reports that its plans to pick up a 20 per cent stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam for about Y60 billion ($A685.36 million).

In forex trade, the dollar was at Y83.71, from Y83.64 in New York late on Thursday.

The euro bought $US1.3110 and Y109.79, against $US1.3073 and Y109.38 in US trade.

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Seoul to recover N. Korea rocket debris

SOUTH Korea's navy has launched a salvage operation in the Yellow Sea to retrieve debris from North Korea's long-range rocket launch, military officials say.

The first stage of the North's Unha-3 rocket launched on Wednesday fell in the sea off the Korean peninsula, while the second splashed down east of the Philippines.

"Our navy discovered what appeared to be a part from the first stage of North Korea's rocket in the Yellow Sea Wednesday afternoon," a defence ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

"A salvage operation is now under way to retrieve it," he said, declining to give details.

The chunk of the debris was found on the sea bed, some 160 kilometres west of the southwestern port of Gunsan, Yonhap news agency said, at a depth of around 80 metres.

Before it's last rocket launch attempt in April - which ended in failure - North Korea had warned both Japan and South Korea that any effort to salvage debris from the rocket would be considered an "act of war".

The warning was not repeated before Wednesday's launch.

Pyongyang said its latest launch was a purely scientific mission aimed at placing a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite in space.

Most of the world saw it as a disguised ballistic missile test that violates UN resolutions imposed after the North's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

The UN Security Council has condemned the launch and warned of possible measures over what the US called a "highly provocative" act.

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Perth officer hurt after 130km/h pursuit

A POLICEMAN is receiving treatment for head injuries after a pursuit in Perth ended with his car careering into power pole so fast that it snapped in half.

The police union in Western Australia said the 42-year-old officer was being treated after alleging his car was rammed into the pole in the suburb of Clarkson around 11am (WST).

Officers had been pursuing a stolen vehicle at speeds of up to 130km/h, according to the union and witnesses.

Union president George Tilbury said while the injury to the officer was disturbing, the new laws cracking down on motorists who attempted to outrun police in WA were already working, just 36 hours after becoming active.

At least three people have already been arrested under the laws after they officially began on Wednesday, with arrests in Baldivis and Success on Thursday.

The union said the chase through Baldivis had lasted more than 30 minutes, and involved the police air wing.

A Kununurra man was also charged just three hours after the new legislation took effect.

"It's about time these idiots who fail to stop and continue to drive in a reckless manner, putting the lives of the community at risk, will be sent to jail ...," Mr Tilbury said.

"I believe there will be a drop in the number of offenders trying to escape police once the harsh reality of prison time sinks in."

The new laws mean a mandatory minimum 12-month jail term will await any driver who tries to escape police and then engages in dangerous driving that causes death or serious injury.

Drivers who cause bodily harm while driving recklessly during a police chase will also face six months in jail.

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China 'lacks leverage' over N.Korea: media

BEIJING lacks leverage over North Korea and will block moves for strong new sanctions for fear of weakening its position further, Chinese state media say following Pyongyang's rocket launch.

China is the North's sole major ally, considered the nation with the most influence over Pyongyang, and after Wednesday's rocket flight US officials urged it to intervene.

But in an editorial on Thursday the state-run Global Times said: "China's ability to influence countries in the region is limited.... The real problem is China's strength is not sufficient to influence its neighbour's situation."

"NK move shows China's lack of leverage", read its headline.

China voiced "regret" over the launch, but state press said it could not support strong further measures against Pyongyang for fear of weakening its relationship.

A bellicose Western reaction risked driving North Korea into a corner with potentially devastating results, editorials said.

"That is why China should not take a cooperative stance with the US, Japan and South Korea in imposing sanctions on North Korea," the Global Times said.

"China will veto radical resolutions made by the three countries. At the same time North Korea should pay for its actions."

It acknowledged fears in the region should North Korea eventually be able to arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear weapon.

The reaction to the launch "is almost the same as that of North Korea's nuclear test", the paper said, and "a vicious circle" of escalation could lead to Japan abandoning its pacifist constitution and threaten peace in Northeast Asia.

The situation was "subtle, complex and dangerous", said the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, urging calm and a return to the six-party talks on North Korea hosted by China and including Russia, the United States, South Korea and Japan.

"The reaction by the Security Council should be prudent and measured," the paper added.

One columnist in Global Times, which often takes a nationalist stance, suggested that China should seize the opportunity to establish a regional security framework.

