Boston cheers as suspect caught

Celebrations erupted across Boston when the arrest of the suspected marathon bomber was announced. Source: AAP

CELEBRATIONS erupted across Boston as the capture of the remaining marathon bombing suspect was announced in a tweet from police.

In the Watertown neighbourhood where 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev engaged in a firefight with police while hiding out in a parked boat, dozens of people at a police barricade cheered and applauded as law enforcement officers and emergency responders left the scene.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this would result in a shootout in Watertown," said Sheamus McGovern, who was among the crowd of people gathered outside Mount Auburn Hospital, where Tsarnaev was taken after his capture.

Early Friday morning, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a gun battle and car chase during which he and his younger brother hurled explosives at police from a stolen car, authorities said.

During the getaway attempt, the brothers killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology policeman and severely wounded another officer, authorities said. The younger brother managed to escape and was found in the boat about a mile away hours later.

McGovern had been startled overnight on Friday during a when he heard "what sounded like firecrackers, last night after one, and then pure bedlam." He could hear the helicopters overhead all day.

"It's just a huge relief to be able to get outdoors. Another day of that, I don't want to start getting angry,"

The jubilation was widespread. The mayor of Boston, which was largely paralysed during the manhunt Friday, tweeted, "We got him!" And at the home of the New York Mets, fans leapt to their feet and cheered when the news spread during a game against the Washington Nationals.

Hundreds of people marched down Commonwealth Avenue, chanting USA and singing the Red Sox anthem Sweet Caroline as they headed toward Boston Common. Police blocked traffic along part of the street to allow for the impromptu parade.

Earlier, the mood was sombre. On Boylston Street, three blocks from the site of the marathon explosions on Monday, several dozen people gathered almost in complete silence. Some were crying.

Boston University student Aaron Wengertsman, 19, wrapped himself in an American flag as a silent crowd gathered. He was on the marathon route a mile from the finish line when the bombs exploded.

"I'm glad they caught him alive," Wengertsman said. "I thought people might be more excited, but it's humbling to see all these people paying their respects."

Nearby, 25-year-old lawyer Beth Lloyd-Jones said it felt like she had her city back. She was blocks away from the blast in her south end home on Monday.

"That could have been any one of us," she said of the victims. "Now I feel a little safer."

In Boston's Dorchester neighbourhood, where an 8-year-old boy killed in the bombing lived, people set off fireworks Friday night to celebrate.

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Russia, US to bolster ties after bombings

RUSSIA and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in their fight against terror in the wake of news that two ethnic Chechens are suspected of organising the deadly Boston Marathon bombings.

The Kremlin said Russian leader Vladimir Putin called US President Barack Obama on Saturday to once again express his condolences and discuss ways the two sides can work more closely on security in the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

"Both sides underscored their interest in bolstering the close cooperation of Russian and US special services in the fight against international terrorism," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"I think that contacts will be conducted between our intelligence services," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in separate televised remarks.

US authorities said the two young men who set off twin bombs on Monday that killed three people at the Boston Marathon and then shot dead a policeman on Friday were ethnic Chechens from Russia's restless North Caucasus region.

Twenty-six-year-old older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by police while his 19-year-old sibling Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apprehended near Boston on Friday evening.

Analysts say that cooperation between the US and Russian intelligence services remains weak due to strained diplomatic ties and concern in Washington that Putin has used the fight against terror to crack down on his political foes.

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200 more US Marines to arrive in Darwin

Two hundred US Marines will arrive in Darwin on Sunday to train with Australian and regional forces. Source: AAP

TWO hundred US Marines arrive in Darwin on Sunday for the second six-month rotation of US troops training in Australia's north.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the troops would stay at Darwin's Robertson Barracks and train alongside troops from Australia and other nations in the region.

The US troops would also train on their own at defence facilities in the Northern Territory.

The rotation is part of the enhanced Australia-US Defence cooperation announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and United States President Barack Obama in November 2011.

Mr Smith said the plan was to have rotations of up to 2500 Marines in Northern Australia in the northern dry season by 2016-17, but the government had not yet made any decisions about arrangements for larger US Marine Corps rotations.

He said a social and economic assessment of last year's rotation found social impacts of the US troop visit were minimal or negligible, but there would be a small positive economic benefit.

As the next step, an assessment was now being undertaken of impacts of deployments of up to 1100 US Marines to northern Australia, Mr Smith said in a statement.

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Al-Qaeda gunmen kill Yemeni spy

SUSPECTED al-Qaeda militants have shot dead a Yemeni intelligence officer in Mukalla, capital of the southeastern Hadramawt province, says a security official.

"Al-Qaeda gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on the officer, Ibrahim Bameshel, as we was on his way back home, killing him immediately," the official told AFP on Saturday, adding that the assailants had fled.

Al-Qaeda militants were driven out of most of their strongholds in Yemen's south last June in an all-out offensive by government forces aided by local "resistance committees".

But local sources say jihadists from the al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Sharia group have started distributing posters and leaflets in several towns across the province threatening members of the security forces and urging jihad.

Some of their posters showed pictures of masked gunmen on motorbikes.

Police and army officers come under frequent attack, with authorities blaming al-Qaeda for the assaults usually carried out by gunmen on unregistered motorbikes.

In a bid to clamp down on the increasing number of such attacks, authorities launched a campaign earlier this year ordering unlicensed bikes off the streets.

The militants took advantage of the weakness of Yemen's central government during a 2011 uprising against now-ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large swathes of territory across the south, including most of Abyan province, which they controlled for a year.

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NSW keen to extend Governor Bashir's term

PREMIER Barry O'Farrell has asked NSW Governor Marie Bashir to extend her commission for six months.

Professor Bashir is due to stand down in February next year but will now retire on September 26, 2014.

Mr O'Farrell says the Queen supports the move.

