Report says CIA helping Syrian rebels

THE US Central Intelligence Agency has been feeding information to select rebel fighters in Syria to try to make them more effective against government troops, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper on Saturday said the new CIA effort reflected a change in the administration's approach that aims to strengthen secular rebel fighters.

The CIA has sent officers to Turkey to help vet rebels who receive arms shipments from Gulf allies, the report said.

But administration officials cited concerns about some weapons going to Islamists, the paper noted.

In Iraq, the CIA has been directed by the White House to work with elite counterterrorism units to help the Iraqis counter the flow of al-Qaeda linked fighters across the border with Syria, The Journal said.

According to the report, the West favours fighters aligned with the Free Syrian Army, which supports the Syrian Opposition Coalition political group.

Syrian opposition commanders said the CIA had been working with British, French and Jordanian intelligence services to train rebels in the use of various kinds of weapons, the paper said.

The move comes as the al Nusra Front, the main al-Qaeda linked group operating in Syria, is deepening its ties to the terrorist organisation's central leadership in Pakistan, The Journal said.

The new aid to rebels doesn't change the US decision against taking direct military action, the paper noted.

AFP a

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Elderly man injured in garage explosion

AN elderly man is in hospital after a homemade device exploded in his garage in southwest Sydney.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, alerted emergency services to the incident at about 3.20pm (AEDT) on Saturday following the explosion in Barry Crescent, Padstow Heights.

Police said the man suffered injuries to his right hand after "playing around with some sort of homemade device".

"It looks like he might have been tinkering around with something that perhaps he should not have and it's caused something to explode," a police spokesman told AAP.

There was no damage caused to the property, which specialist police are now surveying.

Officers will speak to the man after he has undergone surgery for his injuries.

The incident is not being treated as suspicious.

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Challenge likely to US state abortion ban

THE cold, thinly populated state of North Dakota is trying to enact the toughest abortion restrictions in the US but it may soon find itself in a costly battle over legislation that opponents describe as blatantly unconstitutional.

Legislators on Friday took a step toward outlawing abortion altogether in the state by passing a resolution that says a fertilised egg has the same right to life as a person. The approval sends the matter to voters, who will decide whether to add the wording to the state's constitution in November 2014.

It's one of several anti-abortion measures to pass the Legislature. Most are awaiting the signature of Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple, who hasn't yet indicated whether he supports them. Even if he vetoes them, some could have enough support for the Legislature to override him.

Supporters of the measures hope to challenge the US Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 that legalised abortion up until a foetus is considered viable, usually around 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. They also acknowledge they want to shut down the state's only abortion clinic for its 700,000 residents.

"I'm from the group who hates voting on abortion issues and who don't like to play God," said state Sen. John Andrist, a Republican who describes himself as "moderately pro-life" and has voted for some but not all of the restrictions North Dakota has taken up this year. "But we have some strong-willed people in this state who do."

One bill would prohibit abortion if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Another would make North Dakota the only state to prohibit women from having the procedure because a fetus has a genetic defect, such as Down syndrome.

Though similar proposals in other states have faced fierce opposition, almost all of the anti-abortion measures in North Dakota this year have passed with little debate and with overwhelming support.

The possibility of constitutional challenge is happening now in North Dakota partly because of the disintegration of an anti-abortion group of legislators that used to take the lead on introducing bills aimed at the procedure.

Longtime Senator Tim Mathern, a Democrat who once led the group, said it favoured a more gradual approach to ending abortion in the state, focusing on measures it thought would withstand legal challenges.

Without the group, some of the Legislature's most ardent abortion opponents are taking up the cause, introducing bills crafted by out-of-state organisations or from examples found on the internet.

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Cambodia French family deaths not suicide

FRENCH and Cambodian investigators have ruled out suicide in the deaths of a Frenchman and his four young children whose skeletal remains were found in a submerged car last year.

Ten French investigators, including a judge and scientific and forensic police, arrived in Cambodia earlier this month to probe the deaths of widower Laurent Vallier, 42, and his young children.