The country is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan over islands in the east China Sea, and several littoral states over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

"Now it's high time to establish a political and security mechanism," wrote Ding Gang. "China is a big power in the region.

"China itself will certainly be confined by the mechanism, but the credibility it acquires will be more important. "The mechanism will not only regulate North Korea, but also the Philippines and Vietnam."

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Familiar names for Golden Globes lineup

A FAMILIAR lineup of Hollywood awards contenders are expected among Golden Globe nominations, whose prospects include past Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Robert De Niro and Sally Field.

Nominations come out on Thursday morning (Friday AEDT) for the 70th Globes ceremony, Hollywood's second-biggest film honours after the Academy Awards.

Among potential contenders are two-time Oscar winners Day-Lewis and Field for Steven Spielberg's Civil War saga Lincoln, whose Globe possibilities also include past Oscar recipient Tommy Lee Jones.

Two-time Oscar winner De Niro is in the running for the lost-soul romance Silver Linings Playbook, along with the film's lead performers, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

The field of contenders is loaded with other Oscar recipients such as Mirren and Anthony Hopkins for Hitchcock, Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master, Helen Hunt for The Sessions, Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone, Russell Crowe for Les Miserables and Alan Arkin for Argo.

One of the year's big action hits, the James Bond adventure Skyfall, could bring the latest Globe nomination for past Oscar winner Javier Bardem, who elevates his super-villain role into one of the year's most entertaining performances.

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 90 reporters covering Hollywood for overseas outlets, the Globes sometimes single out newcomers to Hollywood's awards scene. Hilary Swank's Globe win for 1999's Boys Don't Cry helped put her on the map on the way to winning her first Oscar.

The possibilities this time include veteran French performers Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant, who star as an elderly couple in Amour, and first-time actors Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry for the low-budget critical darling Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Globe acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Oscars. All four Oscar winners last season - lead performers Meryl Streep of The Iron Lady and Jean Dujardin of The Artist and supporting players Octavia Spencer of The Help and Christopher Plummer of Beginners - won Globes first.

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Macmahon quits construction

MINING contractor Macmahon Holdings will cut jobs after offloading its construction business and will tap investors for $80.7 million as it tries to reverse a slide in earnings.

Macmahon on Wednesday outlined its new strategy to investors, saying it would become a dedicated full service mining contractor.

It has signed a $16.3 million deal with its biggest shareholder Leighton Holdings to take over the bulk of its construction projects, including equipment and staff.

However Macmahon said it expects to be hit by one-off costs of about $10 million as a result of its restructuring, and redundancy and closure costs.

It will also undertake a fully underwritten $80.7 million capital raising to strengthen its balance sheet after heavy writedowns on its construction business.

Leighton owns a 19.4 per cent stake in Macmahon Holdings, which last traded at 26.5 cents a share, and is supporting the offer.

The moves come after a major review of Macmahon's businesses and costs, which has led to the axing of up to 50 jobs.

The company would not say how many jobs would go this time with some people to be transferred to Leighton.

Chief executive Ross Carroll said Macmahon had been forced to make substantial writedowns on its construction business, and as a result the group's net profit for 2012/13 would be between nil and $25 million.

The latest earnings guidance comes after former chief executive Nick Bowen shocked investors in September with news that its profit for this financial year would be about half the $56.1 million reported in 2011/12.

Four weeks earlier, Macmahon had confidently predicted a 20 per cent rise in profit.

But Macmahon has suffered cost overruns at its Hope Downs 4 rail project in Western Australia and expects fewer contract wins amid worries that the nation's mining boom is coming to an end.

Mr Carroll said with the new strategy in place, Macmahon's mining business would deliver about $1.2 billion in revenue for 2012/13, increasing to around $1.4 billion in 201414.

The offloading of the construction business would also help reduce the volatility in Macmahon's earnings.

Under the deal with Leighton, Macmahon will retain projects nearing completion as well as residual exposure to its share in the South Road Superway project and the Trangie Nevertire irrigation scheme.

Macmahon will retain about $40 million worth of equipment, which will be used in its mining business or sold.

The deal with Leighton is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting to be held in February.

It will also undertake a fully underwritten $80.7 million capital raising to strengthen its balance sheet after heavy writedowns on its construction business.

City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said while the offer meant pain for current shareholders who had to produce more cash he thought the company would be better off without its Achille's heel of construction.

"For those that aren't in (shareholders), what emerges is a recapitalised Macmahon with the best part of the business remaining," he told AAP.