"Her Majesty has welcomed my suggestion to extend the Commission of Her Excellency the Governor," he said in a statement on Friday.

"I will now formally submit that request to The Queen for approval."

He said Professor Bashir was one of the state's most loved governors and he regretted her decision to stand down.

"As a person of Lebanese descent, there is no better example of the success of our multicultural society than Professor Bashir, who had a very successful career in health and academia before being appointed Governor," he said.

She was appointed the 37th Governor of NSW on March 1, 2001.

Opposition Leader John Robertson said Prof Bashir had served the people of NSW with the utmost distinction and been an outstanding ambassador for the state.

"Her wisdom and grace will long be remembered, as well as her strong advocacy for causes such as mental health and indigenous health."

Parliamentary speaker Shelley Hancock said Ms Bashir had whole-heartedly supported the institution of the NSW parliament and regularly attended events with her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie.

"(Her) energy, passion and drive is second to none," she said.

"Professor Bashir's work not only with the parliament but with charitable and non-government organisations is remarkable and I know first-hand that her support has been greatly appreciated."

Ms Hancock said that as the state's first female governor, Ms Bashir had broken down an important barrier for women in high office.

"(She) will continue to be a role model for women both young and old across NSW until the end of her service in September next year and beyond," she said.

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Aussie marathon team home from Boston

An Australian team participating in the Boston Marathon has come home after surviving twin bombings. Source: AAP

SYDNEY April 19 AAP - An Australian team that took part in the Boston Marathon has come home after surviving twin bombings that killed at least three people and injured about 180.

Indigenous athlete Emma Cameron was at the 41km mark of the course and about a kilometre from the bomb blasts when they occurred.

Outside the arrivals terminal at Sydney Airport on Friday, Cameron said she couldn't wait to get back home.

"Knowing that you're on the plane back to Australia is the greatest thing," she told reporters.

The 31-year-old runner was competing as part of the Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) and was in Boston with the head of the IMP, Tim Rowe, and its founder Robert de Castella.

She's relieved everyone returned home safe.

"When I heard the bomb had gone off at the finish line, I knew that Rob and Tim and some of the IMP supporters would've been in that area so I started to panic, I didn't know if they were okay."

Cameron said she was confident the people of Boston would pull through the tragedy.

She said she would definitely run in the Boston marathon again.

De Castella said it was disappointing Cameron couldn't finish the race but he was proud of her.

"To be in an event where you're physically exhausted and then emotionally having to go through something like this really tests you. And she came through wonderfully," he said.

He said they would begin training for another marathon in Melbourne later in the year.

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NSW opposition backs premier's gay stand

The NSW opposition says Premier Barry O'Farrell has set an example in his support of gay marriage. Source: AAP

NSW Liberal Party members will feel more comfortable voting for gay marriage now Premier Barry O'Farrell has come out in favour of it, Opposition leader John Robertson says.

Mr Robertson has commended Mr O'Farrell for declaring his support for a change to the Marriage Act for the first time, following the New Zealand parliament's vote to legalise same-sex marriage.

Mr Robertson, who has a gay son, says it is now important for federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to follow Mr O'Farrell's lead.

"I'm pleased to see him (Mr O'Farrell) showing leadership in this issue - it's something he's taken a long time to declare his hand on," Mr Robertson said.

"I think that will make other people, if we end up having a vote in the state parliament, in the Liberal Party feel a bit more comfortable voting with their conscience."

NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has also praised Mr O'Farrell, saying he's now "on the right side of history".

A conscience vote in the New Zealand parliament passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill on Wednesday night by 77 to 44 votes.

Fairfax Media reports Mr O'Farrell would prefer federal parliament to change the Marriage Act, but he is prepared to go it alone if a parliamentary inquiry in NSW finds the state can do so.

Marriage equality advocates say Mr O'Farrell's comments are an important breakthrough.

"Marriage equality is no longer a left/right issue but one that conservatives can support because it's about equality, individual freedom and family values," Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome said in a statement.

"With strong support from such a prominent Liberal we can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this important and urgent issue."

He said the comments showed that the NZ vote was already having an impact in Australia.

Members of the NSW Marriage Equality Working Group also welcomed Mr O'Farrell's comments, saying he reflected the "journey" many had gone through to embrace equality.

"NSW now has the same political setting that led to the successful NZ vote, with both leaders supporting the reform, all parties having a conscience vote, and all sides of politics working together to progress the reform," they said in a joint statement.

The statement said the working group would present parliament with a constitutionally valid bill "that will alleviate constitutional concerns and give same-sex couples in NSW the ability to marry".

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COAG fails to agree on schools

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is bracing for a showdown on education funding at the COAG meeting. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says none of the states and territories were able to sign up to the federal government's schools funding plan at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

State leaders met in Canberra on Friday to consider the funding arrangement announced on Sunday, as well as disability care, Australia in the Asian century, the early childhood education national partnership, gang laws and the Royal succession.

But the schools funding deal was not signed, leaving Ms Gillard to try and get agreement by her longer range deadline of June 30.

"No jurisdiction was in a position to sign on Friday," she told reporters.

"We will continue discussions."

Under its new model, Labor is offering the states $14.5 billion in schools funding from next year, with the federal government to pay 75 per cent of the total and the rest coming from state coffers.

It also wants state education budgets to increase by three per cent a year, in return for a greater 4.7 per cent lift in federal money.

Ms Gillard said the leaders did agree that Australia needed a high quality education system.

The COAG did make some progress on disability, with the ACT and South Australia signing up for the longer term implementation of the national disability insurance scheme from 2018.

As well, the Northern Territory has agreed to host a launch site covering Tennant Creek.

Leaders also discussed the principles that will guide the way the disability care system will work.

"So some principles were agreed," Ms Gillard said.

