Iranian dissidents killed in Iraq camp

DOZENS of mortars and rockets fired on a camp housing Iranian dissidents near Baghdad has killed five members of the opposition group, Iraqi security officials say.

The United Nations called for an immediate investigation and said monitors were following up on deaths, the first confirmed fatalities as a result of violence at the group's new camp since they moved there last year.

Five members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) were killed by the mortars and rockets, two Iraqi security officials said on condition of anonymity. Between 39 and 40 members of the group were wounded, along with three Iraqi policemen.

The MEK, whose leadership is based in Paris, said in a statement that six people were killed and 50 wounded.

One Iraqi security official said around 40 rockets and mortars were fired into the camp, while the MEK said 35 were launched.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.

The United Nations said its special envoy Martin Kobler had asked Iraqi authorities to "promptly conduct an investigation into this," and added, "we have our monitors on the ground to follow-up."

Eliana Nabaa, spokeswoman for the UN mission in the country, said Iraqi officials had told the United Nations that "all those who were injured were hospitalised immediately."

The mortars struck at a transit camp known as Camp Liberty where some 3,000 residents from the MEK were moved last year, on Iraq's insistence, from their historic paramilitary camp of the 1980s -- Camp Ashraf.

The MEK was founded in the 1960s to oppose the shah of Iran, and after the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted him it took up arms against Iran's clerical rulers.

It says it has now laid down its arms and is working to overthrow the Islamic regime in Tehran through peaceful means.

Britain struck the group off its terror list in June 2008, followed by the European Union in 2009 and the United States in September 2012.

The State Department holds the group responsible, however, for the deaths of Iranians as well as US soldiers and civilians from the 1970s into 2001.

The MEK has no support in Iran, and no connection to domestic opposition groups.

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India parliament attack plotter hanged

A man who took part in a plot to attack India's parliament in 2001 has been hanged, authorities say. Source: AAP

A KASHMIRI separatist has been executed over his role in a deadly attack on parliament in New Delhi in 2001, an episode that brought nuclear-armed India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Mohammed Afzal Guru, a former fruit seller, was hanged at Tihar Jail on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday after his final appeal for mercy was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.

He is only the second person to be executed in India in nearly a decade.

With authorities fearing a backlash over the execution, a curfew was imposed in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir and the centre of the main city was sealed off.

While India's main opposition party welcomed the execution, one of Guru's co-accused who was later cleared said it was a travesty of justice.

"Afzal Guru was hanged at 8am. All legal procedures were followed in the execution," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters.

"The situation in Kashmir is being closely monitored," he added.

A senior police officer at the jail told AFP that Guru had been woken up three hours before his execution after being held in solitary confinement.

Guru was found guilty of conspiring with and sheltering the militants who attacked the parliament in December 2001.

He was also held guilty of being a member of the banned Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which fights against Indian rule in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, where a separatist conflict has claimed up to 100,000 lives.

Five armed rebels stormed India's parliament in New Delhi on December 13, 2001, killing eight police officers and a gardener before they were shot dead by security forces. A journalist wounded in the attack died months later.

As the decision to hang Guru emerged, security forces imposed a curfew in rural areas parts of Indian-administered Kashmir, with the announcement made by loudhailer as police patrolled the Kashmir Valley.

Although there was no formal curfew order in Srinagar, police hastily erected barricades across main entry roads and in the city centre in a bid to prevent any possible demonstrations against the execution.

Three police helicopters could also be seen hovering overhead in Srinagar, the main city in what is India's only Muslim majority state.

A former chief minister of Kashmir once warned that executing him would lead the country to "go up in flames" because of a backlash from rebels in Indian Kashmir.

India alleged the militants behind the parliament attack were supported by Pakistani intelligence, leading the nuclear-armed rivals to deploy an estimated one million troops to their borders for eight months.

Guru's conviction, which has been delayed on several occasions, was both highly political and hotly contested. He described his imprisonment as a "gross miscarriage of justice" in his mercy appeal to the president.

A group of activists including lawyers have campaigned for him, saying his trial had major problems, including fabricated evidence presented by the police and the lack of proper legal representation.

Protesters against his "unfair" conviction have held regular demonstrations in Kashmir demanding his release, while right-wing Hindu activists have long demanded his execution to send a message to other potential attackers.

"Finally justice has been done but I want to ask the government what took them so long to reject his mercy plea and execute him," said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, one of the leaders of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Guru was initially convicted along with Shaukat Hussain, a former student at Delhi University and S.A.R. Geelani, a New Delhi college teacher, who were also handed the death sentence.

Geelani was freed on appeal after two-years of imprisonment, adding to the doubts about the initial trial.

Speaking after Saturday's execution, he said Guru never received a fair trial. "How can you send someone to the gallows?," he told AFP. "The whole process was flawed."

Executions are only carried out for "the rarest of rare" cases in India and Guru's is only the second since 2004.

The sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Pakistani-born Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was executed on November 21 last year.

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Elderly man charged over Zambia bus crash

ZAMBIAN police have charged an elderly farmer with causing a deadly high-speed collision between a bus and a truck that killed 53.