"This (investigation) has led to very significant breakthroughs which are now ruling out the possibility of a suicide," the French embassy in Phnom Penh said in a statement on Saturday.

The family's badly decomposed bodies were discovered inside Vallier's white 4x4 vehicle after it was retrieved from a large pond behind his house in southern Kampong Speu province in January last year.

Vallier and his two sons and two daughters, thought to have been aged from two to nine, had been missing since September 2011.

Chhim Rithy, a Cambodian investigating judge at Kampong Speu who was working with the team, said they had found some blood stain stains inside Vallier's house and on a rope.

"It is not the case of suicide. It could be a murder case," he told AFP, adding investigation in the case was still ongoing.

Vallier, who according to his relatives worked as a tour guide, is understood to have moved from France to Cambodia around 13 years ago, arriving in Kampong Speu in 2007. His Cambodian wife died in childbirth in 2009.

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Vic ambo shortages 'put patients at risk'

VICTORIAN paramedics say they have fallen asleep at the wheel because they are working overtime to cover staff shortages.

Lack of staff is leading to poor ambulance response times and putting patients at risk, they say.

A group of paramedics attended Victoria's parliament house on Thursday, backed by the Labor opposition.

They say they are being stretched while a high number of paramedics are on stress leave and want a resolution to their pay deal with Ambulance Victoria.

Opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings said the government has failed to ensure the ambulance service is adequately funded.

Comment is being sought from Ambulance Victoria.

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Indon plan to acquire Aussie cattle farms

INDONESIA is pressing on with plans to buy cattle breeding operations in Australia to help counter supply problems and surging beef prices.

Budi Perbawa Aji, a spokesman for the state-owned agriculture company Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, confirmed on Thursday that a delegation was set to go to Australia to size up farms.

"At the moment, we're just waiting for implementation and technical guidance from the ministry," Mr Budi told AAP.

"Once we've got it, then we can go to Australia to make some assessments."

Indonesia insists it will maintain cuts to its cattle import quota, which it has slashed by about 80 per cent since 2010.

It's unclear whether cattle raised on Indonesian-owned farms in Australia would be counted as part of the import quota, potentially further damaging Australian beef producers hurt by the 2011 suspension of live exports

Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who raised the idea of producing stock abroad earlier this week, said it was aimed at helping the country achieve its aim of self-sufficiency in beef production by 2014.

Australian producers have said they believe Indonesia no longer sees them as reliable suppliers because of the suspension of live trade two years ago.

The Australian government suspended live exports after footage was aired on the ABC's Four Corners of animal cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs.

The new plan has the support of Indonesia's Meat Producers and Feedlot Association.

"In the field of breeding, they are superior. They can breed cattle cheaper there," the association's director Joni Liano said.

"But on the other side, in the feedlot business, we can do it better."

He said the plan would be an important step forward in terms of Indonesia being able to meet its domestic demand for beef.

"Basically, the problem is supply. As long as it adds number to supply, then we can meet our demand to make reasonable price," Mr Liano said.

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Racist remarks no excuse for murder: judge

A YOUNG man who murdered a man who racially abused him has been jailed for at least 17 years after a NSW Supreme Court judge found he acted out of an "uncontrollable passion for revenge".

The racist remarks directed towards Douglas Barlow, 26, of Ballina were no excuse for him to commit murder, Justice Ian Harrison said as he handed down a maximum 23-year sentence in the Supreme Court at Lismore on Thursday.

On the first day of his trial on Monday, Barlow pleaded guilty to murdering 40-year-old David Newport at a hotel in Ballina on July 17, 2011.

The court heard the two men were involved in an altercation outside the Henry Rous Hotel and Mr Newport punched Barlow.

The court heard there was unchallenged evidence that Mr Newport made "offensive and racially derogatory remarks to him and told him he wanted him out of the town", the judge said.

Mr Newport also later boasted about the fight and described Barlow, who is Aboriginal, as a "black ****".

A couple of hours later, an intoxicated Barlow returned to the hotel with a steak knife and stabbed Mr Newport four times in the chest.