COAG chair Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said there had been "considerable discussion" about the schools funding proposal, and the importance of getting the reform right.

"Ultimately there is more work to be done, with jurisdictions to examine the financial implications for each of their jurisdictions, and there will be ongoing bilateral discussions between jurisdictions and the commonwealth on those matters," he said.

One of the main opponents of Labor's schools funding split, Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett, said he would be part of further talks with Ms Gillard on the issue.

"We will stay in the discussions," he said.

"But at the moment there is little to attract us."

Ms Gillard said she wanted to see WA schools benefiting from the extra resources and money being offered. Under the plan, WA would receive about $300 million over six years.

The leaders also discussed ways to tackle gang violence, organised crimes and illegal firearms and increase cooperation through proposed national gang laws.

"As organised crime and gangs become more and more sophisticated, it's necessary to make sure that across the country there is no place to hide and no loopholes," Ms Gillard said.

Dr Napthine said leaders had expressed a "very strong commitment" to fighting gang organised crime.

"COAG committed to further work by police ministers and attorneys-general to further develop agreed cooperative approaches to deal with criminal organisations and unexplained wealth," he said.

"There was also agreement with respect to examining issues associated with illegal firearms, and to strengthen existing firearms laws in regard to tracking of firearms and ballistics identification."

The COAG meeting also addressed the issue of the royal succession, ahead of the impending birth of a child to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.

"This is Australia's part in ensuring in the future girls could become the monarch in the same way that boys can so there's no discrimination, and no discrimination against the monarch marrying a Catholic," Ms Gillard said.

All states and territories endorsed the commonwealth enacting legislation on the matter.

"Individual states can elect if they so choose to also enact their own legislation," Ms Gillard said.

This gives leeway to Queensland, which had initially objected to the commonwealth taking the lead on the issue.

"I think this provides a sensible way forward for all jurisdictions to operate under the commonwealth constitutional changes," Dr Napthine said.

Meanwhile, ACT chief Labor minister Katy Gallagher is confident her government can reach agreement with the federal government on schools funding by June 30.

South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill was also hopeful a deal can be struck.

Tasmania Labor Premier Lara Giddings said her state hasn't signed up because there were final details to be worked out, although she supported the reform.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said state schools were his government's constitutional responsibility, not the federal government's.

"We are concerned by a number of things that are centralist in approach," he added.

Mr Barnett said he was worried about WA state schools having to report to Canberra.

Mr Newman said Queensland had put up $835 million over five years but the commonwealth was asking for the state, which has fiscal constraints, to raise $1.3 billion over six years.

"You can see there's a gap and I've got to go and work on it," he added.

NT chief minister Adam Giles said his door remained open but the current offer was not acceptable and the commitments required from the territory were "unsustainable."

"It's almost the case of death or Siberia," he said.

Dr Napthine and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell are both keen to continue bilateral negotiations on schools.

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HIV-positive acrobat jailed for nine years

An HIV-positive acrobat has been sentenced to jail for infecting his girlfriend with the virus. Source: AAP

A WOMAN who was infected with HIV by her circus acrobat boyfriend has told a Gold Coast court the condition has ruined friendships and cast a shadow over her life.

Godfrey Zaburoni, 34, was sentenced to nine and a half years' jail at Southport District Court on Thursday after being found guilty of deliberately giving the woman the virus during their nearly two-year relationship in 2007 and 2008.

A jury took just over two hours to reach their verdict, with the decision drawing gasps and tears of relief from the woman and her supporters.

The woman, who cannot be identified, told the court she had felt "lost and alone" following her diagnosis.

"I thought I was going to die from this disease," she said in a victim impact statement.

Since her relationship with Zaburoni ended in September 2008, she has married, mothered a child and is pregnant again.

She said her condition had caused her psychological, financial and physical difficulties and made her decision to have children particularly difficult.

"My husband and I would never have forgiven ourselves if my son had contacted HIV.

"My son is (HIV) negative, but I cannot breastfeed and I have been judged and ridiculed by other mothers.

"There is no such thing as normal when it comes to my life anymore.

"I would love to have more children, but I'm terrified about the thought of passing the infection on."

Daily medication to control the virus frequently left her exhausted and caused her eyes to turn yellow, while the stigma of her HIV-positive status meant she hadn't visited a dentist since her diagnosis.

Zimbabwe-born Zaburoni, facing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the charge, swayed and constantly wrung his hands as Judge Julie Dick handed down her sentence.

Crown prosecutor Mark Whitbread had asked for a minimum 10-year sentence, while Zaburoni's lawyer requested seven to eight years.

Judge Dick said Zaburoni had shown elements of remorse, but she also had to consider the impact on the victim.

"No sentence I impose can make that right for her," she said.

No recommendation for parole was given.

Outside court, Zaburoni's lawyer hinted that his client would appeal.

"Watch this space," barrister John McInnes told reporters.

Zaburoni is only the second person in Queensland legal history to be convicted of deliberately transmitting a serious infectious disease.

Judge Dick prevented a written apology from Zaburoni being read out in court after the woman said in her statement she had rejected an approach to receive it.

"He's proven his sincerity is not to be trusted," she said.

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Man arrested in US over ricin letters

A US man has been arrested after letters containing ricin were sent to US President Barack Obama. Source: AAP

A LETTER addressed to President Barack Obama has tested positive for ricin and authorities have arrested a suspect, stoking alarm in Washington after an earlier scare over poisoned mail.

The FBI said there was no connection between the blasts at the Boston Marathon that killed three people on Monday and mail sent to Obama, Republican Senator Roger Wicker and an unidentified Mississippi justice official.

Special agents on Wednesday afternoon arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, "the individual believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the US Postal Service," the bureau said.

The letters "contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin," it added in a statement.

