Japan 'kills whale in Australian waters'

Sea Shepherd says Japanese whalers illegally killed a large minke whale in Australian waters. Source: AAP

THE federal government says whaling by Japan is illegal wherever it happens, after a large whale was harpooned in Australian waters.

Anti-whaling activists at Sea Shepherd said Japanese whalers killed a large minke whale on Friday in Australian waters off Antarctica near the Davis Research Base.

The group has posted photos of the incident online.

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said when the protesters tried to block the transfer of the harpooned whale's carcass from one vessel to another, the irate whalers tried to ram their boat.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said the focus should not be on which part of the ocean this happened.

"It doesn't matter what part of the ocean it is in, Australia's view is that it is just as illegal," Mr Burke told reporters.

"That's why we have taken Japan to the International Court of Justice.

"I think it would be a terrible situation if we started to go down the path of arguing that in one part of the ocean we thought whaling was okay and in others it wasn't."

Coalition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the best way to deter whalers and minimise the risk of dangerous confrontations would be to have a customs vessel patrolling known or likely trouble spots.

"The sensible action here is to have a cop on the beat," he said.

"The mere fact of an Australian-flagged vessel says to the whalers that we are watching, and says to the protesters: you've got to abide by international maritime law.

"Anything less is just negligent."

But Mr Burke said the opposition's proposal would make the situation even worse.

"Could you imagine what a boost to Japanese whaling it would be if there was an Australian vessel just watching on and nodding," Mr Burke said.

"It's much better that we have taken the legal action that we have taken, that we are in the International Court of Justice, that we are getting closer and closer to decision day there."

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Stricken US cruise passengers formed bonds

The passengers of cruise ship Triumph have finally disembarked after five numbing days stuck at sea. Source: AAP

PASSENGERS aboard the Carnival Triumph could have been selfish and looked out only for themselves and their loved ones after their cruise ship lost power. Instead, they became comrades in a long, exhausting smelly struggle to get home.

As ship conditions deteriorated after an engine fire, travellers formed Bible study groups, shared or traded precious supplies and welcomed strangers into their private cabins.

Even after they have returned to the everyday luxuries of hot showers and cold drinks, passengers will remember the crew and the personal bonds formed during a cruel week at sea.

The tired tourists finally reached land on Friday and gave a glimpse into an intensely uncomfortable journey.

Sandy Jackson was fortunate to have an upper-level room with a balcony and a breeze that kept the air in her cabin fresh. Rooms on the lower decks were too foul or stifling, so Jackson took in five people, including four strangers.

"We knew one, the others we're very good friends with now," Jackson said.

Brandi Dorsett said people were antsy and irritable at times, and there was tension. But it never got out of hand.

"People were bartering. Can I have your cereal for this? Can I have your drink for that?" she said. "We had one lady, she was begging for cigarettes and for nappies. There were no nappies on the boat. There was no formula."

The ship left Galveston, Texas, on February 7 for what was supposed to be a four-day jaunt to Cozumel, Mexico. The fire paralysed the ship on the third day, leaving it adrift in the Gulf of Mexico until tugboats towed it to Mobile.

Many of the more than 4,200 people aboard were bussed to New Orleans to catch a flight home or to the ship's home port in Galveston. And as if they hadn't suffered enough, one of the buses broke down during the two-hour ride to New Orleans. Passengers on a different bus reported losing their luggage.

But that was nothing compared to life on the crippled cruise liner. To pass the time, Joseph Alvarez said about 45 people gathered in a public room on the lower deck for Bible study.

"It was awesome," he said. "It lifted up our souls and gave us hope that we would get back."

Because many passengers were sleeping on the outside deck, Dwayne Chapman used his pocket knife to make tents out of bed sheets. At first, other passengers told him they thought he was going to get into trouble, but later, everyone wanted to borrow his knife to do the same thing.

"I really think we've made some lifelong friends going through this ordeal," Chapman's wife, Kim, said.

When it was over, many passengers were just grateful for simple pleasures. After days of warm drinks, Cheryl McIntosh and her husband were glad to see coolers full of ice.

"The first thing we did was open up those Diet Cokes and we drank some," McIntosh said.

Tugs pulled the ship away from the dock on Friday, moving it down a waterway to a shipyard where it will be repaired and cleaned.

The work ahead is. Passengers described water-logged carpets, sewage seeping through the walls, overflowing toilets and a stench so bad people choked.

But, by most accounts, the crew did as much as they could, using disinfectant and picking up plastic bags of faeces after toilets stopped working.

David Glocker praised the crew's efforts to help passengers and recognised the conditions for them were worse than for most passengers because their quarters were on the lowest part of the ship.

"They all had to wear masks," he said. "They worked their butts off trying to get us food."

Dorsett praised a calming voice over the ship's public address system that she knew as "Jen".

Connie Ede was on the cruise with her husband. During the fire, the two got their life jackets ready and put mobile phones, passports, money and credit cards in their pockets.

"All in all, I wish it hadn't happened, but it did, and we survived," she said.

