Skaf rapist granted weekend leave

ANOTHER of the Skaf rapists has been granted weekend leave in a move to integrate him back into the Sydney community.

The young man has reached his non-parole period and has been granted day release, which is expected to start in coming weeks.

Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said the 29-year-old's weekend leave was recommended by the independent Serious Offenders Review Council and also the State Parole Authority.

"External leave is the normal progression for all inmates as they are prepared to re-integrate into the community and it is considered appropriate for this inmate because his non-parole period has expired, he is compliant and has participated in all programs," Mr Severin told AAP in a statement on Saturday.

"He will be electronically monitored with random spot visits by field officers and must submit to a strict schedule and the supervision of an approved sponsor."

It is understood the young man had his name suppressed at his trial, and Judge Michael Finane ordered it never to be lifted due to the man's intellectual and mental disabilities.

His co-accused Mohamed Sanoussi, 28, was denied parole in October last year but the State Parole Authority indicated it would grant parole in 2013.

His parole will be reconsidered later this year.

They were two of nine young males convicted of the August 2000 gang rapes of young girls at various locations in Sydney.

A total of 14 males took part in the attacks.

Brothers Bilal Skaf and Mohammed Skaf were among the convicted rapists and led the attacks.

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French President Hollande in Mali push

French forces now face the daunting task of building long-term security in Mali, the US says. Source: AAP

PRESIDENT Francois Hollande arrived in Mali to push for African troops to replace French forces who led a lightning advance that drove back radical Islamists from the country's desert north.

The French leader's whirlwind tour came as troops worked to secure Kidal, the last bastion of the radicals who seized control last year after a coup, raising fears that an area larger than France could become a safehaven for al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

Welcoming Hollande on Saturday, thousands of people gathered in the central square of the fabled desert city of Timbuktu, dancing to the beat of drums, a forbidden activity during the extremists' 10-month occupation.

"The women of Timbuktu will thank Francois Hollande forever," said 53-year-old Fanta Diarra Toure.

"We must tell him that he has cut down the tree but still has to tear up its roots," she added.

Hollande was met by French and Malian troops in Timbuktu, whose sandy streets were patrolled by armoured vehicles, after starting his trip in the central garrison town of Sevare, where he joined up with Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore.

Hollande, whose surprise decision to intervene in Mali three weeks ago has won broad support at home and made him a hero in the former French colony, is due to visit the 700-year-old mud mosque of Djingareyber and the Ahmed Baba library for ancient manuscripts.

Both sites were targeted by the Islamist occupiers, who destroyed two saints' tombs at Djingareyber that they considered heretical and burned some priceless manuscripts at the library before they fled the French-led troops who reclaimed the city Monday.

With the rebels ousted from all major towns but Kidal, France is keen to hand over its military operation to nearly 8,000 African troops slowly being deployed in the country - which the United Nations is considering turning into a formal UN peacekeeping operation.

But there are mounting warnings that Mali will need long-term help and fears that the Islamists will now wage a guerrilla campaign from the sparsely populated desert in the north.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday that French forces had rolled back the Islamist militants "much faster" than the United States had expected but now faced the daunting task of building long-term security in the region.

"The challenge now is to make sure that you can maintain that security and that you are not overstretched and that, ultimately, as you begin to pull back, that the other African nations are prepared to move in and fill the gap of providing security," Panetta told AFP.

In Kidal, a first contingent of Chadian troops has now entered the town, a Malian security source said Friday, and French soldiers are stationed at the airport, which they captured Wednesday.

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Uzi submachine gun seized during raids

POLICE have seized an Uzi submachine gun and ammunition during a series of raids in Sydney.

Officers from the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad and local police executed a search warrant at a business about 8.30am (AEDT) on Friday at Campbelltown, in the city's southwest.

They seized the 9mm Uzi, a magazine containing approximately 15 rounds, a further 40 rounds of 9mm bullets and a small amount of cannabis.

During a second raid at nearby Minto officers seized a ski boat with trailer, more cannabis and drug paraphernalia.

Police issued a 33-year-old Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang member with a court attendance notice for cannabis possession.

The Uzi will undergo ballistic and forensic examinations while inquiries continue about the ownership of the firearm.

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Death penalty for some India rape cases

INDIA'S cabinet has approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape and murder in New Delhi that sparked national outrage.

A government-appointed panel recommended the changes to ministers after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later.

The case ignited nationwide demonstrations by protesters demanding better safety for women.

The changes, which must be approved by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law, include doubling the minimum sentence for gang-rape and imposing the death penalty when the victim is killed or left in a vegetative state.

"We have taken swift action and hope these steps will make women feel safer in the country," Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told reporters late on Friday.

"This is a progressive piece of legislation and is consistent with the felt sensitivities of the nation in the aftermath of the outrageous gang-rape," he added.

On Saturday, the gang-rape victim's brother praised the cabinet's decision to make sentences tougher for attackers, calling it a "positive initiative", according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The changes to the rape laws were expected to be approved by Mukherjee as early as this weekend but must be ratified by parliament or they will lapse.

Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang-rape, rape of a minor, rape by policemen or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years from 10 and can be extended to life without parole.

Under the current law, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years.

The cabinet has also created a new set of offences such as voyeurism and stalking that will be included in the new law.

Five men are being tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi on charges of murder, kidnapping and rape in connection with the death of the student, who died from her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she had been sent for further treatment.

A sixth suspect faces trial in a juvenile court.

The physiotherapy student was assaulted on a bus she had boarded with a male companion as they returned home from watching a film in an upmarket shopping mall.

India says it only imposes the death penalty in the "rarest of rare cases".

Three months ago, it hanged the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks - the country's first execution in eight years.

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Defiant Iran showcases defence advances

IRAN has trumpeted military, space and nuclear advances in a series of announcements coinciding with a new bid by world powers to revive stalled talks with Tehran over its atomic ambitions.

In an unveiling ceremony inside a hangar on Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled a futuristic-looking fighter jet he said ranks among the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, media reports said.

Code-named the Qaher (Conqueror) F-313 and shaped similar to stealth bombers, the grey warplane was designed and built domestically, Ahmadinejad told an audience of defence ministry top brass.

It "is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world," he said while insisting the F-313 was "a deterrent" meant to send a "message of peace" - despite its aggressive name.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted in media as saying the plane boasted a very low radar signature, and that "advanced materials" were used to build it.

The unveiling comes as Iran marks the 34th anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which replaced the US-backed shah with an Islamic regime.

It traditionally uses the anniversary period to showcase military, space and nuclear advances, against a backdrop of international sanctions.

Tehran is locked in a showdown with the UN Security Council over its disputed nuclear activities, including sensitive uranium enrichment which the West suspects is part of a military programme, despite Iranian denials.

The resumption of talks between Iran and world powers aimed at resolving international concerns over its activities have stalled for months.