Leighton's chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt said the deal would have no impact on the company's net profit for fiscal 2012 and was expected to be earnings accretive in 2013.

"With the consent of Macmahon clients through the novation of contracts, the bulk of the projects will transition to our John Holland business, bringing volume and scale, and expanding their presence in the Northern Territory," he said.

Macmahon's shares were placed in a trading halt on Monday, ahead of an announcement about its plans.

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Vic to blame for hospital cuts: Plibersek

VICTORIAN patients will suffer because of state government hospital funding cuts, the federal government says.

The Victorian government has accused the federal government of pulling $475 million in funding to the state's hospitals over four years.

But federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said commonwealth funding to Victorian hospitals will rise by more than $900 million over the next four years.

She told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday she had met with a number of Victorian hospital officials about cuts to their budgets because of decisions made by the Victorian government.

"I know that local hospitals in Victoria are finding it very difficult at the moment to make the readjustments that have been forced upon them by the Victorian government," she said.

"I wanted to reassure them that commonwealth funding will continue to grow for them. In every single year there'll be an increase in money from the commonwealth government."

Ms Plibersek said the Victorian government was claiming federal money was cut based on incorrect population data but this was not true.

"The population of Victoria is increasing. The commonwealth accepts it's increasing. It is not increasing as quickly as the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicted it would. That's the difference."

Ms Plibersek said Victoria had an unexpected windfall of about $289 million of extra GST money and Victorian hospitals should demand Health Minister David Davis ask for some of those funds.

She also said the state government had put in a submission four months late to receive millions in commonwealth dollars on offer to build and upgrade hospitals.

"They could have had more than $100 million four months ago if they had their act in gear," Ms Plibersek said.

"It can't even ask for money that the commonwealth government's trying to give it, then it looks around for someone to blame for that incompetence. The sad thing for me is that it's Victorian patients who'll suffer."

Mr Davis disputed Ms Plibersek's claims.

"It's the commonwealth that are cutting health spending," he said.

"It's a cruel cut, it's a nasty cut and it's a cut that's been applied over seven months.

"It's $107 million for Victoria and $475 million over the four-year period."

Mr Davis said the commonwealth treasury's population data used to calculate funding is "dodgy" and it claims population fell by 11,000 when Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows it increased by 75,000.

"We think it's wacky, we think it's cheating, we think it's a way of cutting funding to the states so they can prop up the commonwealth budget. (It's) dodgy brother's city."

Mr Davis said it is a "nonsense" the government's submission for funds for hospital upgrades was four months late.

"We've provided all the submissions that are required and we're awaiting the cheques. She's tardy sending the cheques."

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Hewson to join board of PNG miner Larus

Former opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy. Source: AAP

FORMER opposition leader John Hewson will join the board of oil and gas explorer Larus Energy as a non-executive director.

Dr Hewson will join the Papua New Guinea focused company as it develops its PNG oil and gas project.

Dr Hewson said there was considerable potential within Larus Energy's asset in PNG.

"The company is well positioned to develop and commercialise its assets," Dr Hewson said.

Dr Hewson is currently working alongside local financial interests and banks in bidding to build a gas fired power plant and a biochar project in PNG.

Larus Energy's chairman Kay Philip will step down from the board at the end of 2012.

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Russia 'deeply regrets' N. Korea rocket

RUSSIA says it deeply regrets North Korea's long-range rocket launch, and warns it would do nothing to help regional stability.

"Russia deeply regrets the new rocket launch undertaken by North Korea in defiance of international opinion, including calls by Moscow," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The launch would "not help the strengthening of stability and would have a negative effect" on the situation in the region, it added.

Russia said it was "unacceptable" that the launch flew in the face of UN Security Council resolution 1874 that bans North Korea from the use of ballistic missile technology in rocket launches.

It called on North Korea to refrain from any new steps that would contradict UN Security Council resolutions but also urged "other sides" not to take actions that could further raise tensions.

The defence ministry said that trajectory of the rocket had not taken it over Russian territory.

"Experts are now looking at data to determine whether a new satellite is in orbit," the spokesman of the defence ministry's airspaces forces Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax.

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Daughters learned of dad's death by SMS

THE daughters of a mentally ill man shot by police on Christmas Day have cried as they recalled learning of his death from a text message.

Jane Cowie and Rebecca Collis were at home at Lisarow on the NSW central coast on December 25, 2009, when their father Ian Cowie was shot three times in the lounge room, after allegedly pointing a knife at an officer.