Mr Newport died later in hospital and Barlow handed himself in to police that evening.

Justice Harrison noted Barlow's action was "largely an anger-fuelled response to the earlier events".

"It was borne of what appears to have been an uncontrollable passion for revenge," he said.

He noted the murder took place in a public area in full view of hotel patrons and Barlow made no effort to disguise his appearance.

It was "an ill-considered, irrational and possibly even frenzied assault", the judge found.

Barlow gave evidence about the murder and apologised to his victim's family in what Justice Harrison described as "an unguarded and patently honest fashion".

However, he noted Barlow had a number of previous convictions, including for assault causing actual bodily harm.

"The racial abuse and assault of an offender by the victim amounts neither to an excuse to murder him nor to a rational or acceptable reason for doing so," he said.

Taking into account time already served, Barlow will be eligible for parole in July 2028.

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NSW introduces anti-bikie laws

BIKIE gangs could be declared criminal organisations in NSW within months, with the state government hoping to get its modified anti-gang legislation in place by Easter.

NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said the laws recognised the "growing threat of criminal organisations".

The amended legislation adopts crucial elements of a Queensland law, which declared a chapter of the Finks motorcycle club a criminal organisation.

The High Court last week upheld the law after the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks bikie gang argued it was unconstitutional and denied procedural fairness.

"The amendments should also give the community extra confidence that due process is being followed in these applications," Mr Smith told parliament after introducing the bill on Thursday.

He said the "hybrid" laws also included parts of the state government's previous legislation, which was defeated by NSW bikies in a 2011 court case.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the laws gave police the power to protect the public from criminal gangs.

"We're determined to get these tough new laws in place by Easter," he said.

"We did the prudent thing, waited for the High Court ruling on the Queensland laws. After careful examination, we've modified our bill.

"The NSW government is determined to have outlaw motorcycle gangs declared criminal organisations."

The amended legislation adopts the Queensland model in allowing for the Supreme Court, rather than an eligible judge, to make decisions on applications to declare an organisation a criminal organisation.

The Supreme Court would also decide what is criminal intelligence.

"A court will now need to be satisfied that members of an organisation in NSW associate for the purposes of serious criminal activity, and the continued existence of the organisation poses an unacceptable risk ... to the community," Mr Smith told parliament.

Shadow attorney-general Paul Lynch said the opposition would not oppose the bill "if it does what the government says it will do".

"We have not had time to read it yet," he told parliament.

"We are entirely committed to this legislation working."

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced plans to implement national anti-gang and asset seizure laws.

She said she would ask the premiers and chief ministers at April's Council of Australian Governments meeting to refer some of their powers to the commonwealth.

Anti-bikie legislation in South Australia was successfully challenged in the High Court.

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Senate approves NDIS legislation

THE Senate has given the federal government the go-ahead to set up the National Disability Insurance Scheme, including launch sites that will begin in July.

Landmark legislation passed the upper house on Wednesday, subject to the lower house agreeing to government and Greens' amendments.

Parliamentary secretary Jan McLucas said the scheme would end the "cruel postcode lottery" of disability care.

"(The NDIS) will transform the lives of people with disability and their families and carers," she told the Senate on Wednesday.

"For the first time they will have their needs met in a way that truly supports them to live with choice and dignity."

Liberal frontbencher Concetta Fierravanti-Wells earlier said the coalition had enthusiastically supported each milestone towards establishing the NDIS.

But she reaffirmed the opposition's call to set up a bipartisan parliamentary committee to oversee its implementation.

This was rejected.

When fully operational the scheme is expected to cover 410,000 Australians with disabilities and cost upwards of $15 billion a year.

So far, the federal government has chipped in $1 billion over four years for the first phase of the scheme, which sets up launch sites in four states covering 26,000 people from July, and in the ACT from 2014.

The contribution falls short of the $3.9 billion the Productivity Commission said was necessary over the next four years.

Launch sites will be established in the Hunter region of NSW, covering 10,000 people, and in Victoria's Barwon area covering 5000 people.