The bus crashed into an oncoming truck on Thursday after swerving to avoid 74-year-old farmer Abraham van Eeden's vehicle, which was overtaking the truck, according to police chief Stella Libongani.

"From our investigations, the driver of the Land Cruiser ... is the cause of the accident and has since been charged with 51 counts of causing death by dangerous driving," Libongani said in a statement on Saturday.

President Michael Sata had said 53 people died in the crash, which happened 100km north of the capital Lusaka.

It was not immediately clear why 51 counts were entered.

Pictures from the scene showed bloodied and lifeless bodies lying next to the mangled wreckage of the vehicles.

Sata has declared three days of national mourning from Monday for one of the country's deadliest accidents in recent history.

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Rescuers struggle to aid quake victims

RELIEF workers are scrambling to reach quake-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands, with "unusual seismic activity" sighted as strong aftershocks continue to jolt the remote Pacific region.

Pungent steam was reportedly rising from cracks in the ground three days after a deadly 8.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami in the region, killing at least 13 people, destroying villages and leaving thousands homeless.

A further 12 houses were reported destroyed following a 6.8 magnitude tremor and another measuring 7.0 late Friday, which sent villagers fleeing to higher ground in fear of another tsunami.

The Solomon Islands government has declared the outlying Santa Cruz Islands a disaster area as a series of aftershocks continued to hamper relief efforts.

A fragile communications system meant officials in the capital Honiara were struggling to get a clear picture of the extent of damage, but the Red Cross said food, water and shelter were a priority for quake-hit villages.

An Australian Air Force plane flew over the ravaged area on Friday and confirmed the worst damage was around the provincial capital Lata.

Authorities do not have immediate access to cargo planes capable of landing on the Lata air strip and desperately needed supplies are being shipped on a day-long journey from the Solomons capital Honiara.

"Relief operations are still going on despite the tremors and aftershocks. Water and food are the priority," Red Cross secretary general Joanne Zoleveke said.

The first vessel to arrive, a police launch carrying medical supplies, food and shelter, reached Lata on Friday evening but could not berth until Saturday morning because of the ongoing tremors.

Volcano and seismic specialists were also being called on to analyse the significance of the steam rising from the ground in parts of the Santa Cruz Islands.

"There's a lot of unusual seismic activity," a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Office told AFP from Honiara.

"The earth is clearly doing something there. We are asking for scientific expertise to provide us with some information about what they think might be happening. There are cracks and some steam and water coming out."

The first major aftershock on Friday "triggered a very small wave, this has caused some damage to Lata wharf", the National Disaster Management Office spokeswoman said, adding it was also hindering the unloading of emergency supplies.

A larger vessel carrying bags of rice, water and a water purifier was expected to arrive on Sunday morning.

The aftershocks have prevented villagers from returning home and they are sheltering in makeshift camps sharing limited provisions, with World Vision warning that sanitation would soon become an issue.

The Solomons are part of the "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In 2007 a tsunami following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless.

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Police ombudsman to look at Fisher case

The SA police ombudsman will investigate the prosecution of former Senator Mary Jo Fisher. Source: AAP

THE police handling of the prosecution of former senator Mary Jo Fisher on shoplifting and assault charges is being investigated by the South Australian police ombudsman.

Ms Fisher's husband wrote to the state government and the police commissioner last year complaining about how the case was handled.

One of the issues is why senior police rejected a plea bargain agreed to prosecutors and Ms Fisher's defence and forced the case to go to trial.

Ms Fisher was acquitted of shoplifting but found guilty of assault and released without a conviction over allegedly taking groceries from a supermarket in Adelaide's eastern suburbs in 2011.

A key part of her defence was psychiatric evidence presented to the court in relation to her battle with an ongoing depressive illness.

The former senator told the Adelaide Advertiser she believed senior police rejected the plea bargain because they were determined to "get a scalp".

"The only motive is that senior police officers thought they could advance their position by overruling the wishes of the prosecutors," she said.

Attorney-General John Rau confirmed on Friday that correspondence in relation to Ms Fisher's case had been received and forwarded to the police ombudsman, an independent statutory authority.

Ms Fisher resigned from federal parliament last year after being charged for a second time with shoplifting.

She was subsequently discharged without conviction or penalty but placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.

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Toro appoints new chief executive

URANIUM explorer Toro Energy has appointed former Woodside executive Dr Vanessa Guthrie as managing director.

Toro said Greg Hall would step down as managing director but would remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Dr Guthrie is a former Woodside Energy vice president for sustainable development.

She has previously held the roles of mine manager and sustainability manager for Alcoa World Alumina Australia and environment manager for WMC Resources, Pasminco Metals EZ and RGC.

Toro said the employment contract between the company and Dr Guthrie was still being finalised. Once these negotiations had concluded, a release would be made to the market outlining the key terms of her employment.

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Indian police rescue car gang-rape victim

POLICE have rescued a 24-year-old gang-rape victim from a car in New Delhi and arrested four men on suspicion of attacking her, officials say.

The car was intercepted after a chase by police in the northern area of Burari on Thursday.