Iranian pronouncements of achievements have increased in recent years, as Tehran desperately aims to prove the West's embargo on its military, technology and economy have failed to dent its determination.

On January 28, Iran said it sent a monkey into space to an altitude of 120km for a sub-orbital flight, challenging Security Council sanctions against the development of its ballistic programme.

But Iran considers its space programme as strategic and non-negotiable, echoing its stance on its nuclear activities.

The US cautiously reacted to the news, saying it could confirm it. But it said that if true, the launch violated UN resolutions.

On January 23, Iran had informed the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency of intentions to install more modern enrichment equipment at Natanz, one of its main nuclear sites.

Two new Iranian space projects are expected to be announced later on Saturday.

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China bridge collapses, 25 vehicles fall

AT least 25 cars and trucks have plunged 30 metres from a viaduct after a truck carrying fireworks exploded on an expressway in Central China, reports say.

The explosion in the Sanmenxia area of Henan province on Friday destroyed an 80-metre section of the bridge and shook homes 500 metres away, the semi-official China News Service said.

Rescuers were continuing to search the rubble and the number of dead and missing remained unclear.

The agency said at least nine died and 11 were injured, while earlier reports by state broadcaster China Central Television and other media said at least 26 people died.

Photographs of the site showed several heavy trucks upside down and crushed among rubble from the concrete and steel bridge in Henan's Mianchi county.

China News Service said at least 10 cars were crushed and buried in rubble, in addition to the trucks.

One photograph on the agency's website, www.chinanews.com, showed at least six cars, several of them apparently burnt out, piled next to two upturned trucks.

The initial blast felt "like an earthquake," it quoted Li Mengliang, who had been eating with his family 500 metres away in Yichang village, as saying.

The explosion shattered windows in Yichang, the agency said.

"We were driving over the bridge and there was heavy fog at that time," China Central Television quoted Wang Zilai, a car passenger, as saying.

"I was sleeping and then heard a big bang," Wang said.

"Then I saw shredded paper everywhere from exploded fireworks and firecrackers," he said.

"I also saw another car had exploded. I saw more than 10 cars had fallen from the bridge," Wang said.

"It was like a scrapyard," he said of the scene under the bridge.

The broadcaster said about 200 people had joined the rescue work.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying the rescuers had excavated nine vehicles by Friday evening.

Four of the injured people were in serious condition, it said.

The truck carrying fireworks was licensed in nearby Hubei province, the reports said.

Many trucks are transporting fireworks across China this week ahead of the Chinese lunar new year which begins on February 10.

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Newborn twin cancer op 'UK first'

A PIONEERING operation to save the life of a tiny twin as she was born with a tumour on her neck the size of an orange is a UK first, doctors have said.

A team in Sheffield said it was a "race against time" to secure an airway for Isabel Roberts as the cancerous growth was so big it was crushing her throat.

Isabel's tumour weighed 0.6lb (0.27 kgs) - a sixth of her 3lb 9oz weight when she was born.

The team found it was pressing down so hard on her airway she would not have been able to breathe if she had been born in the normal way.

"It was definitely the most stressful few minutes of my career," one of the doctors said.

Maureen Roberts first gave birth to Isabel's twin sister Alexandra.

Doctors said this was by caesarean section and did not cause any problems.

But the surgical team from Sheffield Children's Hospital and Sheffield's Jessops maternity hospital were faced with a much more complex situation with Isabel.

They had to free her head from the uterus, allowing her to continue getting oxygen from the umbilical cord as they fitted a tube down her constricted throat to enable her to start breathing normally.

Dr Ayman Eissa, the consultant anaesthetist at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust who found and secured Isabel's airway during the "exit procedure", said: "As soon as the baby's head was out of the uterus it was a race against time.

"We estimate the placenta will continue to supply oxygen through the cord for up to five minutes, but you can never be sure, it could break off at any time.

"The baby was so small and the tumour so big, it was a very difficult job to secure the airway. The relief when I secured the tube was unimaginable. It was definitely the most stressful few minutes of my career."

The Children's Hospital believes Isabel, who is now 16 weeks old, is the first twin baby to undergo this rare procedure in the UK.

Her tumour was removed 10 days after she was born and specialists believe she has every chance of making a full recovery.

Mrs Roberts, 35, and her husband Simon, 29, from Hoyland, Barnsley, are now back home in Hoyland, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, with their twin daughters.

The couple have two other daughters - Sarah, 16, and Olivia, 11.

They said they found out Isabel had an abnormal mass at an ultrasound scan 33 weeks into the pregnancy.

Mrs Roberts said: "The few weeks leading up to and after the twins' arrival were a blur, it's crazy to think just how much has happened to my baby. I can remember walking into the operating theatre to have the caesarean and not knowing what was going to have happened when I woke up."

Neil Bateman, the consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon, who removed Isabel's tumour said: "The tumour was sitting right on the trachea and was very close to her major arteries.

"It was tricky to remove, but I managed to get it all.

"When we weighed the tumour it accounted for one sixth of her entire body weight. It is very rare for a baby to develop a tumour of this size in the womb."

Tests showed the tumour was cancerous and Isabel was put on a course of chemotherapy at the Children's Hospital after her birth, which is continuing.

Mr Roberts said: "Isabel looked so much better after Mr Bateman removed the tumour. Her head was not forced back anymore, she looked like a normal baby.

"Then we found out she had cancer, it was unbelievable."

But Dr Anna Jenkins, who is treating Isabel, said she should recover fully.

She said: "It is very rare for a baby to be born with such a large cancerous tumour.

"She is coping well with treatment. The cancer hasn't spread and we are expecting her to make a full recovery."

Mrs Roberts said: "I was really nervous going home for the first time without the support of the nurses, but it was also such a relief and meant Isabel was getting better and we could be a family.

"We only have to go to the hospital every three weeks for chemotherapy at the moment, and she's getting stronger every day."

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Former NYC mayor Ed Koch dies

FORMER New York Mayor Ed Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during three City Hall terms, has died at age 88.

Spokesman George Arzt says Koch died on Friday morning of congestive heart failure.

In City Hall, Koch embodied New York for the rest of the world. He won a national reputation with his feisty style and his trademark question, "How'm I doing?"

During his years as mayor, from 1978 to 1989, his tight fiscal policies pulled the city out of severe financial difficulties.

But homelessness and racial tensions soared and critics charged that City Hall's responses were ineffective.

His mark on the city was set in steel when the Queensboro Bridge, connecting Manhattan to Queens, was renamed in Koch's honour in 2011.

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Aussie DJs won't be charged over hoax call

BRITISH prosecutors said they would not bring charges over a hoax call by two Australian radio DJs to the hospital where Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine was being treated.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday there was no evidence to support a charge of manslaughter, despite the fact that Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46, apparently committed suicide after answering the call.