On day two of the inquest into the 46-year-old's death, Glebe Coroner's Court heard that although the daughters had been taken to Gosford police station after the shooting, no one had told them of his death.

Ms Cowie, who was 18 at the time, said she and her mother were at the police station when she received a text from her boyfriend informing her of media reports mentioning her father's death.

"So you found out by text?" Coroner Sharon Freund asked.

"Yes," Ms Cowie replied.

"No one told us that my dad had passed away. We found it on the internet," Ms Collis said.

"There was no one liaising with you about the welfare of your dad?" counsel assisting assisting the coroner Mark Higgins asked.

"No," she replied.

The inquest heard that the women had arrived at the family home at around 5pm on Christmas Day and were met by police, who told them complaints had been made about Mr Cowie throwing rocks into a neighbour's house.

Inside, their father, who had a history of mental illness including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, was distressed and pacing back and forth.

"He just kept saying, 'I haven't done anything wrong. Can you tell them to go away,'" Ms Cowie told the inquest.

The inquest heard how Mr Cowie became increasingly agitated and angry, threatening to put a "10-inch knife" into police and telling them to get off his property .

Outside, Senior Constable Bradley Owen told Mrs Cowie, "It's okay, we are going to call for backup. We will take him to hospital."

When a third officer, Senior Constable Neil Prest, arrived, he had a baton in his hand, both daughters said.

They said he came to the front door holding the baton in his right hand and hitting his left hand with it.

The inquest heard that neither woman had mentioned the hitting motion in previous statements.

"After that, it all just got out of control," Ms Cowie said.

The inquest has heard that after using capsicum spray on Mr Cowie, the officers pursued him into the kitchen where he grabbed a carving knife and pointed it at Sen Const Prest, following the officer into the lounge room.

Fearing for his life, Sen Cons Prest shot him twice, with Sen Const Owen firing a third shot.

The inquest continues.

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Mali PM quits after being arrest by junta

Mali's PM has resigned after soldiers who led a recent coup burst into his home and arrested him. Source: AAP

MALI'S prime minister has resigned on state television, hours after soldiers who led a recent coup burst into his home and arrested him, in the latest sign of the volatile political situation in this once-stable nation in West Africa.

Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra addressed the nation early on Tuesday, saying: "Our country is living through a period of crisis. Men and women who are worried about the future of our nation are hoping for peace.

"It's for this reason that I, Cheikh Modibo Diarra, am resigning along with my entire government on this day, Tuesday, December 11, 2012. I apologise before the entire population of Mali," he said.

Diarra appeared on TV at 4am local time dressed in a dark suit, his forehead glistening with sweat, his expression sombre.

A police officer and an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the 60-year-old Diarra had been arrested at his private residence around 10pm on Monday by soldiers loyal to Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, the leader of the country's recent coup.

Diarra was getting ready to leave the country for Paris and the plane that was due to take him was already taxiing at the airport. It's unclear if the trip to France was planned, or if Diarra had gotten wind of the pending arrest and was trying to flee.

The security officials said the prime minister was forced into a car and driven to the Kati military camp, the sprawling military base where the March 21 coup was launched under the orders of Sanogo. For several weeks, tension has been mounting between the officers who led the coup and Diarra, the civilian prime minister they were forced to appoint when they handed back power to a transitional government.

The police officer, who was on duty on Monday night at Bamako's international airport preparing for Diarra's departure for Paris, said a group linked to the junta stormed the airport.

"The plane that was to take the prime minister to France was on the point of departure," said the officer. "It was stopped by people from the group Yerewoloton who invaded the airport. The people from Yerewoloton are still at the airport as we speak, searching cars."

Diarra, an astrophysicist who previously led one of NASA's Mars exploration programs, was initially seen as in step with Sanogo. Critics lambasted him for frequently driving to the Kati barracks to see the coup leader, apparently to seek his advice long after Sanogo was supposed to have handed power to civilians. In recent weeks though, Diarra has appeared to be taking stances that sometimes conflict with Sanogo.

Last weekend for example, Diarra helped organised a demonstration calling for a United Nations-backed military intervention to take back Mali's north, which fell to Islamic extremists in the chaos following the coup.

A spokesman for Sanogo's junta reached early on Tuesday said Diarra was trying to flee to Paris. He said the soldiers arrested him because Diarra was "creating a blockage".