The victim was abducted and raped at a flat, district police chief Sindhu Pillai said.

"She is undergoing medical examinations. The men have been arrested and have been booked for gang rape and abduction," Pillai said.

The woman is from the eastern state of West Bengal and knew one of the suspects, Pillai said.

Local media reports said after being sexually abused in the flat, the woman was assaulted again in the moving car but Pillai refused to confirm this, saying the matter was being investigated.

Many rapes have been reported since December's fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi.

The assault sparked angry protests and demands for better safety for women and stricter laws against rape.

This week, a man reportedly shoved a iron rod into the mouth of a young girl when she resisted his attempt to rape her.

In another case, a Chinese woman was allegedly raped in the capital.

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Microsoft wins latest round in patent case

A US judge has dismissed more than a dozen patent infringement claims filed against Microsoft. Source: AAP

A US federal judge has tossed out more than a dozen patent infringement claims filed against Microsoft by Google-owned Motorola Mobility.

US District Court Judge James Robart, in Microsoft's home state of Washington, sided with the software colossus, dismissing 13 claims of infringement on a trio of Motorola patents involving digital video encoding and decoding, according to court records on Thursday.

The Motorola patents were evidently not specific enough regarding the computer code involved, according to the documents.

The decision significantly narrowed the case.

If the remaining claims survive a similar legal challenge, Microsoft would likely be entitled to pay a reasonable rate to license what is considered a "standards-essential" technology, according to intellectual property specialist Florian Mueller, of FossPatents.com.

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Hong Kong stocks fall 0.34%

HONG Kong shares have closed 0.34 per cent lower, in line with a regional sell-off and ahead of the release of closely watched Chinese economic data.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 79.93 points to 23,177.00 on turnover of HK$79.04 billion ($A9.93 billion) on Thursday.

Chinese shares closed down 0.66 per cent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 15.95 points to 2,418.53 on turnover of 109.3 billion yuan ($A17.03 billion).

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Document declaring USSR dead 'missing'

FORMER Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich says a historic document that pronounced the death of the USSR is missing from archives.

Shushkevich discovered the disappearance of the original document while working on his memoirs.

Officials with Belarus' government and other ex-Soviet states confirmed on Wednesday that they only have copies.

The document's disappearance reflects the chaos that surrounded the Soviet demise.

On December 8, 1991, Shushkevich hosted Russia's President Boris Yeltsin and Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk for secret talks at a government hunting lodge near Viskuli in the Belovezha Forest.

The trio signed a deal declaring that "the USSR has ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality," defeating Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to hold the country together and forcing him to resign on Christmas Day.

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Firefighting helicopter crashes in Tas

A HELICOPTER pilot has been rescued after his chopper crashed while he was fighting a bushfire in Tasmania.

A Tasmanian police rescue helicopter evacuated the pilot at 5pm (AEDT) after his helicopter crashed while he was fighting the fire near Molesworth in the state's south, police said.

The pilot was flown from the scene and taken to hospital in a stable condition.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) says the fire danger in the Molesworth area is very high with a large bushfire burning at Glen Dhu Road.

The fire is impacting the areas of Suhrs Road, Fehlbergs Road, Valley Road and Collins Cap Road to Springdale Road, it says in a statement.

TFS warns it is likely to be too late to leave the area, with residents advised to activate their bushfire survival plan.

Spot fires may threaten homes earlier than the main fire front.

The TFS says there may be embers, smoke and ash falling on Molesworth, Glenlusk and Collinsvale, Myrtle Forest Road, and Old Springdale Road.

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Man charged after filming up girls' skirts

A MAN has been caught on CCTV filming up the skirts of women in shopping malls across Sydney.

The 52-year-old man was captured on CCTV at shopping malls on George Street in Sydney and in Liverpool, using his mobile phone to film up the skirts of women.

One of the incidents occurred in August last year, while the other two were captured in January.

Police arrested and charged the Frenchs Forest man with three counts of film person's private parts without consent.

He was released on bail with strict conditions and will face North Sydney Local Court on February 25.

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Obeid books 'a shambles, yes, but no sham'

Paul Obeid (R), the son of former Labor MP Eddie Obeid, has given evidence at a corruption inquiry. Source: AAP

A SON of former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid has admitted encouraging an accountant to lie about his family's mining interests and giving inaccurate evidence to a corruption inquiry, but has denied being involved in a "sham".

During a day of marathon questioning at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday, only Paul Obeid made it into the witness box - though three of his brothers were also due to give evidence.

The ICAC is investigating allegations that the former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for coal exploration licences in the Bylong Valley.

It is also investigating whether Eddie Obeid, also a former state Labor minister, and his family gained substantial financial benefit from inside information about the process.

Counsel assisting the commissioner, Geoffrey Watson SC, told the witness his family had purchased land in the Bylong Valley just before it was opened up for coal exploration.

Mr Watson said Paul Obeid was "part of a deal" with Mr Macdonald to create a mining tenement in the region, which he denied.

"That sounds like a Hans Christian Andersen novel," Mr Obeid said.