It added that while there was some evidence of possible offences under data protection laws "no further investigation is required because any potential prosecution would not be in the public interest".

Malcolm McHaffie, Deputy Head of Special Crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, said police had handed them a file in December and asked advice about whether a prosecution should be brought.

He added: "It is not possible to extradite individuals from Australia in respect of the potential offences in question.

"However misguided, the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank."

"The consequences in this case were very sad. We send our sincere condolences to Jacintha Saldanha's family."

Radio hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian have since been taken off air by the Austereo network following the call, which resulted in details of Catherine's recovery from severe morning sickness being revealed on air.

The pair also received death threats over the call, in which they posed as Queen Elizabeth II, William's father Prince Charles, and one of the queen's corgi dogs.

An inquest heard that Saldanha, a mother of two, was found hanged in staff accommodation at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in central London and there were no suspicious circumstances over her death.

She also had marks on her wrist.

Saldanha left three notes, one of which reportedly criticised colleagues over her treatment at the hospital.

Australia's media watchdog has opened an investigation into the call.

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Two killed in blast outside US embassy

TWO security guards were killed and several others were wounded on Friday in an explosion outside the US embassy in Ankara that damaged nearby buildings, a police officer says.

Police cordoned off the street in the Cankaya neighbourhood where many other state institutions and embassies are also located.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

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Bushfire threatens Vic ski infrastructure

AN out-of-control bushfire burning near the Victorian ski fields has prompted resort staff to use snow machines to protect infrastructure.

Authorities issued an emergency warning to residents of Mount Hotham, Hotham Heights and Dinner Plain on Thursday afternoon (AEDT) as a 5000-hectare bushfire that began near Harrietville on January 21 flared close to the towns.

Residents were told it was too late to leave the town, and parts of the Great Alpine Road were closed.

Mt Hotham ski resort management board chief executive Jim Atteridge said embers from the Harrietville fire sparked one spot fire in the village below the Hotham police station and two fires on the ski fields.

Mr Atteridge estimated there were 40 or 50 people in the village, including a full complement of resort administration staff.

A CFA spokeswoman said an additional 120 firefighters were being sent to the area.

Fire crews and resort staff were using snow machines to fight the spot fires, she said.

"We're not expecting properties to be affected, but some ski infrastructure could be damaged," the spokeswoman told AAP on Thursday night.

A staff member at the Dinner Plain Hotel said the bushfire threat had forced most people out of town.

"Summers up here are usually great, but it's a ghost town at the moment," he told AAP.

"These fires have been a bit of a kick in the arse."

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South Korean tycoon gets four years jail

THE head of South Korea's third largest conglomerate, the SK Group, has been sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of embezzling almost $US50 million ($A48.27 million).

The sentence passed on Thursday was seen as relatively tough in a country where convicted business tycoons are often given suspended prison terms in recognition of their apparent contribution to the national economy.

The court ruled that Chey Tae-Won, 53, had embezzled 49.7 billion won ($A44.02 million) from two affiliates and funnelled the money into a firm for investments in stock futures and options in 2008.

The SK Group boss had remained free since he was indicted a year ago.

Chey would appeal the verdict, said the energy-to-telecom conglomerate, which includes top mobile carrier SK Telecom.

It was not Chey's first conviction.

In 2003 he was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a $US1.3 billion accounting fraud.

He was released after just seven months and in 2008 was granted a full presidential pardon.

It is not unusual for senior executives with convictions for crimes including tax evasion and embezzlement to remain in charge of South Korea's family-dominated conglomerates.

The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that Chey had betrayed the public trust in his group.

"He should be reproached for using subsidiaries as a tool for his crime," it said.

Chey's younger brother and group vice chairman Chey Jae-Won was acquitted on charges that he was a knowing accomplice to the embezzlement.

South Korea has a long history of pardoning powerful tycoons.

Hyundai Motor head Chung Mong-Koo, who had been convicted of embezzlement and other charges, was pardoned in 2008, and Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-Hee - convicted of tax evasion - was pardoned in 2009.

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Briton finds valuable, rare 'whale vomit'

A BRITISH man has been offered 50,000 euros ($A65,625) for a strange-smelling rock his dog found on a beach, which may be a rare form of whale vomit used in perfumes, the BBC reports.

Ken Wilman was walking his dog Madge in the coastal town of Morecambe in northwest England when she began "poking at a rather large stone" with a waxy texture and yellowish colour.

At first he left it on the beach but later retrieved the object, which he believes is a piece of ambergris, a substance found in the digestive systems of sperm whales.

Whales sometimes spew up ambergris, which floats on water and has been highly prized for centuries.

It is used in perfume-making for the musky fragrance it acquires as it ages - but newer ambergris is foul-smelling.

"When I picked it up and smelled it I put it back down again and I thought 'urgh'," Wilman told the BBC on Thursday.

"It has a musky smell but the more you smell it the nicer the smell becomes."

He is waiting for tests to confirm his find is ambergris, known as "floating gold", but says he has been offered 50,000 euros for it by a French dealer.

"It's worth so much because of its particular properties," Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrates at the National Museum of Scotland, told the BBC.

"It's a very important base for perfumes and it's hard to find any artificial substitute for it."

The substance gets a mention in the classic 1851 whaling novel Moby Dick.

Author Herman Melville wrote: "Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is."

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Royal Dutch Shell posts mixed earnings

ENERGY giant Royal Dutch Shell says its net profits sank 14 per cent last year despite an upbeat final quarter, as the group battled headwinds including volatile oil and gas prices.

Earnings after tax dropped to $US26.59 billion ($A25.67 billion) in 2012, compared with $US30.92 billion in the previous year, the Anglo-Dutch company revealed on Thursday in its annual results statement.

Net profits though rose 3.0 per cent to $US6.7 billion in the three months to December, from $US6.5 billion last time around. Production also grew by 3.0 per cent to 3.41 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter on an annual basis.

Adjusted net profits - stripping out gains or losses from fluctuations in the value of inventories - jumped 13 per cent to $US7.29 billion in the fourth quarter, as higher refining margins offset increased costs in exploration and production.

Total revenues meanwhile increased by 2.0 per cent to $US118.05 billion in the last three months of 2012.

And the group also lifted its fourth-quarter shareholder dividend by 2.4 per cent to 43 US cents per share.

"Shell is on track for plans we set out in early 2012, despite headwinds last year," chief executive Peter Voser said in the earnings release.

"Shell is competitive and innovative. We are delivering a strategy that others can't easily repeat, with unique skills in technology and integration and a worldwide set of opportunities for new investment."

The London-listed energy major added that it would make $US33 billion in net capital investment this year, with new projects lined up for Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Iraq and the Arctic, as part of its ongoing investment plans.

"Shell will continue the strategic drive to grow its upstream businesses, with ongoing selective investment in downstream," it said.