Earlier reports had said the letters to Obama and Wicker, which never reached them, were signed "I am KC and I approve this message."

Curtis was arrested at his home in Corinth, Mississippi, according to the FBI.

After preliminary tests on the Obama letter showed traces of ricin, further tests would be carried out in the next 24 to 48 hours, the FBI said.

The US Secret Service said the letter to Obama had been intercepted at a mail screening site on Tuesday, the same day authorities said a letter sent to Wicker also showed traces of ricin.

Ricin - a highly toxic protein found in castor beans - can, when inhaled, cause respiratory problems. Ingested orally, it is lethal in even minuscule quantities.

Senator Carl Levin issued a statement saying one of his staffers had discovered a "suspicious-looking letter" at a regional office in Michigan and handed it over to authorities for further investigation.

The staffer had no symptoms, but was being held in hospital overnight as a precaution, the senator said.

Adding to nervousness in the US capital, two Senate office buildings were briefly cordoned off amid reports of a suspicious package but were reopened after an all-clear was given.

US Capitol Police confirmed one man was being questioned, but he was not being detained.

A mysterious series of letters laced with anthrax was sent to politicians and some journalists, killing five people and sickening 17 others, following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Congressional mail has been screened off-site ever since.

Three Senate office buildings were shut in 2004 after tests found ricin in mail that had been sent to the Senate majority leader's office.

The biological agent was also sent to the White House and the Department of Transportation in November 2003. There were no injuries in those incidents.

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Goyder says global carbon pricing needed

Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder says Australia must move to a global carbon pricing model. Source: AAP

WESFARMERS chief Richard Goyder says Australia needs to price its carbon in the same way as the rest of the world.

Australia's carbon price is currently fixed at $23 per tonne and will rise incrementally over the next two year before linking with the European scheme.

European prices are market based and this month have been trading around three euros ($A3.84)

Mr Goyder said that while a fixed price provided certainty, Australian companies do not want to pay significantly more for carbon than the rest of the world.

"I guess what business wants is certainty, but at the moment the certainty we've got is a price that's higher than the international price," he said.

"I think business would welcome a more market-based price, considering the cost pressures we've got at the moment."

Mr Goyder said Australia would have to move to the European carbon-pricing model in the very near future.

"I think eventually Australia will have to be in step with global pricing on carbon and I think the sooner the better," he said.

However, Mr Goyder would not say which political party's policy on carbon pricing he supported.

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SA opts into full disability scheme

South Australia has agreed to fully implement the national disability insurance scheme. Source: AAP

SOUTH Australia has agreed to fully implement the national disability insurance scheme, DisabilityCare Australia, extending the benefits to 33,000 people across the state, Premier Jay Weatherill says.

South Australia was the first to sign up to the federal plan, with a trial to focus on children to begin in July this year until 2016.

The state government will now transition to the full scheme by the end of 2018-19.

Mr Weatherill says DisabilityCare Australia will make a massive difference to the lives of people with disabilities.

"People will get funding for all the services they need and will be empowered to choose for themselves the services they want," he said.

"It will recognise that, for some people, a disability is for a lifetime, so will take a lifetime approach to providing care and support, including intensive early support."

Under DisabilityCare Australia, South Australia's annual funding for disability services will grow from $345 million at present to $723 million in 2018.

The federal government will also contribute $760 million, taking total funding in SA to more than $1.4 billion.

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Shale starts to pay off for BHP

BHP Billiton's much maligned $20 billion shale oil and gas acquisitions are bearing fruit. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton's much maligned $20 billion shale oil and gas acquisitions are bearing fruit.

BHP said its biggest oil producing field was not a typical offshore one, but an unconventional onshore shale field: Eagle Ford.

The company revealed an unexpected 15 per cent leap in liquids production to more than five million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe)in the March quarter, compared to analysts' estimates of just three million.

The shale revolution has convinced some analysts that it will change global geopolitics because the US, the world's largest economy, would no longer be dependent on other countries for energy fuel.

One analyst said that US shale gas prices had also recently climbed above $4 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for the first time in more than 20 months.

That is more than double the price in early 2012 when BHP was forced to write down the value of its Fayetteville shale gas assets by $2.8 billion from the $4.75 billion it paid for them, leading to criticism of outgoing boss Marius Kloppers.

"They have got increasing volume coming out from shale in a recovering pricing market," the analyst, who did not want to be named, said.

"I think shale is going to continue to be a division that probably surprises a few people over the next 12-18 months ... who said they paid the wrong price for it and have been pretty negative on it."

BHP chairman Jac Nasser called on the US last week to relax restrictions on oil and gas exports.

BHP shares fell 15 cents to $32 on Wednesday with resources stocks being punished all week due to weaker commodity prices.

BHP confirmed it would spend $4 billion this year on onshore drilling focussed on the oil-rich Eagle Ford and Permian Basin areas, $US3.2 billion of which has been spent.

The outlook for oil and gas prices is positive and BHP's petroleum division - which represents about one-third of earnings - is closing the gap on top earner, iron ore.

Production in the March quarter of 55.42 mboe was below some expectations, due to weather and maintenance issues with its West Australian and US offshore operations.

Production guidance for about 240 mboe was unchanged.

BHP also said it was on track to produce a record 183 million tonnes in Western Australian for the year.

The world's third-largest iron ore producer shipped 44.4 million tonnes and produced 44.2 million tonnes, having been less affected by WA's cyclone season than rival Rio Tinto.

Production was five per cent lower than the previous quarter but three per cent higher for the same period last year.

Iron ore prices were consistently stronger during the quarter than late last year at above $US140 a tonne, but many analysts expect them to drop as supply ratchets up in the second half of the year.

Goldman Sachs analysts told clients in a research note that the nine million tonnes of coking coal produced was impressive despite adverse Queensland weather, up 22 per cent from same period in 2012.

