WA bushfire destroys 49 homes

Four people are unaccounted for and 46 homes have been destroyed by a bushfire in the Perth hills. Source: AAP

FOUR people feared victims of a bushfire that razed 49 homes in the Perth hills region have been found safe, while firefighters are still battling to control the blaze.

The one death attributed to the fire was that of a 62-year-old man in Hovea who collapsed on the roof of his house on Sunday while preparing for the disaster.

The fire, which tore through 650 hectares in the Shire of Mundaring on Sunday and also destroyed two sheds, was contained on Monday but firefighters were still battling to control it.

A watch and act alert remains for the eastern part of Parkerville, Stoneville and Mount Helena.

One resident tried to get back to their house on Monday afternoon and suffered burns to the hands and feet.

Noelene Michels, from Helena Valley, said she knew her house was close to the fire zone and that her son was still there, but she could not reach him due to roadblocks.

"We think it is ok, but we can't get through to check," she said.

Sally and Gary Elwood, from nearby Narla Way, already knew their home of 30 years was gone.

"I am a bit shocked, but until I physically see, it won't hit me fully, but I have seen it on Facebook so I know it is ours," Ms Elwood said.

"I know it is gone, but my glass is half full - the kids are fine, everyone is fine. We will just rebuild, at 48 - bloody hell."

Mundaring Shire president Helen Dullard said many residents were relieved to escape the flames.

"Visually, it was a very ugly fire. It was scary," she said.

People who lost their homes will be escorted to the ruins on Tuesday.

The fate of livestock and pets is unknown but residents are bracing for the worst, while some firefighters have been treated for heat exhaustion and bee stings.

Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis believes a power pole on private property caused the fire.

He said the blaze could have been much worse and wiped out hundreds more homes.

"We pray this is the last fire we see like this, but there are no guarantees," he said.

"We deal with the lottery dealt out by Mother Nature."

Mr Francis admitted he was frustrated that the fire preparation message was not getting through.

The WA government will donate $1 million to the Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund to help victims.

It will also provide $3000 to those whose homes had been destroyed and $1000 for damaged houses.

Western Power says about 700 properties are without power - and will remain so for days - and more than 150 poles will need to be replaced.

"Poles and equipment are being delivered in preparation for the rebuild, which is not expected to be able to start before Wednesday," a spokeswoman said.

Insurers have declared the fire a catastrophic event.

Attorney-General George Brandis said the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment would also be provided to eligible residents.

People can claim a payment of $1000 for each adult and $400 for each child.

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Airbus logs record 2013

AFTER tallying a record number of plane orders and deliveries last year, Airbus is admittedly facing a high bar in 2014.

The European aerospace conglomerate said on Monday it delivered 626 planes last year, a company record but still 22 fewer than US rival Boeing Co.

The companies enjoyed a banner year as airlines gobbled up their offerings to renew or build their fleets, cut fuel costs and plan for continued growth in air travel.

Airbus' orders last year rose to 1169, nearly twice its expectations, leading some executives to caution against any precise predictions about how many they'll tally this year. The order backlog - jets it plans to deliver in coming years - sits at a record 5559.

"The market was extremely bullish ... more bullish than John or me would have thought, and probably Boeing," said Airbus' top executive Fabrice Bregier, meeting with journalists along with commercial director John Leahy.

Some of the biggest demand came from once-struggling US airlines as well as from emerging markets, particularly Asia.

"The real story for some of you is, where does it go from here?" said Leahy.

"The fact is, we cannot as an industry continue at this level. But what we are doing is we're continuing to increase production."

"The point is, we are in a growth industry," he added.

Losing out to Boeing in the delivery tally "doesn't matter to us at all," Leahy said.

"I think we're happy with what we've got. It's a duopoly, with a 50-50 split here. I don't really care if they have two more aeroplanes or we have two more."

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Protesters claim win at NSW mine site

COAL mine protesters claim they've achieved their purpose following an ongoing blockade in north western NSW.