The group also noted that the global energy demand outlook was solid, despite the challenging economic backdrop.

"Although the economic outlook remains uncertain for some of Shell's key markets ... the prospects for long-term growth in global energy demand remained unchanged, driven by rising world population and improving standards of living in developing countries," the company said.

Voser added: "Meeting this demand growth with clean and affordable energy is a formidable challenge for our industry and it is a major opportunity for Shell."

In reaction to the mixed results, Shell saw its 'A' share price drop 1.3 per cent to 26.48 pence in late morning deals on London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies, which was 0.42 per cent lower.

"Today's numbers have failed to inspire against the backdrop of a generally lacklustre market," noted Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

Shell's main British rival BP will unveil its annual earnings on Tuesday.

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Syria opposition to meet in Cairo

SYRIA'S main opposition National Coalition is to meet in Cairo, a day after its chief unexpectedly said he was willing to hold talks with regime officials.

"This meeting was organised well before the Syrian National Coalition leader, Moaz al-Khatib, made his statement," Samir Nashar, a member of the opposition bloc, told AFP on Thursday.

The original agenda was to discuss financial aid from Qatar but "obviously this will change now", said Nashar.

On Wednesday, Khatib announced on Facebook he was "ready for direct discussions with representatives of the Syrian regime in Cairo, Tunis or Istanbul".

His conditions included the release of "160,000 detainees" and for passports of exiled citizens to be renewed in embassies abroad.

Khatib's statement drew a mixed reaction from the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Syrian National Council, a key opposition group within the Coalition, rejected Khatib's proposal outright.

Its leader George Sabra "was not scheduled to come to this meeting (in Egypt) because of other engagements but he has changed his plans and has arrived in Cairo," said Nashar.

The Syrian opposition's "ambassador" to Paris, Monzer Makhous, said Khatib had "softened" his stance because "he feels a special responsibility to try to resolve" the escalating conflict.

Such talks would exclude Assad and his entourage, whom Makhous described as "war criminals".

In Damascus, Al-Watan newspaper said Khatib's statement unmasked "the exiled Syrian opposition's divisions" and that the opposition was "unable to adopt a common stance on the crisis and on ways to resolve it".

The daily also said the opposition's differences are a sign a new group "will emerge, one that is more realistic and has more intelligent goals than just asking for money from the West and the Arabs, to build a democratic, pluralist society, where there will be no room for political and military fundamentalism".

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ALP to 'fully co-operate' on Thomson case

THE NSW Labor party says it will "fully co-operate" with the workplace watchdog over its case against former Labor MP Craig Thomson.

The comment comes after media reported on Wednesday that Fair Work Australia (FWA) had issued the NSW ALP with a subpoena ahead of a federal court case against Mr Thomson.

An ALP spokeswoman told AAP on Wednesday night that to her knowledge, the party had received no subpoena from FWA relating to the case, but would fully co-operate with any request for information.

"As always, we will fully co-operate with any requests made by Fair Work Australia," she said.

"At this stage, the Labor party hasn't been issued with a subpoena."

FWA alleges Mr Thomson misused union funds when he was the Health Services Union national secretary between 2002 and 2007, using union credit cards to spend thousands of dollars on personal expenses, including prostitutes.

Mr Thomson vehemently denies the claims.

A directions hearing for the case against Mr Thomson is scheduled for Friday in the Federal Court.

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Smartphones, tablets boost Lenovo profit

PERSONAL computer-maker Lenovo Group says its quarterly profit has risen 34 per cent to a record high on strong sales of smartphones and tablet computers.

The company, vying with Hewlett-Packard to become the world's biggest PC maker, said on Wednesday it earned $US205 million ($A196.9 million) in the three months ending in December. Revenue rose 12 per cent to $US9.4 billion - also a record.

The results reflect a rapid shift in global consumer tastes toward mobile services. That's forcing traditional technology leaders to scramble to provide new products and diversify into services as well as hardware.

Sales by Lenovo's mobile and digital home unit soared 77 per cent to $US998 million, though that was only 11 per cent of total revenue.

The company said its smartphone business in China was profitable for the first time and handsets were launched in India, Indonesia, Russia and other markets. Shipments of media tablets rose 77 per cent to 800,000 units.

"The strong performance of our mobile internet business is a significant strength that we believe will help us drive sustainable growth even in challenging market conditions," chief financial officer Wong Wai Ming told reporters.

Lenovo shipped 9.4 million smartphones during the quarter, all but about 400,000 of them in China, according to chairman Yang Yuanqing.

He said the smartphone business outside China is "still in the first stage" and Lenovo needs to invest to gain market share before focusing on profitability.

Revenues in the bigger but slower-growing PC market rose 7 per cent to $US7.9 billion.

Lenovo, which is based in Beijing and in North Carolina, warned PC demand "remains challenging" due to weakening global economic conditions but said it plans to expand its cloud, services and other businesses.

In its home market of China, PC shipments rose 2 per cent, down from the previous quarter's 8 per cent. Lenovo said that was still better than an industry-wide decline of 2 per cent in China, raising its market share by 1.4 percentage points to a record 36.7 per cent.

Shipments in the United States and the rest of North America rose 11 per cent over a year earlier.

Lenovo released a new version of its ThinkPad notebook computer, the X1 Carbon, in August that it said was lighter and quicker to mimic the convenience of a tablet.

Lenovo acquired the ThinkPad brand with IBM Corp's personal computer unit in 2005.

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Canon says full-year net profit down 9.7%

JAPANESE electronics giant Canon says its full-year net profit fell 9.7 per cent last year as it was hit by a slowdown in demand from debt-hit Europe and an export-sapping strong yen.

The camera and office equipment maker said on Wednesday earnings slipped to Y224.6 billion ($A2.37 billion) in 2012, compared with Y248.6 billion a year earlier.

Unlike many Japanese firms, Canon reports its financial results on a calendar-year basis.

The annual results missed an earlier forecast of a Y234 billion net profit announced in October, a figure that had already been slashed from the previous target of Y290 billion.

Net sales last year were down 2.2 per cent to Y3.48 trillion, while operating profit fell 14.3 per cent to Y323.9 billion.

The decline was due to "the economic slowdown mainly in Europe and the high valuation of the yen against the euro, combined with the cooling-off of demand in China during the latter half of the year", it said.

Canon did not make specific reference to Tokyo's territorial dispute with Beijing over a chain of East China Sea islands.

But Japanese firms have suffered in the wake of the long-running diplomatic dispute, which erupted again in September after Tokyo nationalised some of the archipelago.

The move set off huge demonstrations across China and sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese products, which have weighed on Japan Inc's results.

The yen's strength also hurt Japanese firms by making their products more expensive overseas. The unit has weakened in recent months as a new conservative government swept to power.