"What did you do to tell anybody in the public that a mining minister, a friend of your father, had created a mining tenement that increased the value of your property four-fold?" Mr Watson asked.

Mr Obeid responded with a question of his own: "Why did I need to tell anybody?"

Over nearly five hours of testimony, Paul Obeid was variously asked to spit out his gum, told to stop laughing and accused by ICAC Commissioner David Ipp of "deliberately being provocative".

At one point a visibly frustrated Mr Ipp adjourned the inquiry, telling Mr Obeid's counsel Graham Turnbull that proceedings would resume after Mr Turnbull had a word with his client about interrupting the commissioner.

But the commissioner and the witness found themselves in agreement after Mr Obeid struggled to decipher years-old ledgers detailing transactions made by and for members of his family.

"It sounds like a sham, doesn't it," Mr Watson said of one loan noted in the ledgers.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a sham," Mr Obeid said.

"It certainly looks like a shambles to me," Mr Ipp weighed in.

Mr Obeid responded, "I can't disagree with that."

Mr Obeid later said he and "the boys" did not initially disclose their interests in coal mining when they dealt with mining firm Cascade Coal because after years of being "relentlessly pursued" by the media, the Obeids valued their privacy.

In a private interview with Mr Watson in August last year he said Cascade was "certainly" aware of the Obeid link, but on Wednesday he said he "can't stand by that", conceding the Obeids were more coy in their early dealings with the firm.

"We decided to play a bit of a game of chess," he said.

"(The media) agenda is to cause us harm. We've learned, over many years, why stick your head out to get slapped."

He also admitted encouraging an accountant, John Campo, to lie to the Sydney Morning Herald, though he did not back Mr Watson's assertion that the lies were designed to conceal further the family's mining interests.

"I call them little white lies, which are trivial untruths," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday he told the commission he could not explain how confidential maps of the area around Bylong Valley came to be in his office.

Mr Ipp says he will deliver findings in July and give "urgent" advice within two weeks to the NSW government about how it should amend the state's mining laws.

The inquiry continues on Thursday and Mr Macdonald is scheduled to appear on Monday.

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Barnett plays law and order election card

LAW and order was top of the West Australian government's agenda when it fired its first official election campaign salvo.

The move to propose yet more mandatory legislation for serious offenders - usually a vote winner - came less than two hours after Premier Colin Barnett requested the issuing of election writs for the March 9 election.

He also came out swinging at the previous Alan Carpenter and Geoff Gallop-led Labor governments, labelling them "an embarrassment" that discredited and brought shame on the state because five ministers were forced to resign or were sacked after becoming embroiled in Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) inquiries.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan fired back, saying Treasurer and Transport Minister Troy Buswell was an embarrassment who kept being promoted - referring to years of scandals involving bra-snapping and chair sniffing, and more recently, a defamation suit against his ex-lover, independent MP Adele Carles, over public comments she made about his antics.

Mr Barnett defended Mr Buswell, making a distinction between abusing one's position as a minister and private behaviour.

"A great embarrassment in government is your behaviour as a minister," Mr Barnett told reporters.

"I've got great respect for Troy Buswell. I think he is an outstanding minister.

"Compare that to Labor ministers who misused their position.

"Has Troy misused his position? No.

"Big difference."

The premier said his comments about Labor's historical CCC dramas was relevant because "it tells you something about the nature of the Labor party and the people in the Labor party", and should not be forgotten. And while he didn't want to drag up "long history", he also touched on the WA Inc era of the 1980s.

Opposition police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts also mentioned the CCC, referring to Mr Barnett's proposed legislation to expand the corruption watchdog's powers, which he had not succeeded in pushing through in his first term.

"Colin Barnett can simply not be trusted," Mr Roberts said.

She said the Liberals' proposal on Wednesday - to hand mandatory jail terms to burglars who seriously hurt or sexually assault residents while thieving - was necessary.

But only because the WA government had so far failed to deal with home burglaries.

"Their dismal record on legislative reform should give Western Australians little confidence that their promise would ever be delivered," she said.

"The best way to fight crime is to have cops on the beat."

Ms Roberts said the Barnett government had reneged on its 2008 election promise to increase police numbers by 500 - a pledge put forward by the opposition on Tuesday and welcomed by the police union.

There had been a 15 per cent rise in offences against the person between 2010 and 2012, and a 12 per cent rise in property offences in 2012, she said.

Mr Barnett said overall crime had fallen nine per cent under his leadership, but burglaries had risen substantially.

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Anti-doping agency to get more powers

AUSTRALIA'S anti-doping agency is set to gain police-like powers to compel suspect athletes and other people to turn up for questioning and hand over documents on request.

Sports Minister Kate Lundy said a recent review of Cycling Australia conducted by former justice James Woods QC showed there was plenty of work to be done to address the challenges of doping in sport.

Senator Lundy said revelations from international cycling showed that doping could be well organised and systemic and conducted in parallel with a comprehensive testing regime.

"With doping becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is less likely that anti-doping violations will be detected through analytical means alone," she said.

In a second reading speech that was tabled in parliament on Wednesday to introduce the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment Bill 2013, Senator Lundy said analytical testing would remain a fundamental and valuable means to address doping.