Carnival promised to give refunds, offer passengers another trip and cover their transportation costs home. Travellers were also to receive $US500 ($A485) in compensation.

But those gestures may not be enough. Less than 24 hours after the boat docked, the first lawsuit was filed.

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Telecom NZ cancels email users' passwords

TELECOM has started cancelling the passwords of about 60,000 Yahoo! Xtra email accounts it believes have been compromised following a cyber attack.

The users will need to enter new password information when they log in to their email account.

The 60,000 customers affected by Saturday night's password cancellation are additional to the 15,000 customers that Telecom has been contacting following last weekend's cyber attack.

The move is aimed at protecting email customers and preventing information in emails being accessed. There is no evidence that this has occurred.

"We're taking this matter very seriously and urge those whose passwords have been cancelled to create new passwords," Telecom retail chief executive Chris Quin says.

"However, it's advisable for all others that have not changed their password, to do so immediately." This should be done on computers and mobile devices.

"We continue to be sorry for any distress caused or inconvenience this has caused and reinforce that in today's online world regular password changes are an important need."

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Anti-North Korea leaflets launched

NORTH Korean defectors in the South have launched 200,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the tense inter-Korean border.

The defectors used gas-filled balloons to float the leaflets along with $US1 notes across the western border town of Imjingak on Saturday, the birthday of the North's late leader Kim Jong-Il.

The balloons were inscribed with slogans such as "Stop provocative acts with missiles and nuclear tests", "North Koreans rise up" and "The Kim dynasty will soon collapse".

North Korea celebrates the birthdays of its late leaders as major national holidays.

Kim Jong-Il, who died of heart attack in December 2011, was succeeded by his son Jong-Un.

Anti-Pyongyang activists suspended leaflet launches until after the South's presidential election in December as the government urged them to halt such activities for fear of provoking Pyongyang.

North Korea has in the past threatened "merciless military strike" in response to anti-regime propaganda leaflets.

The North conducted a third nuclear test on Tuesday, whose detonation power was much larger than those of two previous ones in 2006 and 2009.

Pyongyang said the test was a riposte to UN sanctions imposed after its launch of a long-range rocket in December, which it claimed was part of a space program.

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WA Labor denies Libs request for rail cost

WEST Australian Labor has rejected Liberal-requested Public Transport Authority (PTA) costings for its Metronet project, saying they compare apples with pears.

The Mark McGowan-led party also refuses to commit to seeking its own PTA report, which would be submitted to the Department of Treasury for validation, or even getting independent engineers to prove its $3.8 billion price tag is correct.

The Liberals insist the rail plan will cost almost $6.4 billion.

Mr McGowan said the Liberal-requested PTA assessment used different assumptions, added an extra rail line and overestimated the length of "cut and cover" tunnelling work needed for the airport section of the proposed network by around five-fold.

He also, along with opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt, provided reporters with an email that indicated Treasurer Troy Buswell had held back a document about Metronet, despite Premier Colin Barnett promising all of the paperwork would be released.

This suggested political interference, Mr McGowan alleged.

Asked repeatedly whether Labor would clear the matter up for once and for all by requesting its own costings from the PTA, he said: "It may wind up that's what happens.

"It may well be that we end up submitting to Treasury or independent engineers."

But first, he wanted to see the document he claimed Mr Buswell had withheld.

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Lower rates boosting housing/equities, RBA

LOWER interest rates are helping to boost the Australian housing market and have a positive effect on the equity market, the central bank says.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Christopher Kent says the most recent readings show consumers are feeling better than average on a number of indicators.

"If you look at the surveys they've been showing quite positive trends around the end of last year," Dr Kent told a business lunch in Perth on Friday.

"And at least at the margin interest rates are relatively low so I think that's helping.

"One thing it's doing is helping the housing market."

He told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) forum that firmer asset prices were helping to buoy the equity market while inflation remained pretty well contained.

"We'd like to see inflation stay in the target."

Dr Kent said wages growth should follow from productivity, an area on which the central bank will focus its attention.

"We can get more wage growth without jeopardising inflation if there's productivity there to back it up," Dr Kent said.

In a wide ranging speech, Dr Kent also said the mining investment boom would peak sooner and at a lower level than previously expected.

While commodity prices were likely to drift lower over the next few years, Australia would continue to benefit from China's economic expansion.

Export volumes for resources are set to rise steadily as new mines come into operation.

Dr Kent said that the boom in mining investment was expected to peak this year, with the sector accounting for around eight per cent of gross domestic product at its high point.

But he warned that commodity prices were likely to fall over the next few years as more mines came on line to meet demand from China.

"This reflects the extra supply generated by the substantial amount of mining investment underway in Australia and elsewhere."

Coal and iron ore prices slumped in mid to late 2012 as growth in China slowed, causing miners to shelve or ditch a number of planned resource projects.

Still, the rebound in prices since December had not affected investment plans in the industry.

Dr Kent said Australia was still well placed to benefit from China's continued growth, with production from new mines to help boost export volumes.

Further strong growth is anticipated, particularly for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is expected to grow much more rapidly from around 2015, he said.