Canon said it expects a moderate recovery this year, forecasting a net profit of 255 billion yen and 410 billion yen in operating profit on sales of 3.81 trillion yen for the current calendar year.

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No excuses for no oppn costings: Swan

Wayne Swan has challenged the opposition to reveal how much its election promises are going to cost. Source: AAP

TREASURER Wayne Swan has challenged the opposition to reveal how much its election promises are going to cost once the federal budget numbers are released in May.

Mr Swan says the government will account for its big spending on education and the national disability insurance scheme through savings in the budget on May 14.

With the federal election date set for September 14, the opposition has no excuse not to reveal its costed policies after the budget is brought down, the treasurer told ABC TV.

"Failure to do so will very clearly indicate what their agenda is, which is not to put out detailed policies based on forecasts based on either information from the budget or the Parliamentary Budget Office," he said.

The opposition's strategy was to release as little of their costings as possible, he said.

"They're out there saying that they will have lower deficits, lower taxes and of course more spending," Mr Swan said.

"That is just a magic pudding."

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has said the May budget numbers will be questionable and the coalition would rely only on figures from the pre-election fiscal outlook (PEFO).

The departments of Treasury and Finance will release the PEFO 10 days after the writs for the election have been issued on August 12.

Mr Hockey said on Wednesday the coalition had submitted more than 50 initiatives to the Parliamentary Budget Office for costing, but it was struggling to get through them.

Finance Minister Penny Wong said there were no easy savings measures.

Ms Gillard said on Wednesday the government would announce savings in the May budget to pay for its investment in education and the national disability insurance scheme.

Senator Wong said areas where Labor had found past savings gave an indication of the party's approach in paying for future policies.

Previous savings had been made with changes to the private health insurance rebate, removing various tax breaks, such as the dependent spouse tax offset, and amending the arrangements for fringe benefits tax, Senator Wong said.

"They are yielding benefits to the budget now, but more importantly, they will continue to yield benefits to the budget in years to come to enable the room to fund other priorities," she told ABC TV on Wednesday.

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New brand costs dent H&M's 4th qtr profits

FASHION retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB is to press ahead with its global expansion plans with the opening of over 300 stores this year, even though it saw a modest decline in fourth-quarter earnings that the Swedish company blamed in part on higher investments in online shopping and the launch of a new brand.

Net profit in the quarter was 5.29 billion kronor ($A792.39 million), 1 per cent down from 5.36 billion kronor a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday.

The decline broke a three-quarter streak of rising earnings for H&M, which specialises in offering trendy fashion lines at low prices.

However, sales rose 5 per cent to 37.9 billion kronor, from 36.2 billion kronor in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said H&M "stands strong" despite challenging market conditions and will continue expanding this year. The company opened 304 new stores worldwide during 2012 and plans to add 325 more this year, with the fastest rate of expansion in China and the US

Persson said long-term investments in a range of areas, including online shopping and the upcoming launch of a new brand, & Other Stories, weighed on results.

"These long-term investments have created cost increases and to a great extent have not yet generated any revenue," Persson said. "However, we consider these investments to be both necessary and wise as they aim to secure future expansion and profits and thereby further strengthen H&M's position."

H&M shares dropped 2.7 per cent to 228.40 kronor in midday trading in Stockholm.

Daniel Ovin, an analyst at CAI Cheuvreux Nordic in Stockholm, said the report was largely in line with expectations, but the cost of investments was higher than anticipated. He also said H&M's sales forecast for January was below expectations.

H&M's main competitor is Spain's Inditex, the owner of Massimo Dutti and Zara. Founded in 1947, H&M has more than 2800 stores in 48 countries. Its other brands include the higher-priced COS and urban fashion labels such as Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday.

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Huge numbers of Syrians flee fighting

MORE than 700,000 Syrian refugees have registered or are awaiting registration in neighbouring countries as the conflict in their war-torn country spirals out of control, the UN's refugee agency says.

"We've had a huge push in the last few weeks. The needs are enormous," UNHCR spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes told AFP on Tuesday.

She said a colleague on the ground had complained that "we cannot get to everyone fast enough".

The number of Syrians registered as refugees or awaiting processing in the surrounding countries had reached 703,314 by late Monday, she said.

Of that number, more than 581,000 were registered and aid workers were doing their best to scale up the registration process "to clear the backlog."

Wilkes said at this time last year the UN agency was registering only a few hundred Syrian refugees each month in Lebanon.

"Now, the aim is to register 45,000 a month," she said, adding that the current average stands at about 32,000.

In Jordan, which has seen a massive influx in recent weeks, "the plan is for the month of February alone to try to register 50,000 people," Wilkes said.

About four million Syrians rely on international assistance to cope with the fallout from the 22-month old conflict in which the UN estimates more than 60,000 people have died.

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Asian markets mostly up ahead of key data

MOST Asian markets have closed higher as traders await key economic data out of the US and China and the start of the corporate earnings season.

Tokyo climbed 0.39 per cent, or 42.41 points, to 10,866.72 on Tuesday and Sydney jumped 1.11 per cent as dealers returned from a long weekend, the index adding 53.8 points to end at 4,889.0.

Seoul added 0.84 per cent, or 16.25 points, to 1,955.96, while Hong Kong ended flat, edging down 16.71 points to 23,655.17.

Shanghai rose 0.53 per cent, or 12.47 points, to 2,358.98, extending strong gains from the previous session as confidence in the mainland economy grows stronger.

However, there was a certain amount of caution as the corporate earning season begins this week in Japan.

Eyes are on the US as the Federal Reserve begins a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, followed by the release on Friday of closely watched jobs data, with investors hoping for new clues on the state of the economy.

Friday will also see the release of Chinese manufacturing data, which is likely to add to recent evidence that the world's number two economy has shaken off a malaise that weighed on growth for most of last year.

Japanese shares climbed while the yen remained under pressure as the euro and US dollar continue to pick up against the unit.

In afternoon Tokyo trade, the US dollar bought Y90.62 against Y90.82 in New York on Monday afternoon, while the euro fetched Y121.73, compared with Y122.2. The single currency was at $US1.3431, from $US1.3454.

Despite a better than expected rise in orders for durable goods - a key pointer to consumer confidence - the lead from Wall Street was anaemic as profit-takers moved in following a strong finish last week.

The Dow eased 0.1 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 0.18 per cent after the two indexes on Friday hit levels not seen since late 2007.

However, the Nasdaq rose 0.15 per cent, boosted by a slight rebound in Apple.

Mumbai slipped 0.56 per cent, or 112.45 points, to 19,990.9 despite the Reserve Bank of India cutting interest rates for the first time in nine months and reducing the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve.

Investors had already factored in the widely expected 0.25 percentage point cut, and uncertainty about future rate reductions weighed on stocks, analysts said.

Oil was up in Asia, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, gaining 33 cents to $US96.77 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for March up 12 cents to $US113.60.