South Australia will have a state-wide trial covering 4800 children, while Tasmania's trial will cover 1000 young people aged between 15 and 24.

The ACT's launch site covers the whole territory and 6000 people aged under 65.

Earlier this week, the federal government quietly rebranded the NDIS as Disability Care Australia.

The Senate approved government amendments about disability advocacy, UN conventions on disability and the membership requirements of the NDIS advisory council.

The Greens secured support for an amendment for the NDIS agency to do advocacy work in areas broader than the scheme.

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Melb hospital joins PM in adoption apology

A MELBOURNE hospital has apologised to women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption over a 30-year period.

Monash Health chief executive Shelly Park said she was truly sorry for the pain and loss so many experienced through past adoption practices at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in the 30-year period up to the late 1970s.

"I recognise that many women, particularly young single women, experienced grief, pain, anger and loss, some of which have continued to the present time," Ms Park said on Wednesday.

"For this, I apologise unconditionally."

From the 1950s to the 1970s, about 150,000 unwed Australian mothers had their babies removed by churches and adoption agencies.

A number of states, including Victoria, have apologised to mothers who had to relinquish their babies during this time.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard will make a formal apology in Canberra.

The Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital was one of the major maternity hospitals in Melbourne for several decades.

"On behalf of Monash Health, I acknowledge that many past adoption practices, particularly when considered against today's standards, were clearly misguided; often based on societal attitudes and pressures rather than the best interests of mother and child," Ms Park said.

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Two WA men acquitted of insider trading

TWO Perth men have been acquitted of 28 insider trading charges but still face a further five offences after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all the counts.

Roberto Gerald Catena and Flemming Hood Nielsen were accused of engaging in unlawful conduct while possessing inside information on a possible takeover of Vision Systems Limited (VSL).

A WA Supreme Court jury returned not-guilty verdicts on 28 out of 33 counts in the indictment but were not able to reach verdicts on the remaining counts.

Catena, 46, was charged with 20 counts of insider trading between July and August 2006 when he was a broker with Citigroup Wealth Advisers and advised five clients, including Nielsen, to purchase VSL shares.

Nielsen, 56, faced 13 counts of insider trading for the same period while he was a client and received the inside information and purchased VSL shares through Citigroup and CommSec.

Catena and Nielsen were granted bail to reappear in the WA Supreme Court on April 8 to face the remaining five counts.

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Labor hosing down leadership speculation

Backers of a return to Kevin Rudd are split over whether to take on the PM in the next two days. Source: AAP

SENIOR Labor figures are talking down the prospect of a leadership change, despite a key Kevin Rudd supporter saying caucus members are concerned about the federal government's re-election hopes.

Parliament will rise on Thursday for a seven-week break before the May 14 federal budget.

Leadership speculation has been ripe this week, after reports - later denied - that Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Mental Health Minister Mark Butler had switched allegiance away from Ms Gillard.

Chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon, a key Rudd backer, told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday it was "stating the obvious" that there were concerns in the caucus about the prospect of an election "wipeout" in September.

But he also said numbers were not being counted and no caucus meeting was being planned.

"Anyone who is talking to the media about numbers is just misleading," he said.

"No one knows what the numbers are because no number counting has been done."

He also said, "MPs are talking to one another about the state of our position in the polls and an election looming and what we are going to do to make ourselves more competitive."

Mr Fitzgibbon said Ms Gillard would have his support for as long as she held the support of the majority of the caucus.

He repeated his earlier statement that if leaders stayed unpopular for long enough "they won't lead the party".

In a separate interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Fitzgibbon said any suggestion of a leadership ballot between budget day and the September election was a "silly concept".

Mr Rudd - who heads overseas next week on a trip taking in Korea, China and North America - issued a brief statement on Wednesday, standing by his commitment not to challenge.

"Unlike others who have used the phrase, when I say will not challenge for the leadership, I mean it. That means Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or beyond," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said Ms Gillard was "as tough as they make them".

"She's going to beat Tony Abbott because she's focused on the big reforms for the future," he said.