But the US Anti-Doping Agency was only able to establish a case against Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service cycling team through non-analytical investigation, collecting sworn testimony and documentary evidence.

Senator Lundy said the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) currently had no power to require somebody to attend an interview or produce documents and had to rely on their cooperation.

The new bill will give ASADA the power to require someone to attend an interview or produce documents.

The ASADA chief executive will be able to issue disclosure notices requiring a person to comply, with a fine of up to $5100 for people who don't.

Senator Lundy said a key strength of ASADA's investigative capabilities was its relationship with agencies such as Customs and the Therapeutic Goods Administration. That would be strengthened with an amendment to postal legislation to allow information sharing between ASADA and Australia Post.

The legislation also gives the ASADA chief executive the ability to engage directly with sporting bodies on the issue of sanctions for those who commit doping violations.

"The message is clear - with these amendments, athletes and support persons who are involved in doping have a greater chance of being caught. People will have no option but to assist ASADA in undertaking its investigations and intelligence activities," Senator Lundy said.

Debate was adjourned.

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British gay vote sparks new Aussie debate

BRITAIN'S move to legalise gay marriage has sparked fresh calls for Australia to follow suit.

A same-sex marriage bill passed its first hurdle in the British House of Commons by 400 votes to 175. The bill must now pass the House of Lords - the equivalent of the Senate - before becoming law.

The breakthrough on Wednesday quickly reignited the gay marriage debate in Australia.

Australian Greens MP Adam Bandt said Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott - both of whom oppose gay marriage - risked being on the wrong side of history.

"If Catholic Spain can allow people to marry each other regardless of their gender, if Britain can do it, if the president of the United States of America thinks it is time to change, then Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott should back it as well," Mr Bandt said.

"This is a matter of not if, but when."

Last year both houses of the Australian parliament rejected a same sex marriage bill sponsored by Labor backbenchers. Mr Abbott refused to allow coalition MPs a conscience vote on the bill.

South Australian Environment Minister Ian Hunter, who married his gay partner in Spain last year, said the British vote should send a strong message to Australia's federal leaders.

All the countries we liked to compare ourselves to were adopting gay marriage and Australia was being left behind, he said.

"We are going to start to look like the deep south in terms of this issue," he told AAP.

Australian Marriage Equality national convener Rodney Croome said the majority of Australians would be pleased to see such resounding support for gay marriage from a country like Britain.

"But this will be tinged with embarrassment that Australia is falling further behind and may soon be the only developed, English-speaking country without marriage equality," he said.

Mr Croome predicted many Australian couples would travel to Britain, or even use UK consulates at home, to marry if the British bill became law.

"It is sad that these couples will not have their marriages recognised under the law of the country they live in," he said.

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Wild Thing singer Reg Presley dies in UK

Reg Presley (R), lead singer of 1960s rock band The Troggs, has died at his home in England aged 71. Source: AAP

REG Presley, lead singer of British 1960s rock band The Troggs, has died aged 71, a friend says.

Presley, best known for hits including Wild Thing and Love Is All Around, had announced a year ago that he was battling cancer and would retire from the band.

Veteran music journalist Keith Altham, a close friend of Presley's, wrote on his Facebook page that the singer had died "surrounded by family and friends" on Monday at his home in Andover, southeast England.

"My dear old pal Reg Presley of The Troggs died today," he wrote.

"He was one very real person in a sometimes very unreal world. Our thoughts are with his wife Brenda and the family and those legion of fans who loved his music and his band. I will miss him hugely."

He added that the singer had suffered a number of recent strokes as well as being diagnosed with cancer.

Presley's daughter Karen told the music website WENN: "He passed away peacefully at home and myself, my brother and our mother were with him. We're absolutely heartbroken."

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Work bans by nurses at third WA hospital

NURSES at Fremantle Hospital plan to impose work bans on Wednesday, joining colleagues at two other hospitals as they press their pay claim with the WA government.

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) was originally seeking a 20 per cent wage rise over three years, but members who attended a union meeting at Royal Perth Hospital on Monday said they would accept a minimum 15 per cent increase over the same period.

The state government has offered public sector nurses a three per cent per year wage rise - equivalent to inflation - and a further 1.25 per cent per annum if they give up certain conditions of employment.

Nurses at Royal Perth Hospital adopted the work bans on Monday, followed by Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Tuesday.

While the wrangling continues with the Health Department of Western Australia, they will not be doing any work that does not directly involve the care of a patient, including removing rubbish, cleaning toilets and bathrooms, and moving medical equipment in and out of theatre rooms.

They say they've been forced to do work that would normally be done by orderlies and cleaners - positions that have been cut back.

ANF state secretary Mark Olson said the work bans would slow down the operations of any hospital where they were implemented, suggesting more were in store.

The first casualty would be the state government's rule that patients are treated and cleared from emergency departments within four hours, he said.

Mr Olson said the rule relied heavily on the goodwill of nurses.

"It will be impossible for hospitals to continue to get patients out of the emergency departments within the designated four hours," he said.