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Kurtley Beale's assault charges dropped

Rugby star Kurtley Beale and a bouncer he allegedly assaulted last year reached a deal out of court. Source: AAP

POLICE have dropped an assault charge against rugby union star Kurtley Beale after the playmaker reached an agreement through mediation with his alleged victim.

Beale, 24, faced a Brisbane court last July after allegations he hit a bouncer at the Victory Hotel, in Brisbane's CBD, on the morning before an Australia-Wales Test on June 8, 2012.

It was alleged the incident followed a refusal by hotel staff to allow entry for Beale and teammate Quade Cooper.

Beale faced one count of common assault.

However, he took the case to mediation.

During a brief mention on Wednesday in Brisbane Magistrates Court, it was revealed the parties had reached an agreement out of court and the charge was dropped.

No details of the agreement were given.

Beale, who is now based in Melbourne, was not in court.

The 24-year-old Beale's future with the Wallabies remains up in the air, and his availability for Australia's home series against the British and Irish Lions, starting in June, is uncertain.

Beale agreed to an indefinite break from rugby in late March and has been undergoing counselling after being sent home from South Africa for fighting with two Melbourne Rebels teammates after a Super Rugby match.

He has since been linked to a possible return to the NSW Waratahs, or a switch to the NRL with St George Illawarra.

The Rebels have said their first priority is helping Beale with alcohol issues rather than worrying about him being poached, but teammates say they are keen to have him back.

Wallabies playmaker Will Genia said he hoped to see Beale back on the playing field sooner rather than later.

"He's a great player and a great mate. He's someone that puts bums on seats in the way that he plays the game," Genia said.

"I am looking forward to him getting his life back on track and then playing some good footy."

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Church whistleblower fears lawsuit

A SENIOR policeman who exposed alleged child abuse by Catholic priests is concerned he could face legal action because of inadequate whistleblower protection.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox earlier this week appealed for support from NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell after receiving a letter from NSW police confirming one of his disclosures wouldn't be protected under whistleblower laws.

The premier and police commissioner Andrew Scipione have since said no disciplinary proceedings or other detrimental action will be taken against Insp Fox by the police force.

"He will not be in any way victimised, he won't be the subject of retaliation," Mr Scipione told reporters on Wednesday.

"He does have the protection in regards to the matters that he's reported."

But Insp Fox, who is protected under the Police Act 1990 and the Police Regulation 2008, is worried about potential suits from people he's exposed who are outside the force.

The two acts don't offer protection from such action, Insp Fox said.

He also said the Public Disclosures Act, which aims to protect whistleblowers from litigation from the wider community, has proven to be flawed in the past.

"It's basically been shown up to be ineffective," he told AAP on Wednesday.

Insp Fox has called on the government to revise and clarify the Public Disclosures Act, so people can be assured of protection from litigation.

Despite his fears, Insp Fox said he does not regret coming forward.

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Gillard rejects super-for-healthcare plan

Julia Gillard has rejected a report calling for three per cent of superannuation to be set aside. Source: AAP

THE federal government has knocked back a suggestion for part of superannuation to be set aside to fund healthcare.

The report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) says the ever-increasing costs of providing health services will create a budget crisis for future governments.

It suggests covering these costs by quarantining at least three per cent of the guaranteed superannuation rate.

When asked by reporters on Wednesday whether the government would consider such a move, Prime Minister Julia Gillard simply said "no".

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said she had not read the report, but said the increasing demand for healthcare was not an issue.

"We need to make sure that we provide those services in a cost-effective way," Ms Plibersek told reporters in Melbourne.

"But the simple fact that demand for medical services has increased ... I don't think is a problem."

The report, titled Healthcare: Ration or Reform, says the health system is plagued by blame shifting between levels of government and focuses on processes rather than patients.

"The result is poorer and relatively more expensive outcomes for patients and few incentives to achieve ongoing innovation," it says.

"The funding model used to support health care needs to be individual focused rather than institution or process-focused."

The report also says Australia is paying too much for generic drugs, a problem which could be addressed through reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

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Terrorism a threat we live with: Carr

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the Boston Marathon bombings could have been a terrorist strike. Source: AAP

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr says the Boston Marathon bombing is a warning to Australia the threat of terrorism is constant, as local running event organisers ramp up security.

It appears none of the 150 Australians who ran in the US city event were hurt when two explosions tore through the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 100.

US authorities are still trying to determine the motive for the attack, which is was being treated as an act of terrorism.

"What happened in Boston is a warning," Senator Carr told Sky News on Tuesday.

"This is a threat we live with."

The minister said changes to Australians laws and security protocols made after the September 11 US terrorist attacks were sufficient to cope.

"The proof of it is in the fact that four serious attempts at mass casualty terrorist incidents in Australia ... have been detected, disrupted and the people involved convicted," Senator Carr said.

In NSW, Premier Barry O'Farrell said security was being monitored but ruled out any changes to the annual City to Surf run.

"Not only would that mean future Boston Marathons, future City to Surfs, were not of the same character, it would actually give a win to those people who engage in those sort of acts of violence," he told reporters.

Organisers of the Sydney Morning Herald half marathon will review their security.

More than 20,000 people are expected to take part in the 21.1km Sydney half marathon on Sunday May 19, which takes in iconic sites such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks and Opera House.

"We continually assess our safety and security needs, working with local authorities," a Fairfax Media spokesman said in a statement.

The company would specifically assess whether any changes are required following the Boston tragedy.

Organisers of the Melbourne Marathon, to be held in October, have already made extensive safety and security preparations.

And in the UK, the annual London Marathon will go ahead on Sunday as planned.

"We will not be cancelling," London Marathon chief Nick Bitel told BBC Radio 5 Live.