"For several days now, Cheikh Modibo Diarra has mobilised his supporters and boycotted the national conference (currently being held to discuss Mali's future)," said the spokesman Bacary Mariko.

"And now he says he's going to Paris for medical tests at the American hospital in Paris because he claims he is suffering from pneumonia. But we know better and realise that he is trying to flee in order to go and create a blockage in the Mali situation," he said.

He explained further: "For several months now, Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra and the (interim) president of the republic have not been getting along. And Cheikh Modibo Diarra also doesn't get along with Capt Sanogo. It's the reason why Mali's army has taken things into their own hands and told Cheikh Modibo Diarra to resign for the good of Mali."

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Respected police officer to be farewelled

Slain police officer Bryson Anderson will be remembered at a public service in Sydney on Wednesday. Source: AAP

FAMILY, friends, dignitaries and the public will gather on Wednesday to honour the life of a respected Sydney detective killed in the line of duty.

Bryson Anderson, a 45-year-old father of three, will be farewelled at a full police funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta.

"We'll no doubt mourn (him)," Commissioner Andrew Scipione told the Fairfax Radio Network on Tuesday.

"We'll cry hard but we'll also remember the fine things he's done. We'll acknowledge him, the leader he was in communities."

Detective Inspector Anderson was stabbed after responding to a neighbour dispute at Oakville, in Sydney's northwest, on Thursday.

He worked as a duty officer at Hawkesbury local area command and recently turned down a promotion in order to continue in the job he loved.

"He was larger than life," Mr Scipione said.

"Having said that, he was well-respected. There were people that looked up to him. He always brought a laugh to any conversation. On top of that he was compassionate and caring."

VIPs including Premier Barry O'Farrell, Governor Marie Bashir, Parramatta Lord Mayor John Chedid and Mr Scipione will attend the service.

Bishop Anthony Fisher will preside over the church proceedings that are expected to last two hours.

Mourners will hear eulogies from Insp Anderson's wife, Donna, his brother Warwick, who is a retired police officer, and another brother Damian.

Mr Scipione invited the public to attend and said overflow arrangements would be in place for those to listen to the proceedings from outside the cathedral.

Afterwards, a roadside guard and marching escort will proceed along Victoria Road between Marist Place and O'Connell Street.

Participants will include the Mounted Unit, Police Band and uniformed officers, as well as visiting interstate commissioners and deputies.

The procession will also include the hearse carrying Insp Anderson's coffin, and his pallbearers.

Motorists are advised Victoria Road will be closed between Church and O'Connell Streets from 3pm until 6pm.

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High Court hears landmark Palm Island case

A LANDMARK case before the High Court about the validity of alcohol restrictions for indigenous people on Palm Island could have broader implications for programs that target only Aboriginal people.

On Tuesday, the High Court in Canberra began hearing an appeal from indigenous woman Joan Monica Maloney who was convicted of alcohol possession on Palm Island in 2010.

Ms Maloney is challenging the Queensland law that restricts alcohol on Palm Island on the basis that it contravenes the Racial Discrimination Act and constitution.

The alcohol restrictions are considered "special measures" under racial discrimination laws.

The High Court accepted an application from the peak indigenous body, the National Congress of Australia's First People, to make submissions as a friend of the court.

Congress spokeswoman Jody Broun said "special measures" were used across Australia to enact laws for the "advancement" of indigenous people without any yardstick for their effectiveness, duration or community support and acceptance.

"The legal principles, rather than the details of this case, provide the opportunity for a watershed moment in Australian history," she said in a statement.

Ms Broun said the case went to the heart of the nation's conversation on constitutional reform, in light of moves to recognise Aboriginal people in the constitution and scrap race-based sections.

"Is there any place in a modern Australia for race-based laws which do not treat everyone equally under the law," she asked.

The Palm Island alcohol management plan has attracted controversy since it was introduced in 2006.

The Townsville Bulletin reported last year, that one-third of the island's adult population was in court for breaching the alcohol restrictions on a single day in September 2010.

The Human Rights Law Centre is assisting the Congress on a pro-bono basis.

"If the government is genuinely committed to making a positive difference for Aboriginal communities, it must respect and empower those communities, not impose predetermined solutions," law centre spokesman Ben Schokman said.

AAP understand that, if successful, Ms Maloney's case could potentially have broader implications including for the ten year extension of the Northern Territory Intervention, depending on how the High Court defines special measures, advancement and consultations.

In its submissions to the court, the Congress argues special measures must be designed and implemented on the basis of prior consultation and active participation of the communities affected.