Gold was at $US1,661.10 at 1110 GMT (2210 AEDT) compared with $US1,655.09 late on Monday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 1.13 per cent, or 87.33 points, to 7,802.00.

TSMC rose 1.71 per cent to Tw$101.0 while HTC was 1.43 per cent higher at Tw$284.5.

- Manila rose 0.68 per cent, or 42.31 points, to a record high 6,234.73.

Ayala gained 0.91 per cent to 555 pesos while Megaworld rose 3.12 per cent to 3.30 pesos.

- Wellington fell 0.1 per cent, or 4.15 points, to 4,200.29.

Telecom was down 1.47 per cent at NZ$2.35, Contact Energy was steady at NZ$5.15 and Fletcher Building rose 0.54 per cent to NZ$9.26.

- Singapore lost 0.43 per cent, or 14.16 points, to 3,259.75.

Singapore Telecommunications gained 0.58 per cent to Sg$3.47 while Singapore Airlines shed 0.45 per cent to Sg$11.00.

- Kuala Lumpur ended flat, edging up 0.21 points to 1,637.34.

CIMB Group Holdings added 0.4 per cent to 7.24 ringgit, while Gamuda rose 3.3 per cent to 3.76. Astro Malaysia Holdings fell 1.1 per cent to 2.83 ringgit.

- Jakarta rose 0.5 per cent, or 22.09 points, to 4,439,03.

State-controlled miner Aneka Tambang rose 5.30 per cent to 1,390 rupiah and retailer Ramayana Lestari Sentosa gained 2.63 per cent to 1,170 rupiah, while palm oil firm Astra Agro Lestari slid 1.3 per cent to 19,000 rupiah.

- Bangkok gained 0.46 per cent, or 6.72 points, to 1,478.77.

Coal producer Banpu slipped 0.26 per cent to 389.00 baht while PTT added 1.21 per cent to 335.00 baht.

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Tourists break billion arrivals record

INTERNATIONAL tourist arrivals have exceeded one billion for the first time, a UN body says.

The number of international tourist arrivals grew by four per cent to 1.035 billion in 2012, up from 996 million in 2011, the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organisation (WTO) said in an annual survey.

Despite economic instability, international tourism "managed to maintain its course", the UN body's Secretary General Taleb Rifai told reporters on Tuesday.

The organisation predicts international tourist numbers will grow in 2013 although at a slightly lower rate of 3-4 per cent.

Global tourism figures were hit hard by the 2008 global financial crisis, with the rise in international arrivals that year slowing to 2.1 per cent after jumping 6.6 per cent in the previous year.

Arrivals plunged by 3.9 per cent in 2009, in the worst performance in 60 years, as the outbreak of the swine flu virus also deterred travellers.

But international tourism arrivals bounced back, rising 6.6 per cent in 2010 and by five per cent in 2011 even though global economic crisis hadn't ended.

The Asia-Pacific region posted the largest growth in visitors in 2012, with the number of foreign tourists up by 14 million or 6.5 per cent to 233 million.

Growth was highest in South-East Asia, up by 8.7 per cent over 2011.

Tourist numbers climbed 4.1 per cent in emerging economies compared with a 3.6 per cent rise in advanced economies.

The only region to report a decline was the Middle East with 2 per cent fewer arrivals because of political instability in popular tourist spots such as Egypt and Syria.

Asia and Africa are expected to post the greatest growth in tourist numbers in 2013.

The agency predicts tourist arrivals will increase by 5-6 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region this year and 2-3 per cent in Europe.

The tourism forecast comes a week after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted the global economy will grow slightly less in 2013 than expected.

The UN World Tourism Organisation predicts international tourist arrivals will rise by an average of 3.8 per cent each year between 2010 and 2020 and will reach 1.8 billion in 2030.

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Hundreds loot shops in Timbuktu

HUNDREDS of Malians have looted shops in Timbuktu, saying they belong to "Arabs" and "terrorists" linked to the radical Islamists who occupied the desert town for 10 months.

Members of an angry crowd told AFP on Tuesday the shops belonged to Arabs, Mauritanians and Algerians who they say supported the al-Qaeda-linked Islamists who retreated ahead the town's recapture by French-led troops on Monday.

An AFP journalist saw the looters take arms and military communications equipment from some of the shops.

However, most of the residents of the impoverished town on the edge of the Sahara desert, hit by food and water shortages, seized whatever they could get their hands on: televisions, satellite dishes, food and furniture.

Some fought each other for items while others smashed shop doors, emptying them within minutes.

In the suburb of Abaradjou, a man living in a former bank converted by the Islamists into a "committee of promotion of virtue and prevention of vice", was dragged out by a hysterical crowd who then pillaged the building, taking even office chairs.

The bearded middle-aged man was arrested by Malian troops who were in the town after French soldiers who lead the offensive withdrew into the suburbs.

"He is an Islamist", one solder said, as troops turned their weapons toward the crowd to prevent them from lynching the man.

The mob yelled: "He is not from here, he is a terrorist!"

Malian soldiers put an end to the looting by mid morning.

"We will not let people pillage. But it is true that weapons were found in some shops," one officer said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged the Malian authorities to protect light-skinned citizens from reprisal attacks from the population, as ethnic tensions rise between Tuaregs and Arabs, and black Malians.

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Donors pledge hundreds of millions to Mali

AFRICAN leaders and international officials have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for military operations against Islamist militants in Mali and humanitarian aid.

Malian President Dioncounda Traore thanked the "entire international community" as nations offered cash or support at the top-level meeting at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia's capital on Tuesday.

While more than $US600 million ($A579 million) has been pledged so far - including over $US120 million from Japan and $US96 million from the United States - how much would be spent on backing the key African-led military force was not immediately clear.

"The whole world has gathered here, it's very good for Mali," Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said.

The donor conference comes a day after French-led forces seized Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu from Islamists as part of an offensive against the radicals who have controlled the country's vast desert north for 10 months.

African leaders and officials, as well as representatives from the United Nations, European Union and China attended the meeting.

"We all know the gravity of the crisis," AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the conference, aimed at providing funding for the African-led force for Mali (AFISMA) supporting Malian troops.

"It is a situation that requires a swift and effective international response for it threatens Mali, the region, the continent and even beyond."

The AU has promised to contribute $US50 million but diplomats have suggested about $US700 million will be needed for AFISMA and the Malian army, in addition to heavy humanitarian costs.

Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast, said there was an "urgent need to speed up the deployment".

A woeful lack of cash and logistical resources has hampered AFISMA in its support of Malian troops.

So far, just 2000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighbouring Niger, with the bulk of the fighting borne by about 2500 French troops, who launched a military offensive on January 11.