"For that to happen, nurses have to clean rooms and equipment, clean operating theatres, move patients, move furniture and equipment or collect medications and fill out paperwork for patients being discharged - all of which will no longer be happening at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after today."

Mr Olson called on the WA government to "show some respect and make nurses a decent offer".

Public sector nurses will hold a mass meeting on February 18 - the first in 12 years, Mr Olson said - to discuss taking further measures to push their case.

"It will start to have an effect on the theatre list," he said.

"The (health) minister (Kim Hames) is hoping if he ignores it, it will go away."

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European stocks stable in opening trade

EUROPEAN stock markets are steady at the start of trading.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies was up 0.05 per cent at 6,249.70 points at the open on Tuesday.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 firmed 0.07 per cent to 7,643.54 points and in Paris the CAC 40 drifted 0.13 per cent lower to 3,654.32.

European equities tumbled on Monday and the euro dropped against the dollar amid fears of political turmoil in Spain and Italy, with banking shares suffering some of the heaviest losses.

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Brother-in-law killer claims self-defence

A MAN accused of murdering his brother-in-law in Perth has claimed it was self-defence, despite an elaborate escape in which he fled Australia and evaded police for more than a decade.

Anthony Carl Prestidge is on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court charged with the wilful murder of Andy Arthur Ball on September 10, 2002.

In her opening address, prosecutor Linda Petrusa said Mr Ball's body was found on September 12, 2002, under some bed sheets in the kitchen at his home with only his feet poking out.

A post mortem examination revealed he had died from a severe head injury with extensive fracturing of the skull and some brain injury, she said.

He had been struck with "a large degree of force" to the back of the head and had been lying on the floor bleeding when he was struck a second time, she said.

Ms Petrusa alleged Prestidge committed the murder and then fled to the Perth International Airport where he made a call to a friend saying he would meet up with them soon, only to instead board a flight to Bali moments later.

She said his actions demonstrated a consciousness of guilt.

Mr Ball, who was then 24, had been married for four years to Prestidge's sister, Angela, and they had two children.

But the relationship was both mentally and physically abusive, and Ms Ball had been hospitalised in 2001 for a broken cheek bone, a fact she shared with her brother when he came from London to visit them in August 2002, Ms Petrusa said.

After talks with her brother, Ms Ball decided to finally leave her husband in September 2002.

Before his death, Mr Ball had told some neighbours that if anything happened to him it would be Prestidge's fault, Ms Petrusa said.

Defence lawyer Helen Prince argued that while Mr Ball's death was a tragedy, her client had acted in self-defence when Mr Ball came to him with a knife believing Prestidge was having an affair with his own sister.

Mr Ball had thought Prestidge was going to tear his family apart and that his wife was going to take his children overseas, Ms Prince said.

"Tony will always have to live with that," she said.

There was a difference between criminal responsibility and moral responsibility, Ms Prince said.

The fact that Prestidge had fled did not indicate a consciousness of guilt over the crime, and the fact that he covered the body with sheets indicated some care for the victim, she said.

The trial continues.

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Whistleblower backs down after fraud claim

THE whistleblower who alleged corruption at a West Australian hospital won't give evidence to a public inquiry after it was revealed she is wanted for fraud and identity theft in America, but there are other witnesses who could.

Ashton Foley, whose damning allegations to a parliamentary committee against the privately run Peel Health Campus sparked a government inquiry, has admitted she was imprisoned in the United States for about six weeks in 2008 on fraud and identity theft charges.

Records in the US show Ms Foley, under the alias Michelle Marie Foley, is still wanted there on warrant issued in Georgia in 2011 over charges of theft and identity fraud.

The ABC reports she plans to return to the US to sort the mess out.

After quitting her job on Monday as chief executive of the Orbost Regional Health centre in Victoria, Ms Foley has now said she won't give evidence to the WA inquiry headed by Professor Bryant Stokes.

"I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't because, if I don't (give evidence), they'll say I've lied all along," Ms Foley told News Ltd.

"And if I do testify, they'll try to discredit my evidence anyway."

Andrew Martin, of Orbost Regional Health, confirmed to AAP that Ms Foley had offered her resignation, and it had been accepted by the board.

He also said they would look into their recruitment process, following the revelations.

Peel Health Campus' current chief executive, Neale Fong, said the hospital now wanted criminal investigations launched into Ms Foley's qualification claims, which she gave to both the WA parliament and her former employers.

"We have been shocked at what has been unearthed. It was not a deliberate attempt to try and go and find material on Ms Foley. It kept coming out, and will keep coming out," Mr Fong said.

"It is a serious offence to lie to a parliamentary committee. That is a matter for the parliament and the police to get involved in.

"We will be reporting this to the police, because she was employed at the Peel Health Campus under the misunderstanding she had these qualifications."

WA Premier Colin Barnett slammed the opposition for running hard with Ms Foley's claims, saying the party had milked her allegations for political mileage, which he labelled "reprehensible".

Opposition spokesman Ken Travers said on Monday that WA Labor was not ashamed of playing a central role in exposing the many problems at the hospital near Mandurah, south of Perth, and getting inquiries under way.