The Federal Attorney General and state counterparts from Western Australia and South Australia have filed submissions to intervene in the case.

Lawyers for the Federal Attorney General have argued in submissions that the appellant's reliance on the UN declaration of the rights of indigenous people concerning "free, prior and informed consent" is flawed.

The submission notes there is a lack of international consensus about meaning of this term.

Although Australia supports the declaration, it is not binding, the submission says.

The High Court is likely to hand down a decision on the case early next year.

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Taliban attack Pakistan police station

TALIBAN militants armed with a rocket, hand grenades and automatic weapons have attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing six people, police say.

The attack occurred on Monday in the city of Bannu, which serves as a gateway to the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan. The city has been hit by repeated attacks over the year.

The militants began the attack by firing a rocket at the gate of the police station and tossing hand grenades, triggering a battle with police last lasted over an hour, said senior police officer Wagar Ahmed.

Three policemen and three civilians were killed in the attack, said Ahmed. The civilians were coming out of a nearby mosque when they were shot by the militants. Eight people were wounded, including three policemen and five civilians.

Three militants were killed during the attack and one escaped.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press from an undisclosed location.

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Sydney bombing investigation leaps forward

POLICE have made a series of breakthroughs in their investigation of the terrorist bombings of the Israeli consulate and a Jewish club in Sydney 30 years ago.

Operation Forbearance has leapt forward since the NSW Police, Australian Federal Police (AFP), NSW Crime Commission and ASIO reopened the case in August.

Police have established the gas cylinders that formed part of the car bomb that exploded on December 23, 1982, at the Hakoah Club, at Bondi, had been stolen from Sydney's Central station.

They have also identified a third person of interest, a woman, and two more vehicles linked to the two attacks.

They are consulting with the FBI and the Israeli police to compare the components used in the Hakoah bomb with devices used in similar bombings around the world in that era.

Terrorism Investigation Squad commander Wayne Gordon told reporters the cylinders - once used to fuel motorised luggage trolleys on the platforms at Central station - were traced back to the former State Rail Authority using the latest forensic technology.

"The investigation has progressed," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

"And the jigsaw and the pieces of it are starting to come together."

He said Forbearance was the first cold case involving terrorism in Australia that had been reopened.

Police released an image of a woman they suspect was involved in buying the vehicle used in the Hakoah Club attack.

They also released a photo of a silver 1979 Chrysler station wagon, believed to be the type of vehicle used to transport the woman and her co-offenders, previously identified as two men.

The three were in their 20s at the time, police believe, and may have been linked to the May 15 Organisation, a pro-Palestinian terrorist group.

Police also believe the three are still alive and some could be living in Australia.

Authorities have interviewed a number of witnesses and people of interest relating to the attacks.

Police also issued photos of a 1970 green Ford Falcon, the same make, model and colour as a stolen vehicle found burned out after the attack.

The stolen Falcon's number plates had been removed and attached to a 1970 green Valiant sedan used in the Hakoah Club bombing.

The bombing at the Israeli consulate general in William Street earlier on December 23 injured two people and caused significant damage.

Only one of the two gas cylinders in the Hakoah Club attack exploded, damaging only the underground car park where the vehicle was parked and other vehicles.

"It was quite clear that the intent was to drop that building," Det Chief Supt Gordon said.

He also asked that anyone with information come forward.

"We are confident people in the community know (something)," he said.

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Mining boss 'sat on' info in Obeid deal

THE chief executive of a mining company withheld information from the Australian Stock Exchange about a tainted coal deal linked to the Obeid family, a corruption inquiry has heard.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is probing whether former Labor minister Ian Macdonald rigged the tender process for a coal exploration licence in the NSW upper Hunter, and how Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid may have profited from it.

The ICAC on Monday heard evidence from Brian Flannery, the chief executive of White Energy, a mining company that made a $500 million bid for the eventual winner of the tender, Cascade Coal, before the deal was scrapped.

Mr Flannery conceded that he "sat on" information about a $28 million payment to a man named Gardner Brook in a release to the stock exchange on April 12 2011 terminating the deal.

The inquiry heard that the payment was made to Mr Brook, an associate of the Obeids at the time, possibly to subvert the government tender process.

"You sat on that information, you concealed it, didn't you?" counsel assisting the commissioner, Geoffrey Watson, SC, asked.

"I sat on it as far as I knew it," Mr Flannery replied.