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NSW planning overhaul prompts criticism

A NSW government paper recommends speeding up the approval process for many types of developments. Source: AAP

CRITICS say a long-awaited overhaul of NSW's planning laws will silence local communities and create a developers' paradise.

But the government claims the most significant revamp of the system in more than 30 years has public consultation as its centrepiece.

"The community will be able to own this planning system. They will own what happens in their local area," said NSW Planning Minster Brad Hazzard.

New laws will require the state government and councils to consult early with the community in developing the long-term planning ground rules for their region.

About 80 per cent of development proposals will be fast-tracked under the agreed system, estimated to save businesses and families about $174 million a year.

Most of those applications, including new homes and extensions, will be determined in less than 25 days.

Residents will be informed but not consulted about such projects, and the state's 152 councils won't have the power to knock them back.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the legislation was intended to benefit developers, while local councils would be "utterly sidelined".

They will also be outnumbered by ministerial representatives on regional planning boards in a 'four-against-one' system.

"Local councils will become government patsies. They will just implement the decisions being made by the regional planning boards," Mr Shoebridge said.

Opposition Leader John Robertson said the planning laws gave developers everything they wanted.

"It will exclude local communities from having a say at the most critical point of the planning process - that is, when the detailed development applications go to a council and no one in the local community will have a say on anything."

Mr Hazzard said a "modest levy" would be imposed for the first time on builders of new homes and apartments in existing suburbs, to provide funding for schools, roads and other infrastructure.

The new charge would help spread the costs more evenly across the state.

Currently, only developers in greenfields areas need to pay such levies. The minister said the government was slashing millions of dollars in red tape, making new homes cheaper to build.

Social media, such as Twitter and blogs, will be used to encourage people to get involved in the community consultation process, although Mr Hazzard conceded it would be "a mighty challenge" to get people to switch on at such an early stage.

Mr Shoebridge warned if the reforms became law, the first notice most people would have that a new house was being built next door "is when the bulldozers arrive".

The white paper is now open for community consultation for the next ten weeks. Legislation will be introduced to parliament in the second half of this year.

Ray Donald, joint president of Local Government NSW (LGNSW), said the proposed processes were top heavy and the new emphasis on early community consultation may replace the rights of neighbours to be involved with local development decisions.

"We support a new planning system that listens to the voice of communities through the well understood councillor representation system," he said.

"This provides transparency and accessibility to communities and a much needed 'check and balance' to an overly bureaucratic system."

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'We just hugged': Aussies survive carnage

IN the moments after twin bomb blasts tore through the Boston Marathon finish line, Australians caught up in the drama hugged and thanked their "lucky stars".

The attack on Boston's great race killed three people - including an eight-year-old boy - and maimed at least 120 more.

But authorities do not believe any of the 153 Australians who lined up for the event alongside 24,000 other runners were injured.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the safety of Australians who could have been caught up in the destruction was of "paramount concern".

"At this stage we are not aware of any Australian victims, so we do not have any evidence of course at the moment that any Australians have been hurt in this incident," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

Late on Tuesday afternoon (AEST) the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told AAP this information had not changed.

A department travel warning for Australians travelling to the US was updated, but not upgraded, in the hours after the blasts.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said fears the incident was a terrorist attack were legitimate.

"We know that home-grown terrorists have been a feature of life in Europe, the US and here," Senator Carr said.

"It's legitimate to be concerned about the prospect that this does represent a domestic terrorist strike."

Among the Australian runners was Perth woman Trish Farr, who was safely back at her hotel when she heard the bombs go off 30 seconds apart.

She told AAP she and fellow contestants thought they were fireworks.

But when the sound of fire engines filled the air, they realised something was terribly wrong.

"We just hugged each other and spoke to and texted our families, and thanked our lucky stars we all had our skates on and didn't dawdle," Ms Farr told AAP.

Australia's number one ranked marathon runner Jeff Hunt finished eighth and Lee Troop came 15th, while Paralympians Kurt Fearnley and Christie Dawes came fifth in their respective wheelchair races.

Fearnley tweeted about the explosions but did not grasp the extent of the carnage until later.

He said he was "sickened".

Former Boston Marathon winner and 1983 world champion Robert de Castella was in town supporting Australian athlete Emma Cameron, who competed as part of his Indigenous Marathon Project.

"There was obviously a fair bit of chaos and pandemonium at the finish line," said Mr de Castella when he confirmed Ms Cameron was safe.

Their team is preparing to return home.

Sydney woman Louise Kring was the last Australian to finish the race before the bombs went off, crossing the line five minutes prior to the blasts, but was not affected and safely made it to her hotel.

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Jurors challenged in Michael Jackson case

Some potential jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case had to be excused. Source: AAP

THE extensive connections of Michael Jackson, his family and friends have been a challenge for a US judge trying to select an impartial jury for his mother's wrongful death lawsuit against the company that promoted Jackson's ill-fated This is It concert.

As individual questioning finally began on Monday, some jury prospects who had passed the written portion of the process had to be excused because of personal connections.

Among them was David Walsh, a Canadian singer-songwriter who said he had met members of the musical Jackson family and was friends with Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's ex-wife. He said his own manager was on the witness list.

"I've had friends in Michael's band and my best friend was a backup singer on the This is It concert," Walsh said.

Walsh said he had formed opinions about the case that were probably unshakeable.

Katherine Jackson's suit claims AEG endangered Jackson's life by hiring an incompetent doctor, Conrad Murray, to look after the superstar singer.

AEG lawyers are expected to argue that Jackson was complicit in his own demise by insisting on hiring Murray and demanding the anaesthetic propofol to help him sleep.

The latest phase of jury selection came after jurors filled out questionnaires about their views on Jackson, his family and his life and death.

A preliminary group of 104 prospects was immediately reduced by six when members reported hardships or acquaintances on the witness list.