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Many injured in New Zealand head-on crash

MORE than 10 people have been injured in a head-on crash between two vans in New Zealand.

There were 21 people in the vans, which crashed near Taumarunui in the central North Island on Friday.

One van was a rental with tourists on board and the other had local workers, police said.

"Preliminary findings show that one van has been on the wrong side of the road around a corner and crashed head-on with the other van," Senior Sergeant Grant Alabaster of Taumarunui police said.

"We believe that alcohol is not a factor in the crash."

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PepsiCo 4Q results top expectations

Drink and snack maker PepsiCo has reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates. Source: AAP

PEPSICO'S net income rose 17 per cent in the fourth quarter on higher prices and strength in Latin America.

The US-based drink and snack maker's earnings and revenue beat analysts' estimates.

It also provided a 2013 adjusted earnings forecast in line with Wall Street expectations and raised its quarterly dividend by 5.6 per cent.

The results mark the end of what CEO Indra Nooyi said would be a "transitional year", with the company embarking on a cost-cutting program and stepping up investment in its flagship brands. PepsiCo's brands include Frito-Lay, Gatorade and Quaker.

For the period ending December 29, PepsiCo Inc earned $US1.66 billion ($A1.61 billion), or $US1.06 per share. That's compared with $US1.42 billion, or 89 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding a pension charge and other items, earnings were $US1.09 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $US1.05 per share.

Revenue dipped one per cent to $US20 billion from $US20.2 billion, hurt in part by the stronger dollar and an extra week in last year's quarter. Still, the performance topped Wall Street's estimate of $US19.8 billion.

For the full year, PepsiCo earned $US6.18 billion, or $US3.92 per share. In the previous year the company earned $US6.44 billion, or $US4.03 per share.

Adjusted earnings were $US4.10 per share.

Annual revenue fell two per cent to $US65.49 billion from $US66.5 billion.

Looking ahead, the company said it foresees 2013 earnings rising seven per cent from 2012's adjusted earnings of $US4.10 per share. This implies $US4.39 per share, which is what analysts had predicted for the year.

PepsiCo said the quarterly dividend increase will begin in June.

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Patel surgery was unnecessary: doctor

Jayant Patel's operation to remove part of a man's colon was unnecessary, a doctor has told a court. Source: AAP

JAYANT Patel's operation to remove part of a man's colon was unnecessary and highly risky, a doctor has told a court.

Mervyn John Morris, 75, died of complications including heart and lung failure and septicaemia after surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2003, the Supreme Court in Brisbane has heard.

The crown alleges the operation should not have been done because of Mr Morris's lengthy medical history, which included heart problems, prostate cancer and possible liver cancer.

Patel has pleaded not guilty to his manslaughter.

Giving evidence on Thursday, Dr Emma Igras said she believed the operation should not have been done at all.

Dr Igras, who was Patel's junior doctor during the surgery, said it was impossible to manage Mr Morris's treatment and care properly because they had never determined what was causing his rectal bleeding.

"Is there any justification for this operation at this point?" asked prosecutor David Meredith.

"No. This was an elderly patient who had a lot of other problems," Dr Igras said.

"There was an urgency to investigate the source of the bleeding."

The court heard Patel operated on Mr Morris on May 23, and he had needed corrective surgery one week later because part of his bowel was poking out through the wound.

His condition then deteriorated and he died.

The trial continues.

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Young inmates 'not at risk in adult jail'

CLAIMS that juveniles detained at an adult prison in Perth are being threatened by older inmates and have had their rehabilitation programs suspended have been rubbished by the state government department responsible for their care.

More than 100 young offenders were moved out of Banksia Hill detention centre in the southern suburb of Canning Vale last month after a violent armed mob went on a rampage.

They were moved to the nearby Hakea remand facility for adults, where the WA Prison Officers Union expects them to remain for up to nine months, in two new units originally built for the adult inmates.

Deaths In Custody Watch Committee spokesman Marc Newhouse said the juveniles should be immediately released into alternative care such as close supervision, intensive care, at home or with family, for their own safety.

"We are extremely concerned about juveniles being held in Hakea," he said on Thursday.

"It is a prison already under pressure due to overcrowding and poor conditions."

Mr Newhouse said placing juveniles in an overloaded adult prison meant they did not have the appropriate facilities and programs needed for their rehabilitation.

He said the committee had received reports of young detainees being threatened and intimidated by adult prisoners.

There have also been reports of young people being detained in isolation, he said.

But the Department of Corrective Services has denied all the suggestions, claiming "all is quiet" at the prison.

A spokesman said the transition of young male offenders from Banksia Hill to the Hakea facility was now complete.

"The task was conducted over a two-day period without issue and the facility is now functioning on a standard regime and all is quiet," he said.

"Education services have recommenced and programs and visits are in place."

The department said there were now 140 young offenders at Hakea, of which 50 were on remand, while 12 females remained at Banksia Hill.

"While having detainees anywhere other than at Banksia is not ideal, the department has looked at all of the options from a number of angles and this solution is the best in the short to medium term," the spokesman said.

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