Labor MPs were keeping their heads down on Wednesday evening, with all caucus members including the prime minister declining an invitation from ABC's 7.30 program to be interviewed.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, asked whether he was getting nervous about Mr Rudd's possible return, told reporters in Canberra, "What Australians want is strong and stable government.".

"They were gathering three years ago on Kevin Rudd and now they are gathering again on the current prime minister," he said.

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Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Xstrata cuts 100 jobs

GLOBAL miner Xstrata says it will axe about 100 jobs as part of a decision to close its Brisbane office.

The weak global coal market including poor prices and a high Australian dollar, as well as high costs, have been blamed for the decision.

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Qld MP Driscoll still facing allegations

A ROOKIE Queensland MP has been unable to shake off allegations of misusing taxpayer funds despite an attempt to explain himself in parliament.

Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll has faced a raft of allegations in recent weeks, including claims of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and improper business dealings.

Mr Driscoll defended himself in parliament on Tuesday, saying he had done nothing wrong other than failing to declare that his wife received more than $500 in income from a private company she runs.

Premier Campbell Newman has stood by his first-term MP, saying there's nothing to suggest he's unfit for public office.

The premier said investigations so far by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), and ongoing departmental probes, had all turned up nothing.

But Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk repeatedly attacked the government in parliament on Tuesday, saying Mr Driscoll had not done enough to explain himself.

"We have heard today a very brief explanation from the member for Redcliffe ... and it does not go to the root of all the questions that need to be answered."

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Driscoll had other irregularities in his pecuniary interests register and listed 13 specific questions the opposition felt he still needed to answer.

Mr Newman said Mr Driscoll had become subject to "trial by media", a scenario he had encountered himself during last year's state election.

"I, myself, and my wife know only too well about ... trial by media, but particularly the tactics of the Australian Labor Party to use the CMC as a political weapon to attack people," he told parliament.

The latest claims against Mr Driscoll, published in The Courier-Mail on Tuesday, accuse him of using his electorate office and staff to run a retail lobby group he used to head.

He's also faced sexual harassment claims from former employees of the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association and calls to produce the association's books amid claims that about $700,000 was spent inappropriately.

Mr Driscoll's wife has also been accused of inappropriately receiving taxpayer funds from another organisation with which Mr Driscoll was involved, the Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay.

But the MP says he's the target of a campaign of "falsehoods" and the attacks on his wife have been particularly upsetting.

The CMC confirmed on Tuesday that it received a referral from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services on November 27, 2012.

It alleged official misconduct against Mr Driscoll.

The CMC says it found at the assessment phase of the complaint, that the matter did not involve official misconduct and therefore fell outside its jurisdiction.

The commission pointed out in its statement on Tuesday that the assessment process is separate to an investigation.

The CMC said it's assessing all new relevant information on the matter to decide whether or not it needs to take any further action.

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Half a million new homes for Sydney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Govt, unions applaud penalty rates ruling

THE government and unions have applauded a decision by the national workplace relations tribunal not to lower Sunday penalty rates for retail, fast food and hospitality workers.

But the decision has raised the ire of business groups.

The groups, including the National Retail Association, the Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ai Group, sought to halve the penalty rates paid to employees on Sundays and remove the 25 per cent penalty rate for evening work.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Monday handed down its decision saying "a case had not been made" to change the penalty rates, because the modern award recognised the "disabilities of working at unsociable times".

It also said the industries already had relatively low pay rates.

The decision means penalty rates would be safeguarded for workers in the fast food, food and beverage, general retail, hair and beauty and general hospitality industries until the next review.

ACTU president Ged Kearney said it was a major win for low-paid workers, to compensate them for working irregular hours.

"Working late nights or weekends is still a sacrifice for workers, particularly those with families, and penalty rates must remain to reflect this," she said in a statement.

Ms Kearney said the removal of penalty rates would have meant pay cuts for half a million low-paid workers.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten said the government welcomed the decision.

"We believe that adequate compensation for unsociable hours at work is reasonable," he said in a statement.

Monday's decision follows a proposal by Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week to enshrine worker penalty rates into workplace law.