"We are gathered here today to provide AFISMA ways to carry out its work of restoring the sovereignty and integrity of Mali, prerequisites for lasting political stability," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Mali's president also called on the wider Muslim world to support efforts and show that "Islam at its heart does not serve as a cover for terrorism and organised crime."

UN leader Ban Ki-moon earlier said there was a "moral imperative for the entire international community" to provide support to the people of Mali "at this critical hour".

AU chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn thanked France for its military intervention in Mali, as well as praising west African troops in AFISMA.

"Forging strong co-ordination... will enable us to speedily restore the territorial integrity of the country, and progressively address the challenges of terrorism and extremism in the region," he said.

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Girl crushed by snowball froze in fear

A BRITISH teenager who was crushed by a giant snowball she'd made with friends says she "froze on the spot" when she saw the projectile hurtling towards her.

Nicole Wignall, 16, is recovering in hospital after the snowball pinned her against a wall, breaking her pelvis in four places.

Freezing weather gripped the United Kingdom last week resulting in more than 10 deaths.

Ms Wignall built the giant snowball with friends when her school was closed due to the freezing conditions.

"It took seven of us to push it to the top of a steep hill then we had a break," the student told British newspaper The Sun on Monday.

"(Later) we saw the snowball coming down really fast.

"My friend moved out of the way but I froze on the spot and the snowball smashed into me."

Ms Wignall's mother Fiona said the 1.5m snowball "was the size of a small car".

"She had a very lucky escape."

More than 200 flood alerts are in place across the UK as heavy rain mixed with melting snow marks the latest weather battle.

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British citizenship test revised

ASPIRING British citizens will face a revised general knowledge test, including an appreciation of Monty Python, in their bid to join the nation's ranks.

The British Home Office has updated its 2007 handbook, Life In The UK, and subsequent exam, shifting the focus to cover events and people "who have contributed to making Britain great".

The profile of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher has been given a boost.

Described in the last edition as a "divisive" figure who caused "massive industrial decline", the Iron Lady is held in high regard in the new handbook.

Stars of the London Olympics also feature in the latest citizenship guide, with heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis among those named.

Along with politics and sport, the 45-minute citizenship test will also touch on the arts, science, history, inventions, landmarks and a section titled "unique", which features comedy group Monty Python and aims to highlight the British sense of humour.

"The new book rightly focuses on values and principles at the heart of being British," Immigration Minister Mark Harper told British tabloid the Daily Express.

"We have stripped out mundane information about water meters, how to find train timetables, and using the internet."

Previously migrants were not tested on British history.

Questions about public transport, credit cards and job interviews will be removed from the new publication, which is already on sale and will form the basis for exams from March.

In 2012 some 150,000 people sat the citizenship test hoping to secure a British passport.

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Timbuktu mayor says Islamists burned texts

French-led troops are closing in on Timbuktu without meeting any resistance from Islamist militants. Source: AAP

ISLAMIST extremists have torched a library containing historic manuscripts in Timbuktu as French and Malian forces close in on the desert city.

Mayor Ousmane Halle said he heard about the burnings early on Monday.

"It's truly alarming that this has happened," he told The Associated Press by telephone from Mali's capital, Bamako.

"They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people."

He said he did not have details or know whether the rebels were still in the town.

Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters took control of Timbuktu's airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation, a French military official said on Monday.

It marked the latest success in the two-week-old French mission to oust radical Islamists from the northern half of Mali, which they seized more than nine months ago.

French Colonel Thierry Burkhard, the chief military spokesman in Paris, said the town's airport was taken without firing a shot.

"There was an operation on Timbuktu last night that allowed us to control access to the town," he said. "It's up to Malian forces to retake the town."

The Timbuktu operation comes a day after the French announced they had seized the airport and a key bridge in a city east of Timbuktu, Gao, one of the other northern provincial capitals that had been under the grip of radical Islamists.

The French and Malian forces have met little resistance from the Islamists, who seized northern Mali in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital of Bamako, in southern Mali.

Timbuktu, which is on an ancient caravan route, has entranced travellers for centuries. It is about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Bamako, the capital. During their rule, the militants have systematically destroyed UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu.

A spokesman for the al-Qaeda-linked militants has said the ancient tombs of Sufi saints were destroyed because they contravened Islam, encouraging Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.

Among the tombs they destroyed is that of Sidi Mahmoudou, a saint who died in 955, according to the UNESCO website.

Timbuktu, long a hub of Islamic learning, is also home to some 20,000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 12th century. Owners have succeeded in removing some of the manuscripts from Timbuktu to save them, while others have been carefully hidden away from the Islamists.

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Thailand to turn away Myanmar boat people

THAILAND will turn away any more Rohingya boat people from neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) who try to land on its shores, a top official says.

"The Thai navy from now on will be stricter with them and will no longer allow them to land," National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattanathabutr told AFP on Monday.

"If we find them, we will provide them with food, water and necessities so they can go to their destinations," he added.

An explosion of tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since June 2012 has triggered a huge exodus of Muslim Rohingya, mostly heading for Malaysia.

More than 1000 have been detained by Thailand after landing on its shores.

Paradorn said the existing detainees would be allowed to stay in Thailand for six months at immigration centres or local police stations while the government works with the UN refugee agency to find third countries willing to accept them.

The tougher stance comes a week after Thai authorities said they were investigating allegations that army officials were involved in the trafficking of Rohingya boat people.

Described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups in the world, Rohingya have for years trickled abroad to neighbouring Bangladesh and, increasingly, to Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship.

The UN estimates that about 13,000 boat people fled Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2012.

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NSW cop has surgery after pot knockout

A MAN has allegedly hurled a heavy cooking pot at a constable, knocking her out, at a unit on the NSW Central Coast.

Officers went to Nambucca Drive in Woy Woy to arrest an 18-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy over an alleged assault shortly before 12.45pm (AEDT) on Monday.

The pair was spotted walking along the road but fled to a nearby unit.

Two officers followed them but were blocked from entering the unit by a 29-year-old man who slammed the door.

A senior constable was then confronted by the older man who closed a kitchen window so hard it smashed in her face, police said.

Glass fell onto the woman causing cuts to her hands.

The man then allegedly threw a heavy cooking pot through the window which struck the officer on her jaw, leaving her unconscious.

Paramedics treated the officer before taking her to Gosford Hospital for treatment to her injured jaw and microsurgery to a severed tendon in her hand.

About 1.20pm the man, two teenagers and a woman were removed from the premises.

The woman was released shortly after.

The 13-year-old boy has been charged with common assault and offensive language and granted conditional bail to appear at Woy Woy Children's Court on March 8.

The 18-year-old man was charged with common assault and granted conditional bail to appear in the same court on March 5.

The 29-year-old man has been charged with wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and refused bail to appear at Gosford Local Court on Tuesday.

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Mali crisis to dominate African summit

EFFORTS to end conflict across Africa, especially in Mali, dominated the African Union summit opening on Sunday, with the 54-member bloc's chief saying greater efforts are needed to build peace.