"There are so many issues that were raised that, in my view, warrants serious inquiry." he said.

"The bullying, the intimidation, the turnover of senior staff. There clearly has been a problem down at Peel Health Campus and it requires an investigation."

Mr Travers said it was a shame that there was not a full judicial inquiry.

Damning evidence about the hospital did not solely come from Ms Foley and there were in fact many witnesses, he said.

"It comes from a whole range of witnesses who have highlighted problems with that health campus that need thorough investigation."

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Two more bodies found after Mexico blast

The death toll from an explosion at an office building in Mexico has risen to 35, officials say. Source: AAP

MEXICO'S state-owned oil company says it has found two more bodies amid the rubble of a headquarters building damaged by a still-unexplained blast.

The find raises the death toll of Thursday's explosion to 35 people.

Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, operations director Carlos Murrieta had said that rescue crews were looking in the rubble for several more people reported missing, and believed their bodies were in the building's most damaged part.

The bodies of two of the four more people reported missing by their relatives were recovered on Sunday.

Officials still have not given any cause for the explosion, though they have said they suspect it was an accident.

The blast also injured 121 people.

Rescuers had initially concluded their search on Friday but resumed operations when they suspected more bodies were in the rubble.

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PNG ship tragedy probe to start soon

PNG police say they will start a formal investigation into the sinking of the Rabaul Queen. Source: AAP

PAPUA New Guinea police say once funding is released they will start a formal investigation into the sinking of the Rabaul Queen a year ago that claimed the lives of over 140 people.

The overloaded MV Rabaul Queen sank on the morning of February 2 last year with as many as 411 people on board, after being smashed by huge waves about nine nautical miles (16 km) off Finschhafen, as it made the overnight trip from Kimbe to Lae.

Police minister Nixon Duban says police will begin an investigation into PNG's worst maritime disaster once funding is released by the government on February 7.

"As of last year the Royal PNG Constabulary through its crimes directorate drew up a plan of action including a terms of reference for the investigation, and assembled an investigation team made up of senior police detectives selected from around the country," Mr Duban said in a statement.

"We are waiting for the 2013 financial year to open, which should be after February 7, and the police investigation will swing full speed into operation."

A commission of inquiry in June last year found there was no basis whatsoever to carry an excess of 295 passengers on board Rabaul Queen.

The commission, headed by Judge Warwick Andrew, was scathing of ship owner Captain Peter Sharp and made a series of recommendations for changing practices at PNG's National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA).

"The evidence before the commission shows that the shipping operation of Captain Sharp has been compromising the safety of crew and passengers for many years," the report said.

"Captain Sharp demonstrated to the commission that he had little or no respect for people, including those in authority.

"The safety of passengers was not of paramount concern to Captain Sharp. He made it clear in evidence that he put profit ahead of safety."

The report called on the NMSA to take immediate steps to revoke the appointment of Mr Sharp as a recognised surveyor of ships.

Of the report's 25 recommendations, 14 were aimed at improving the capability of the NMSA.

AAP has been unable to contact the authority to determine if any of the recommendations - which include six-monthly safety checks on PNG passenger ships - have been implemented.

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Swan denies withholding disaster funds

Treasurer Wayne Swan denied the commonwealth is holding up Queensland disaster recovery funds. Source: AAP

FEDERAL Treasurer Wayne Swan says claims by Queensland that flood disaster recovery funds are being withheld by the commonwealth are completely wrong.

State Treasurer Tim Nicholls said on Monday the commonwealth is holding up $725 million worth of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) payments by demanding unreasonable levels of proof that repairs have been carried out.

He said councils had been asked for pre-disaster, post-disaster and post-recovery photos of assets damaged in disasters dating back to 2006.

But Mr Swan says the disputed funds have in fact already been paid to Queensland in advance.

In a letter in response to Mr Nicholls, he has said the claim that Commonwealth funds have been withheld is "entirely incorrect".

"Advance payments were made by the commonwealth to assist Queensland with cash flow and make sure that reconstruction works were able to be done as quickly as possible," he has written.

"As you're aware advance payments of this nature are unusual, but the commonwealth government agreed to make payments early to Queensland because of the magnitude of the disaster, with the undertaking that the state government would provide proper documentary evidence following reconstruction."

Mr Swan said the commonwealth was now following up on the administrative paperwork required to finalise the claims in question and "acquit them against the funds already paid".

Comment has been sought from Mr Nicholls.

Premier Campbell Newman wants the commonwealth to change the way NDRRA funds are allocated.

Currently only like-for-like reconstruction is eligible for the cash, which is 75 per cent supplied by the federal government and 25 per cent by the state.

Mr Newman says it's time to build smarter in flood-prone areas, so the same old roads and same old bridges don't need the same repairs.

He concedes that improving rather than repairing infrastructure would cost more, but argues there would be long-term savings.

"I think the logic is absolutely compelling," he said on Monday.

Mr Newman has also asked the federal government to bring back relief payments for damaged social infrastructure, such as playgrounds and sporting facilities, after they became ineligible in December.