The proposal was slammed by business groups, including the Australian Retailers Association.

The association's executive director, Russell Zimmerman, said the FWC decision and the government's proposal would "uphold archaic economic conditions".

"Along with the prime minister's announcement last week, this process now amounts to a one-sided barracking for the trade union movement on penalty rates."

Mr Zimmerman said the FWC decision would affect retailers already struggling in a tough trading environment.

"We are living in an era where we have to operate in a 24-hour environment, and all we were looking for is to make Sundays more competitive."

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Anti-fracking artists 'fail' to register

DOZENS of celebrities may be running foul of US law as they unite under the banner of one group that is seeking to prevent a method of gas drilling in New York state.

Artists Against Fracking opposes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and boasts members including Yoko Ono and actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon.

The group says forcing water and chemicals deep into shale deposits to extract gas threatens drinking water and the environment. The group's website implores, "Tell Governor Cuomo: Don't Frack New York."

But the group and nearly 200 entertainers who are gaining attention and support in the dispute, which is splitting New Yorkers, aren't registered lobbyists, according to a search by The Associated Press of the database of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

State law is designed to disclose who is trying to influence government action, how much money they are spending and where the money's going.

"You spend money lobbying, you have to register," said David Grandeau, former executive director of the state lobbying commission and now an lawyer representing lobbyists and clients.

There's no public record of how much money Artists Against Fracking has spent, but its website contains links for visitors to make donations, which are directed to the Sustainable Markets Foundation. Although the foundation is an established charitable organisation and its donations are recorded publicly, it isn't registered with New York as a lobbying client, either.

Under New York law, however, it appears Artists Against Fracking is required to be a registered lobbyist because the law hinges on spending over $US5,000.

The group hasn't filed lobbying reports, so the amount it has spent and what it was spent on isn't known publicly. Experts in Albany say the website and public events appear to have cost well over $US5,000.

The group hasn't responded to requests for comment in the past two weeks. The group's account executive at its public relations firm, Fenton of New York City, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The group includes Ono and Sean Lennon, the widow and son of musician John Lennon. They recently attended an anti-fracking event in Albany with Ruffalo, actors Zooey Deschanel, Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman, and singer Lady Gaga, along with other longtime activists such as David Crosby and Paul McCartney. None of them are registered to lobby in New York.

A week ago, Artists Against Fracking widely released a music video done through Skype from various locations featuring dozens of entertainers singing a Sean Lennon song, "Don't Frack My Mother." In it, Ono sings part of the chorus, "Don't frack me!"

Failing to register as a lobbyist is not a criminal offence. Commonly, when a person new to lobbying is believed to have failed to lobby as required by law to track the influence of money on public policy, that person is given a chance to submit a lobbing form and pay a $US200 fee.

One of the main players supporting fracking, the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York, is registered.

Lobbying is big business in New York. The New York Public Interest Research Group reported that more than $US220 million was spent lobbying in 2011 - and that was before the fracking debate really heated up.

The biggest penalty for failure to follow the lobbying law resulted in a $US250,000 fine against Donald Trump and others over casinos in 2000, and the Philip Morris tobacco company was hit with a $US75,000 fine in 1999.

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Aussie man, 93, on Thai child rape charges

LAWYERS for a 93-year-old Australian are arguing he is too ill to face charges of sexually assaulting children in Thailand.

German born Karl Joseph Kraus, from Western Australia, is accused of abusing four sisters for almost two years. The youngest was aged five when the alleged abuse began.

Kraus will ask a Thai court for freedom on Monday.

At the time of his arrest almost three years ago, police said they found more than 100 photos of naked children on the hard drive of his computer.

Kraus pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault and was granted bail of 400,000 baht (A$12,000).

In mid-2012 he fled to neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) before being arrested and sent back to Thailand.

Lawyers say Kraus has several health issues, including dementia and cancer.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alleged gunman charged over Sydney siege

A siege in Sydney's southwest is over with a man led away in handcuffs. Source: AAP

A MAN will face court charged with holding his ex-partner's elderly mother in a southwestern Sydney home during a six-hour siege.