He rejected suggestions from Mr Watson that he had used "weasel words" to mislead the ASX.

Mr Flannery, who is also a shareholder in Cascade, said White Energy scrapped the deal because he considered it unethical, and possible illegal.

He said when he heard of the payment to Mr Brook he told other investors in Cascade that they were "absolutely bloody stupid" and said that he was "pulling out".

The inquiry heard that Mr Flannery purchased $640,000 worth of shares in Cascade in September 2010 and stood to gain around $50 million from the investment had the deal with White Energy gone through.

The inquiry has previously been told that the Obeids had a $60 million deal with Cascade, which had been granted a coal exploration licence in the Bylong Valley by Mr Macdonald's department.

Mr Flannery said he didn't know the Obeids were associated with the proposed White Energy deal before it was scrapped.

Earlier, Mr Duncan told the ICAC he met with members of the Obeid family in an attempt to remove them from the deal.

"I said we have to get these people out of the company and I told that to (Eddie Obeid's son) Mr Moses Obeid," Mr Duncan said.

Mr Duncan said Moses Obeid replied: "There's nothing wrong with us, we've been investigated everywhere.

"They've looked down our throat and up our arse and haven't found anything."

The inquiry continues on Tuesday before Commissioner David Ipp.

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Tibetan, 16, self-immolates in China

A 16-YEAR-OLD Tibetan girl has died after setting herself on fire, Chinese state media say, in an area that has become a flashpoint for protests against Beijing's rule.

The school pupil self-immolated on Monday in the village of Dageri in China's northwestern province of Qinghai, an area with a high population of ethnic Tibetans, just before 7pm (2200 AEDT) on Sunday, Xinhua said.

Her body was cremated four hours later and returned to her family, the news agency said, adding that local government officials were investigating.

More than 90 Tibetans have set themselves ablaze since 2009 to protest China's rule of the Tibetan plateau, rights groups have said, with the frequency of incidents increasing sharply in November. Most have died.

According to a partial list drawn up by the London-based campaign group Free Tibet the teenager is among the youngest girls to have set themselves on fire.

Xinhua reported on Sunday that a monk and his nephew had been detained for inciting eight Tibetans to set themselves alight.

Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically minority areas.

Beijing rejects this, saying Tibetans enjoy religious freedom. The government points to huge on-going investment it says has brought modernisation and a better standard of living to Tibet.

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WA MP Buswell 'dry-humped' businessman

WA Premier Colin Barnett has again been forced to defend senior minister Troy Buswell (Pic). Source: AAP

WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett says the relentless media pursuit of accident-prone senior minister Troy Buswell should be called off, after more lurid allegations surfaced about the treasurer's drunken altercation with a multi-millionaire.

In the latest in a long line of embarrassing incidents which have dogged his political career, Mr Buswell was accused of "dry-humping" businessman Nick Kailis, boss of the Kailis Bros seafood empire, at a party attended by several other corporate heavy hitters.

The fact the allegations were fuelled by his former partner and Independent MP Adele Carles added another salacious chapter to the rapsheet of the politician unfortunately best known for chair-sniffing and bra-snapping antics in his past.

Ms Carles held a press conference to answer questions about her allegations Mr Buswell "dry-humped" Mr Kailis while moaning in mock sexual pleasure - before she abruptly walked off after taking umbrage at the grilling.

Emanating from a Christmas party last year, Mr Buswell "categorically denied" the printed version of events, while Mr Kailis and others at the party refused to confirm the tussle had occurred.

On the verge of a state election campaign, Mr Barnett defended his treasurer while attacking the messenger.

"There is a limit as to how intensely and relentlessly a person is pursued about every aspect of his life," Mr Barnett said.

"Can I say to the media: give the guy a chance. How much scrutiny does there need to be on one individual's life in every respect? By all means judge them on what they say and do, but enough is enough.

"I believe the level of public and media scrutiny of Troy has now gone too far, and I would say to people back off a little bit and let him perform to his true capacity."

Contacted for comment on Sunday, Mr Buswell's spokeswoman said he denied Ms Carles' version of events, while the former Greens MP faced her own questions.

"I was confronted with the facts of this incident, and I was asked for comment. I faced a choice. Did I tell a lie or did I tell the truth? And I chose to tell the truth," Ms Carles said.

"Troy came up right beside (Nick) and jumped on top of him thinking it was very funny. No one else thought it was funny. It was a shocking incident and it was inappropriate to be doing that to anybody, let alone to business colleagues."