"Much still needs to be done to resolve ongoing, renewed, and new conflict situations in a number of countries," AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in her opening speech.

"We cannot overemphasise the need for peace and security -- without peace and security no country or region can expect to achieve prosperity for all its citizens," she told the bi-annual summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The 20th ordinary summit, which continues on Monday, opened with a minute's silence in memory of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, who died last year.

The meeting is expected to focus on the war against Islamist militants in northern Mali, including the scaling-up of African troops to support the weak Malian army.

Mali's army, boosted by the recent French military intervention, is battling Islamist insurgents, who seized swathes of Mali's desert north following a coup last year.

Dlamini-Zuma told leaders that the AU "must remain firm on its stance of no unconstitutional change" of leadership and that it must boost its "capacity to defend democratically-elected governments."

Following a security meeting on Friday, the AU resolved to bolster the strength of the African-led force in Mali, or AFISMA, and gave member states one week to commit troops to the mission.

"The force size will have to be significantly augmented," AU peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told reporters after the security meeting.

Lamamra said AFISMA's strength should be increased "to better respond to the needs on the ground," but declined to give numbers.

The AU will also seek urgent "temporary" logistical support from the United Nations to enable the AFISMA force to "speedily deploy and effectively implement its mandate," according to an AU statement.

The logistical support should include transportation, medicine and field hospitals.

Also high on the summit agenda is the slow progress between the rival leaders of Sudan and South Sudan to implement stalled oil, security and border deals.

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At least 90 dead in nightclub fire in Brazil

AT least 90 people died today in a fire that erupted at a nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, local media reported.

"We have just taken the fire under control," Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local fire department was quoted by the G1 website as saying. "Now we are removing the bodies."

Local media reported that as many as 2000 people were in the nightclub when the fire started, and that police were still counting the dead.

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Nightclub fire kills at least 90

A FIRE in a nightclub in southern Brazil killed at least 90 people early Sunday, police and firefighters said.

Sandro Meinerz, spokesman for the police in the city of Santa Maria, told local media that the fire broke out at the Kiss club while a band was performing. He said at least 200 people were injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, officials said. The total number of victims is still unknown and there may be hundreds injured, Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha.

He told the radio a truck carrying 70 bodies had arrived at the Municipal Sports Centre, which was being used as an improvised morgue. Police believe there are about 20 bodies still inside the club.

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Qld cities brace for floods - again

A sixth tornado has hit Queensland's Bundaberg region and forecasters say more could develop. Source: AAP

RESIDENTS of Brisbane and Ipswich are again preparing for floods, two years after the 2011 deluge that inundated thousands of homes and caused millions of dollars in damage.

But the floods won't be as bad this time, authorities say.

About 4850 homes and businesses in Brisbane and 50 in Ipswich to the west are expected to be affected when the Brisbane and Bremer rivers peak about midnight on Monday.

A second flood peak is expected at noon on Wednesday, the Queensland premier said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

Torrential rain from the low pressure system that was tropical cyclone Oswald has caused minor flooding in the Lockyer Creek and the Bremer River which feed into the Brisbane River.

Scientific modelling shows Brisbane can expect a 2.6m flood peak, nearly half of the 4.46m peak in 2011.

The Ipswich peak is expected to be five metres less than the 19.4m peak two years ago.

"There will be flooding but the flooding is much much lower than what we saw in 2011," Premier Campbell Newman told reporters.

The west Brisbane suburb of Moggill will be hit first, and other affected suburbs include: Bundamba, Wacol, Riverhills, Wolston Creek, Pinjara Hills, Kenmore, Hemmant, Wynnum, Tingalpa, Cannon Hills, Murarrie, Newmarket, Herston, Windsor, Bowen Hills, Albion and Newstead.

The Brisbane CBD is not expected to be affected.

In January 2011, 22,000 homes and 7600 businesses were flooded in Brisbane and 3000 homes and businesses in Ipswich.

The damage bill for Brisbane's infrastructure was $400 million.

The premier urged people to check flood maps on the Brisbane City Council website and prepare if they were in an area that may flood.

Standing alongside Mr Newman, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the message to residents was to stay calm.

"The time to act is now. The time to prepare is now," he said.

An emergency alert has gone out to residents in the Lockyer Valley as floodwaters rise in the area, which was the main disaster zone in the 2011 floods.

Central Queensland has already born the brunt of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald, with torrential rain and destructive winds bringing floods, tornados and destructive winds to the east coast and inland.

An elderly man was killed, more than a dozen people were injured and 250 homes were damaged when a serious of tornados ripped through the coastal towns of Burnett Heads, Bargara, Burrum Heads and Coonarr near Bundaberg on Saturday afternoon and evening.

The man's body was recovered from the water at Burnett Heads on Sunday morning after he fell overboard from a yacht that had been ripped from its moorings.

Meanwhile hundreds of people have been pouring into evacuation centres at Maryborough, Bundaberg and Gympie with flood peaks in central Queensland expected to exceed 2010-2011 levels on Sunday night and Monday.

The Burnett River at Bundaberg is expected to peak at 8.5m from 8.30pm (AEST), with 400 homes and businesses tipped to flood.

The Mary River is forecast to peak over 9m at Maryborough early on Monday, and 21m at Gympie at 7am (AEST) on Monday.

There were fears for three families stuck on the roofs of their homes at Widgee near Gympie on Sunday evening and a 27-year-old man who went missing after he tried to cross a swollen creek in the Gympie area.

There were also grave concerns for a young woman last seen driving into floodwaters at Pacific Haven near Maryborough on Sunday and a fisherman who has been missing off Port Alma near Rockhampton since Thursday night.

Meanwhile the Gladstone region has experienced severe flooding which has prompted the evacuation of 900 homes.

The areas of Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, south of Gladstone, and Baffle Creek, between Gladstone and Bundaberg, were the worst affected.

Around Queensland, 125,000 homes were without power on Sunday night.

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150 dead in Brazil nightclub fire

LOCAL media report 150 people have died in a fire that erupted at a nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria.

The death toll from the early Sunday morning disaster stood initially at 70 but quickly increased as firefighters searched the charred remains of the establishment named Kiss.

Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said the final toll was still unclear, suggesting that it could rise.

"There was panic after the fire started and many revellers got trampled," he is quoted as saying by Estadao newspaper. "The main cause of death was asphyxiation."

According to media reports, the fire erupted after 2am (1300 AEDT) when the nightclub hosted a university party featuring a rock band.

The band used pyrotechnics as part of its show, O Globo newspaper reported on its site.

"We have just taken the fire under control," Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local fire department was quoted by the G1 website as saying. "Now we are removing the bodies."

Family member have gathered outside of the burned-down building in the hope of getting news of their loved ones.

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