Police charged the 56-year-old man with detaining for advantage, assault and possessing an unregistered firearm after the siege in Raby on Monday.

They say they were called to the home in Avro Place shortly before 7.30am (AEDT) by a woman who said she'd been threatened by a man armed with a gun.

The woman had managed to escape, but her 74-year-old mother remained inside with the armed man.

Police will allege he held the elderly woman against her will in the home in Avro Place until about 1pm (AEDT), when he allowed her to leave.

Inspector Greg Inger said the woman was shaken but unhurt.

"She was obviously upset about what had happened, but she was fine," he told reporters at the scene.

The gunman surrendered about 15 minutes later.

Up to 40 police, including negotiators and officers from the highway patrol and the Tactical Operations Unit, worked to resolve the stand-off.

Neighbours described their shock and fear after seeing snipers take up positions near the house in a leafy cul de sac.

One resident said she had woken to a loud bang shortly after 7am followed by a woman screeching and dogs barking.

"Obviously I thought the worst," the woman, who identified herself only as Lina, told reporters.

"You don't expect it, this is a really calm area. You don't expect it to happen in your own backyard, so it is pretty scary, pretty unreal."

Police also allegedly found a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun and a box of shotgun ammunition in the house and a speargun in the man's car.

He will remain behind bars until he appears at Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday.

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Vic police call for stabbing witnesses

A man has died after being stabbed multiple times in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Source: AAP

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a young man who was stabbed multiple times in inner Melbourne.

A passing council worker found the man in distress in Fitzroy about 5am Sunday (AEDT), police said.

The worker gave the man first aid and called 000 but paramedics were unable to revive the young man.

Detective Sergeant Allan Birch said police are still trying to establish what happened to the man.

"It would appear he had a number of stabbing injuries," he told reporters.

"We don't know what happened ... we don't know exactly how the injuries were inflicted."

Police were initially unable to identify the man, but now say he is a 21-year-old from Werribee.

The man was found in Johnston Street near the intersection of Fitzroy Street.

On Sunday morning a small lane way was draped with a tarpaulin as crime scene examiners combed the area.

Det Sgt Birch said police are not aware of any witnesses besides the council worker and urge people with information to come forward.

He said the homicide investigation is very wide, given the lack of information.

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Sir Bob leads St Pat's Day celebrations

The streets of Sydney turned green as thousands of revellers celebrated St Patrick's Day. Source: AAP

IRISH rocker and charity king Sir Bob Geldof joined tens of thousands of Australians who turned patches of the country bright green on St Patrick's Day.

The Live Aid supremo was in Perth to promote the upcoming reunion tour with his band The Boomtown Rats, but took some time out from promotion for celebration along with thousands of his countrymen and women on the streets of Perth.

A parade of dozens of floats was launched by Sir Bob, as he stood beaming atop a double decker open-top bus.

And the hell raiser turned fundraiser then stopped off at the Irish Club in Subiaco to sink a pint of Guinness, and soak in the traditional Irish hospitality.

"There were thousands of people; it was an absolutely brilliant atmosphere," Sir Bob said.

"In Dublin the same parade is a tiny thing. This was fun and very cool."

The Boomtown Rats are set to play in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in May - and St Patrick's Day celebrations also spread across the country.

Australia has celebrated St Patrick's Day on March 17 since 1810, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie declared the date an official day of celebration.

The streets of Sydney turned green as thousands of revellers celebrated across the CBD.

Crowds around Town Hall and Elizabeth Street were 10-deep on Sunday to watch the annual parade roll past, with youngsters dressed in traditional costume getting the biggest cheers as they waved to the crowd.

Sydney's St Patrick's Day is the largest Irish event in the southern hemisphere with an estimated 60,000 Irish and Australian families participating on Sunday, according to Australia's Irish newspaper the Irish Echo.

In Brisbane, 30,000 people packed into the city for the annual St Patrick's Day parade which was held on Saturday.