About 30 activists on Monday blockaded heavy vehicles at the Maules Creek mine site at Boggabri.

The trucks and machinery are used to build roads and a rail line at the site.

Two people attached themselves to a bulldozer via a cable.

Leard Forest Alliance spokeswoman Georgina Woods claimed one of the attached protesters had been arrested and taken away by police. Confirmation has been sought from NSW Police.

"We stopped a full day's work so we have achieved our purpose," Ms Woods told AAP.

Ms Woods said if the road to Whitehaven Coal's $767 million open-cut mine is cut through the forest, animals, plants and sacred Aboriginal sites would be lost.

She said protesters would remain at the site for weeks to come.

Whitehaven Coal chief executive officer Paul Flynn said the protesters had not changed the operation.

"The protesters there today...have not given rise to any material change to our operations at all," he told ABC Radio.

Protesters also blockaded the site in December after the Federal Court dismissed an application by the Northern Inland Council for the Environment (NICE), which had called for the approval granted by former Environment Minister Tony Burke to be overturned.

Police cut the activists free before arresting them.

Whitehaven has previously said the project would create 800-plus jobs and enjoyed support from most local residents.

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Instant messaging to surge in 2014

INSTANT messaging services on mobile phones are likely to carry more than twice the number of messages sent by text in 2014, according to global predictions by Deloitte.

As 50 billion instant messages are set to be dispatched, 21 billion text messages are expected to be sent - a rapid lift from 2012, when 11 instant messages were sent for every 10 texts, the firm said.

While instant messaging services - such as WhatsApp and Snapchat - may win the battle for volume this year, text messaging will be victorious in revenue terms, according to the technology report, which will be launched tomorrow.

Text messaging is expected to continue to generate significantly greater revenues until 2018, by which point global text message revenues are expected to have started falling.

Deloitte expects instant messaging services on mobile phones to continue to supersede text messages and all other forms of communication, including email and phone calls.

Despite the burgeoning volumes of messages carried over instant messaging services, text messages are expected to generate more than STG60 billion ($A110.64 billion) in 2014, equivalent to about 50 times the total revenues from all instant messaging services.

Deloitte predicts that the fastest-growing part of the smartphone market in developed countries will be among the over-55s.

About 47 per cent of this group will own smartphones by 2014, an increase from 40 per cent in May-June 2013.

The first text was sent on December 3, 1992, when Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old British engineer, used his computer to send the message "Merry Christmas" to an Orbitel 901 mobile phone.

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Syrian mortar attack kills at least 19

A mortar attack has killed at least 19 people in the central Syrian city of Homs. Source: AAP

A MORTAR attack has killed at least 19 people in the central Syrian city of Homs.

The official SANA news agency said late on Sunday mortar rounds slammed into the pro-government Ghouta and Karm al-Shami neighbourhoods of Homs.

It blamed "terrorists" for the attack, employing the term the government uses to describe those trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian rebels often lob mortar rounds into pro-government neighbourhoods of cities and towns, while the president's forces indiscriminately strike rebel-held areas with artillery, air strikes and surface-to-surface missiles.

Syria's civil war has killed more than 120,000 since the crisis began in March 2011.

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Miners electrocuted in Mexico mine

Two miners have been killed and three more injured by an electric shock in a silver mine in Mexico. Source: AAP

TWO miners have been killed and three others injured by an electric shock in a silver mine in the northern Mexican town of Bermejillo.

The National Union of Mine and Metal Workers said on Saturday the accident occurred in a mine operated by the Canadian firm Excellon Resources on Thursday, though the company failed to report the accident until the following day.

In its report, Excellon said the workers were immediately taken out of the mine after the accident and rushed to a hospital, where two of them died.

"Both employees were experienced and well trained, so that words cannot express the depth of our sorrow for their loss," the company said.

But according to the union, the short-circuit was "caused by a lack of supervision, non-existent safety measures and the scant interest in such matters on the part of the company" and the municipal, state and federal governments.