By day's end, 17 prospects had been excused, most because the extended length of the trial would cause them financial hardship. The case is expected to last for months.

More panellists sent notes to Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos before court recessed for the day, asking to be excused.

One member of the jury pool said he had met Dr Conrad Murray at a barbecue sometime after Jackson's death and they had a social conversation. But he said he didn't realise who Murray was, and once he did he stopped talking to him. He remained on the panel.

Murray is serving a prison term after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death from an overdose of propofol. Jackson died in his bed in June 2009 at the age of 50.

Complicating the case is the fact that neither Jackson nor AEG had signed Murray's $US150,000 ($A146,092)-a-month contract. Jackson died before Murray was paid.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers contend AEG was negligent in failing to investigate Murray's qualifications before hiring him.

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China media urge public to eat poultry

CHINA'S poultry industry has lost 10 billion yuan (about $A1.53 billion) in the week after the H7N9 bird flu virus began infecting humans, state-run media says as they seek to discourage panic.

Altogether 60 people have been confirmed as infected and 13 have died in the two weeks since Chinese authorities said they found the strain in humans for the first time.

"The public should somewhat restrain their anxieties to avoid this becoming a disaster for the whole poultry industry," the Global Times said in an editorial on Monday, adding that not eating poultry was "unfair to farmers".

It called the avoidance of such foods "excessive anxiety" and urged people instead to "demonstrate a collective spirit beyond individualism".

The number of cases spiked by 20 over the weekend and spread for the first time beyond Shanghai and three nearby provinces, with two cases reported just west in Henan and one in Beijing, hundreds of kilometres away.

Experts fear the prospect of such viruses mutating into a form easily transmissible between humans, which would have the potential to trigger a pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of H7N9.

Health authorities in China say they do not know exactly how the virus is spreading, but it is believed to be crossing from birds to humans, prompting mass culls in several cities. Beijing has banned the live poultry trade.

China's health and family planning ministry said on its website over the weekend that poultry and eggs can be consumed if they are cooked thoroughly.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation has said H7N9 shows "affinity" to humans while causing "very mild or no disease" in infected poultry, making it more difficult to find the source of transmission.

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Australia in bid to lead food allergy war

AUSTRALIA has one of the worst rates of food allergies and eczema, but a group of scientists wants to make it the best at finding solutions.

One in five Australians has an allergy and it can take more than 12 months for a child to get an appointment with a specialist.

In response, an alliance of 20 leading researchers will work together to understand food allergies and intolerances.

Calling their project the Centre for Research Excellence in Paediatric Food Allergy and Food-related Immune Disorders, their first task will be to test the effectiveness of Vitamin D for the prevention of food allergies.

Another project will be to trial a possible solution for allergies to eggs, milk and peanuts.

"Unfortunately we seem to be leading the way with regard to food allergy prevalence. What we want to do is lead the way with regard to prevention and management," said Professor Katie Allen of Melbourne's Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.

"This centre allows us to mount globally important trials."

The scientists hope their work will lead to strategies to prevent food allergies developing, prevent adverse events in children with a food allergy and to prevent food allergy progressing to asthma.

The centre will provide evidence-based guidelines for the care of patients.

Research by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia has shown food allergy and eczema may be a "gateway disease".

Infants with a food allergy are five times more likely to develop respiratory allergic diseases such as asthma later in life.

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Oblivion tops Australian box office

TOM Cruise, whose character in Oblivion lives high above the earth's surface, is sitting pretty at the top of the Australian box office.

Cruise's alien invasion film Oblivion has taken $3.318 million over the weekend pushing the animated movie The Croods ($2.717 million) down to No.2, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.

Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, has stolen third place with $1.271 million.

The comedy Scary Movie 5, the fifth in the franchise, has debuted in fourth place ($1.234 million). The film's cast includes Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen and Sarah Hyland, and it's about a couple who start to notice some strange activity after they bring their newborn son home.

Another debutant, Warm Bodies, about a lonely zombie in a post-apocalyptic world who falls for and abducts a human girl named Julie, played by Aussie Teresa Palmer, has slotted into the fifth position ($976,068).

G.I. Joe: Retaliation has dropped from third spot last week to No.6 taking in $869,531, while A Good Day to Die Hard also dropped three spots to No.7 with $523,594 in takings at the Australian box office.

Animated adventure/comedy Escape from Planet Earth sits at No.8 ($404,394), while animated comedy Adventures in Zambezia ($328,995) takes the ninth spot.

Oz: The Great and Powerful ($309,983) rounds out the top 10.

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Skateboard road rage guilty plea refused

A GOLD Coast man who tried to plead guilty to a skateboard road-rage attack last month has had his plea refused by a magistrate.

The March 30 attack by Stonemason Anthony Neilsen went viral after a motorist filmed it and posted the incident online.

Neilsen was seen punching the driver of a Hyundai Getz and hitting him with a skateboard before the pair fought each other on the road.

Neilsen's lawyer told Southport Magistrate's Court his client was attacked first by the driver, who punched the skateboarder in the head.

The magistrate refused to accept a guilty plea and set the case down for a contested facts hearing on May 23.

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Unions to push for flexible working hours

TOO many employers are failing to give parents and carers the flexible hours they need, unions say.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions will lodge a submission to the federal government's review of workplace laws calling for employees to be given the right to appeal an employer's decision to refuse them more flexible hours.

ACTU secretary Ged Kearney said parents and carers were being forced into unsecure, lower paid and less-skilled work because employers would not accommodate reasonable requests.

"We know that without real choices to accommodate their responsibilities, many carers today, mostly women, are forced out of decent jobs," she told reporters in Melbourne.

University of South Australia industrial relations expert Professor Barbara Pocock said the demands of Australia's ageing population heightened the need for flexible workplaces.

"What we have is an ageing freight train coming down the tracks towards us as employers and as a community," she said.