The opposition said the premier should sack Mr Buswell.

"If today's reports are anywhere near accurate, the premier has no choice but to sack Mr Buswell," said Sue Ellery, Labor's leader in the Legislative Council.

"The premier talks a lot about standards, but he seems to endorse the lowest of standards from his cabinet."

Mr Barnett said he was disappointed by the latest story and admitted Mr Buswell "lived life on the edge", but he would not consider sacking him.

"It was a private event and it happened over a year ago. The people who were there are disputing that account of what happened," the premier said.

"Troy carries a heavy responsibility as treasurer and minister for transport. He works hard and I have great respect for the work he does.

"Occasionally what happens in his private life detracts from that, and that is unfortunate from his point of view."

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Kyoto signing good for industry: Emerson

Australia has done the right thing by recommitting to the Kyoto Protocol, Craig Emerson says. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA has done the right thing by industry as well as the planet in recommitting to a second period of the Kyoto Protocol, Trade Minister Craig Emerson says.

Australia and 36 other industrialised countries signed up for binding emission cuts by 2020 as part of a package of agreements extending the life of the Kyoto Protocol at a UN conference in Doha.

Dr Emerson said this gave Australian businesses the capacity to participate in global emissions trading markets and access to lowest cost abatement measures.

"What we're doing is ensuring that Australian industry is in there with a predictable regime and is able to tap into those international markets," he told ABC TV on Sunday.

"We're doing the right thing not only by Australian industry but by the planet."

The 27-member European Union, Switzerland and eight other industrialised countries joined Australia in signing the extension to Kyoto, the first leg of which expires on December 31.

They represent about 15 per cent of global emissions.

However, the protocol excludes major developing polluters such as China and India, as well as the United States which refuses to ratify it.

Negotiations have begun for a binding global agreement in 2015 that would bring in those big nations.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said progress was encouraging.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said Australia's recommitment to the Kyoto Protocol, along with carbon pricing, put the country in a position to be influential in developing the 2015 agreement.

"Australia can play a key role by urging the USA and China to work for an ambitious agreement," chief executive Don Henry said in a statement.

"If we want a healthy Great Barrier Reef, a prosperous agricultural sector, safety from bushfires and a limit to sea level rise and extreme weather, Australia needs to be bold and active in helping achieve a strong global agreement in 2015."

Dr Emerson said it wasn't as if the major countries were doing nothing on climate change at the moment.

He noted there were at least 10 states within the US which had set up emissions trading schemes.

"Within a year we'll have either a carbon price or an emissions trading scheme in 50 or more national and sub-national jurisdictions covering well over a billion people," he said.

"That's a pretty good start."

Environmental lobby group WWF called on the Australian government to commit more financial assistance for developing countries to reduce emissions.

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US drone strike kills at least three

US drones targeting a militant compound have killed at least three people in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.

The strike took place on Sunday in Tabbi village, five kilometres north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan which is known as a bastion of Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"US drones fired four missiles on a militant compound, killing three rebels," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another security official confirmed the attack and casualties but said the identity of those killed in the strike was not immediately known.

Tabbi village, which is very close to the Afghan border, is said to be a hideout for militants belonging to several groups including those from Hafiz Gul Bahadur and the Haqqani network.

The al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington.

Washington has long demanded that Pakistan take action against the Haqqanis, whom the United States accused of attacking the US embassy in Kabul in September last year.

Pakistan has in turn demanded that Afghan and US forces do more to stop Pakistani Taliban crossing the border from Afghanistan to launch attacks on its forces.

Attacks by unmanned US aircraft remain contentious. They are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but American officials are said to believe they are too important to give up.

Casualty figures are difficult to obtain. A report commissioned by legal lobby group Reprieve in September estimated that between 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012.

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Bikie expected to be extradited to NSW

The national leader of the Comanchero's is believed to be one of two men arrested in Queensland. Source: AAP

THE national leader of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang is believed to be one of two men arrested in Queensland.

Queensland Police have arrested a 28-year-old man and a 26-year-old-man at Hope Island on the Gold Coast following reports of a disturbance at a home on Sunday.

Police allege the 28-year-old man is a member of the Comanchero, with media reports indicating he is the national leader.

It is expected he will face extradition proceedings to NSW in coming days for an offence of affray.

The second man is also wanted by NSW Police on a warrant for an incident relating to a public-place shooting in Sydney in July 2012 and it is expected he will also face extradition proceedings.

Both men are in custody and will appear at Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

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