The union called on federal authorities to "stop the constant violations" by Excellon Resources, a company that for years has committed "systematic violations" against "workers' rights in terms of hygiene, safety and freedom of association".

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Canberra soldier missing in the US

US authorities are searching for a missing Australian Army soldier last seen on New Year's Eve. Source: AAP

US authorities are searching for a missing Australian Army soldier who was last seen in freezing conditions on New Year's Eve.

New York State police say the soldier, Captain Paul McKay, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Forest rangers and a special response team are conducting the search.

Captain McKay, an Afghanistan veteran, emailed his father from a Best Western motel in Saranac Lake on December 30 to say he was leaving him all his possessions, Fairfax Media reports.

"In this email ... he shared some financial information and some other information that would lead us to believe he didn't plan on going back," Saranac Lake Police Chief Bruce Nason said.

The 31-year-old Canberra man was last seen walking on railway tracks near Saranac Lake the next day, wearing winter weather clothing and carrying a large backpack.

While Saranac Lake has had average daily lows of minus 16C in January, Chief Nason said the clothing Captain McKay had been seen in was an encouraging sign.

"This coupled with his military training and physical fitness make it likely that he is well prepared to survive in winter conditions," Chief Nason said.

US police believe Captain McKay was headed for Lake Placid in the state's north.

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Homicide rate drops again in Puerto Rico

There were 883 cases of homicide in Puerto Rico last year compared with 1004 in 2012. Source: AAP

PUERTO Rico closed 2013 with 883 homicides, a figure 12.1 per cent lower than in 2012 and the second straight annual decrease since 2011, when the Caribbean island experienced its bloodiest year in recent history.

That is confirmed by data on type-1 crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, physical abuse) published this week by the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico.

According to the figures, there were 883 cases of homicide, compared with 1004 in 2012 and 1136 in 2011, the highest number on the island since 1940.

Aside from crimes of that type, the numbers of other kinds of offences declined last year. There were 26 rapes (down 18.8 per cent), 6016 robberies (down 4.4 per cent), 2395 cases of physical abuse (down 12 per cent), 29,360 cases of theft and embezzlement (down 3.9 per cent) and 5530 vehicles stolen (down 5.4 per cent).

All varieties of type-1 crimes showed declines compared with the previous year, something Puerto Rico Police Superintendent James Tuller Cintron says is a result of "the daily commitment of our forces".

"These statistics reflect the work being done by police every day to improve the quality of life in Puerto Rico," he said in a statement.

"(But) these results are insufficient and tell us not to be satisfied and to work harder."

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WA bike rider dead after police pursuit

A motorcyclist has died after being chased by police for failing to stop for a roadside breath test. Source: AAP

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after a brief police pursuit in suburban Perth.

WA Police's major crash squad and internal affairs are investigating Saturday's fatal crash in Hillarys, north of Perth.

A police spokesman said a man on a Ducati motorcycle approached a booze bus on West Coast Drive about 8.40pm (WST) but failed to stop for a breath test.

In the ensuing pursuit, the motorcyclist sped onto nearby Hepburn Avenue, where he slammed into a BMW being driven in the opposite direction.

The 28-year-old rider from Beldon was seriously injured and died at the scene.

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Syrian govt shelling kills more than 20

GOVERNMENT shelling has killed more than 20 people in the central Syrian city of Homs.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday the number is expected rise because dozens of people were critically wounded in the shelling of the rebel-held Waer area.

The Observatory said the shelling happened on Saturday. The activist collective, the Local Coordination Committees, published similar information.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been widening an air assault on rebel-held areas in recent weeks, targeting opposition-held residential areas and killing civilians.

Syrian rebels have also targeted Assad-loyal areas with indiscriminate mortar fire.

On Sunday, Syria's state media said rebel-fired mortar shells killed two people in the Assad-loyal Zahra area of the city.

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