"We need a right to request that is available for people who are looking after old people as well as children."

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School funds needed to fix Tas mess: Oppn

THE federal goverment's extra schools funding will only replace what the Tasmanian government has taken out, the state opposition says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday unveiled plans for an extra $14 billion - mostly commonwealth money - to be pumped into the nation's schools from next year.

Tasmania would receive an extra $400 million.

Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson said the state government had already ripped out $190 million from the state's schools.

"The funding announced today will largely be swallowed up to fill that black hole," Mr Ferguson said.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings said her government would back the reforms if the funding was directed towards schools with the greatest need.

"The firm funding commitment announced by the prime minister today is a significant step," she said.

"We want to see Tasmania's strong and vibrant public schools continue to grow and prosper."

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Big states baulk at school funding model

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to announce a $14.5 billion boost to schools funding. Source: AAP

THE Liberal states are baulking at federal government calls to expand their education budgets in return for billions of dollars in schools funding, with one premier describing the plan as "nuts".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to pump an extra $14.5 billion over the next six years into the national education system, with the commonwealth contributing 65 per cent.

Ms Gillard said federal funding along with $5.1 billion from the states would help Australia reach its goal to be ranked in the world's top five for reading, mathematics and science by 2025.

"It's a lot of money, but I believe it is a wise investment in our children's future and our nation's future," she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

But Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and NSW aren't so sure, setting the scene for a showdown with Ms Gillard on Friday when state leaders head to Canberra for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said while the plan gives his state an extra $300 million, NSW gets a massive $5 billion and base funding per student would be less than what his government already offers.

"I would have to be nuts to sign up to something like that," he told Sky News television.

Labor's needs-based National Plan for School Improvement builds on the recommendations of the Gonski schools funding review released last year and comes ahead of the expiry of the current funding agreement early next year.

Under the proposed school resource standard, the amount for 2014 would be $9271 per primary school student and $12,193 for every secondary pupil.

Public schools would be the big winners with $12.1 billion in extra funds, while the Catholic system would receive $1.4 billion and private schools $1 billion.

The federal government also proposes to boost commonwealth schools funding by 4.7 per cent a year, but only if the states and territories agree to increase their education budgets by a corresponding three per cent.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he would go to COAG with an open mind, but chided Ms Gillard for not speaking to him first about her funding plan.

"I know the state of Queensland doesn't have the money they're talking about," he said.

Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said Labor was holding the states to ransom.

"Basically they're saying, 'here's a whole bunch of money, but you've got to do it our way'," he told reporters in Melbourne.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said he needed more time to "examine the details".

"We continue to work constructively with the commonwealth to turn this review into an opportunity for all of our students," he said in a statement

The NT is also uncertain, but South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT broadly support the plan.

Ms Gillard warned if funding wasn't addressed schools would be $5.4 worse off because of a widening gap between spending commitments by the states and the commonwealth.

But if the states agree, there would be extra money per student and loadings for schools with disadvantaged pupils, including indigenous children or those with disabilities.

The Australian Education Union supports the reforms while the Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) says it will await the outcome of COAG.

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the plan was a "con".

"This package delivers only about $600 million a year in new education money or one-tenth of what was expected," he said in a statement.

Labor will use savings from $2.8 billion in cuts to tertiary education and $900 million from changes to superannuation tax concessions to help pay for its share of the funding boost.

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Pell jets to Rome after appointment

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic Cardinal George Pell says he'll work with seven other high ranking churchmen appointed by the Pope to a new Vatican panel to bring "better discipline" to the church and avoid "Vatileaks" type scandals.

Cardinal Pell, 71, is being hailed as a voice for Oceania on the permanent advisory group.

He was appointed by Pope Francis on Saturday night alongside six other cardinals and one Monsignor.

Cardinal Pell said in his new role he would help the Pope in "anyway I can".

"I am very sure the Holy Father will be working for a better discipline," Cardinal Pell told the ABC on Sunday.

"There has been a spot of bother as we know in the Vatican, with the butler leaking the papers and other allegations.

"Most of the people working in the Curia are very, very fine people, but there were one or two mishaps."

Reform of the Roman Curia - the Church's governing body - was a much-cited issue during the run-up to the conclave that elected the new pope last month.

After Pope Benedict's historic resignation in February, Cardinal Pell criticised the Curia and its governance during Vatileaks, the 2012 scandal involving leaked papal papers that shed light on alleged infighting and financial impropriety among leading Curia members.

A spokeswoman for the Sydney Archdiocese told AAP that the scandal would likely be on new committee members' minds.

"There is no definitive agenda at this stage," she said on Sunday.

"It's only just happened, but there hopefully will be (scope) to avoid, for example, any future Vatileaks."

She said Cardinal Pell was flying to Rome on Sunday evening as part of a pre-arranged visit and would likely consult widely in the Catholic community ahead of the panel's first meeting from October 1-3.

"I think he's looking forward to the additional role, and whatever contribution he can make," she said.

He will remain based in Sydney but will travel to Rome.

Australia's first resident ambassador to the Holy See, Tim Fischer, said the panel appointments were an "inspirational" choice.

"I congratulate Cardinal George Pell on his appointment and note that every continent in the world is represented in the skilful selection made by Pope Francis in just his first month in office," Mr Fischer told AAP on Sunday.

"Certainly this new cabinet, or council, of cardinals of advice is a beacon pointing the way ahead by the new Pope in relation to re-balancing and revamping the church."

The other cardinals selected are from Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia.

The panel make-up has been interpreted as an indication that Pope Francis wants to reflect the universal nature of the church in its core decision-making.

Cardinal Pell welcomed the mixture of ideas that would come with the different backgrounds of advisers.

"I think different perspectives will be useful and a few English-speaking perspectives won't hurt."

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