Brisbane Irish Festival event manager Sorcha Holmes said many continued celebrating on Sunday at a family sports day, complete with Gaelic football, hurling and Irish dancing.

Plenty more could be seen dressed head-to-toe in green enjoying a Guinness at one of several Irish pubs in the CBD.

The scene was repeated in Melbourne where revellers were enjoying the "craic" at the city's many Irish pubs.

Live music, Irish dancing and lots of Guinness were the order of the day at PJ O'Brien's in Southbank.

Celebrations began early at The Quiet Man in Flemington where a 14-hour party kicked off at 8am.

The Dublin-based brewer expects 13 million glasses of its stout, affectionately known as "the black stuff", to be drunk across the world on Sunday alone.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

China's Xi calls for 'great renaissance'

President Xi Jinping has promised to pursue the Communist Party's "Chinese dream" of prosperity. Source: AAP

CHINA'S new President Xi Jinping says he will fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation", as the world's most populous country completed its once-in-a-decade power transition.

In his first speech as head of state, Xi called for "the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream", laying out a vision of a stronger military and ever-higher living standards.

The 25-minute speech closed a parliament sitting which named Xi as head of state and Li Keqiang as premier, four months after the pair took the top two posts in the ruling Communist Party - the real source of their power.

Both Xi and Li stuck to the party's long-held consensus on the need for economic reforms to ensure growth, while increasing military power and avoiding political change that could threaten its grip on power.

Analysts said Xi's concept of a "great renaissance" was a slogan designed to have broad appeal, without any firm commitments to specific reforms.

Xi has close ties to China's expanding military - which put its first aircraft carrier into service last year - and he called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to "win battles".

Beijing is embroiled in a bitter territorial row with Japan over islands in the East China Sea, and with neighbouring nations over claims to the South China Sea. Tensions with the US have increased over reports of army-organised hacking.

Newly appointed Premier Li Keqiang sought to play down such conflicts in a press conference, saying that Beijing would not "seek hegemony" as it became stronger and denying allegations that China engages in hacking.

Li called the accusations "groundless", days after President Barack Obama weighed in on the issue. He said China's relationship with Washington was vital and their mutual interests outweighed their differences.

"Conflicts between big powers are not inevitable," Li said.

Li, now in charge of the day-to-day running of the government, said that "maintaining sustainable economic growth", with an annual GDP increase of around 7.5 per cent over the coming decade, would be his administration's top priority.

But ensuring such a performance would be difficult, he said. China recorded its slowest growth for more than a decade last year amid weakened demand in key export markets.

"What the market can do, we should release more to the market", he said without giving details of specific economic reforms.

Both leaders reiterated the party's repeated pledges to fight corruption, with Li saying that the government had an "unshakable resolve" to do so.

Speaking in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi stressed continuity with previous Chinese leaders and thanked outgoing president Hu Jintao, who stood and bowed as China completed the transition of its top leaders.

Neither Xi nor Li mentioned systematic political reform. But Li said China would release a plan for unspecified changes to its controversial "re-education" labour camp system, in which people can be incarcerated for up to four years without trial.

"The tone is definitely conservative," Joseph Cheng, a China politics expert at Hong Kong's City University, said of Xi's speech. "It is difficult to anticipate serious political reforms in the near future.

"What we see here is a very balanced approach not to alienate any vested interests and to continue to do something popular like combat corruption, combat lavishness and pomp and so on, and appeal to patriotism."

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man under police guard over two Vic deaths

THE son of one of two brothers found dead in a country Victorian property has been arrested and remains under police guard in hospital.

Ross Streeter, 30, is the son of Douglas Streeter, who police believe was shot dead along with his brother John Streeter, at their property at Natte Yallock, near Avoca, on Thursday evening.

Mr Streeter was arrested at Avoca in connection with the deaths on Saturday.

Paramedics found him near a water tower in Cambridge Street with self-inflicted injuries, an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.

The man was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition under police escort.

Police said the man's injuries were not life-threatening, but he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another day.

He is yet to be interviewed by police.

Police have said it appeared the men, both aged in their 60s, had been shot.

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