Flood-affected councils across Queensland say they're facing repair bills they simply can't afford, and the result will be higher local council rates unless the federal government changes its stance.

Mr Newman also asked the commonwealth for extra relief for farmers, particularly in the North Burnett citrus growing region.

Many farms may fold after suffering their second disaster in two years, he said.

"We need to make sure that towns such as Gayndah, Mundubbera and Eidsvold don't go into an economic death spiral," Mr Newman said.

Meanwhile, the Queensland flood appeal is looking dismal compared to the appeal two years ago which raised a quarter of a billion dollars.

The appeal's chairman Terry Mackenroth says only $6 million has been raised so far but at least another $9 million will be needed.

"That's just to start, before we start to look at repairing homes and replacing some homes," he said.

Mr Mackenroth is appealing to corporations to dig deep, but admits they may have donor fatigue from an overwhelming number of natural disasters in the last decade.

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Missing Qld bushwalkers found safe

FOUR bushwalkers who were missing in Queensland's southeast have been found alive and well.

A 59-year-old man and a man in his 30s were reported missing last night after failing to return from a hike at Mount Barney on Saturday.

As well, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, both Americans, had been missing at Mount Glorious after not returning from a bushwalk.

On Sunday evening, police said that all four hikers had been found alive and well.

A police spokeswoman told AAP that a rescue helicopter had winched the men at Mount Barney to safety.

She said one of the bushwalkers at Mount Glorious had suffered a sprained ankle.

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Syrian TV airs images of Israel airstrike

SYRIAN television has broadcast images of what it said is the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on a research facility near Damascus earlier this week, showing destroyed vehicles and moderate damage to a building.

Israel has not publicly acknowledged Wednesday's airstrike that US officials said had hit a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons inside Syria bound for the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The Syrian military said the target of Israeli jets was a scientific research centre in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus.

The strike raised tensions between Israel and its neighbour Syria, which is engulfed by a raging civil war.

The first purported images of the targeted site, aired by Al-Ikhbariya TV on Saturday, show the twisted and battered remnants of cars, trucks and military vehicles. A building has broken widows and damaged interiors, but no major structural damage. The caption says, "Consequences of the Israeli aggression on the Jamraya centre."

State TV also ran footage of the damage.

Syria's regime vowed revenge for the airstrike, while the rebels battling President Bashar Assad criticised him for not responding to what they termed Israeli aggression.

According to a US official, the strike targeted trucks containing SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. The trucks were next to the research centre the Syrians identified, and the strikes hit both the trucks and the facility.

Advanced anti-aircraft missiles like the SA-17 in the hands of Hezbollah could change the strategic equation, which so far has allowed Israel to send warplanes over Lebanon practically unopposed.

The Syrian military denied that the target of the attack was a weapons convoy. It said low-flying Israeli jets crossed into the country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to target the Jamraya centre.

Until Wednesday, Israel has been reluctant to do anything that would seem an intervention into Syrian civil war. The airstrike adds another layer to the complexity of the Syrian conflict that has left the international community at a loss for ways to end bloodshed.

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Spike in shootings frustrates SA top cop

SOUTH Australia's top cop has vented his frustration at the spike on the number of shootings in the state in the past month and the number of firearms finding their way into the hands of criminals.

SA Police Commissioner Gary Burns said the jump in the number of shootings was an "enormous concern".

His comments come after a man was shot dead at a shopping centre in Adelaide's north on Sunday morning and the arrest of five men after a loaded pistol was found in their car in the city overnight.

Mr Burns said the vast majority of the shootings have been targeted attacks linked to either drugs, debts, or domestic related.

"While the public can take some comfort that these crimes are not random, it remains a fact there are too many gun-related crimes occurring," Mr Burns said.

"However, South Australia does not stand alone on this, with most jurisdictions across Australia facing similar issues on gun crimes."

He said criminals are arming themselves through a number of ways - through theft of legitimate firearms, manufacturing and importation.

Last year South Australian police set up a specialised firearms investigation team in an effort to curb organised crime and gun violence.

"However, the battle to remove illegal weapons from our community is constant and difficult, with no one easy measure to solve this complex issue," Mr Burns said.

He said investigations into some recent shootings have been hamstrung by victims refusing to cooperate and reveal information that would assist solving the crime.

"This lack of assistance is frustrating to police and creates unnecessary fear in our community," he said.

He said anyone with information about recent shootings or the whereabouts of illegal firearms should contact Crime Stoppers.

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Armed robbers threaten 80-year-old

AN 80-year-old takeaway store owner and his daughter have been threatened with an axe and a machete during an armed robbery in northern NSW.

Police said the elderly man and his 56-year-old daughter were woken up around 1.45am (AEDT) on Sunday by loud noises at their home on Queen Elizabeth Drive at Coraki.

When they went to investigate the sounds in their adjoining takeaway food shop they were confronted by two masked men.

One of the men was armed with an axe, while the other was wielding a machete, police said.

The bandits threatened the man and woman before demanding cash and cigarettes.

They then forced the pair into the woman's Nissan Tiida car, drove them about three kilometres out of Coraki, and ordered them out of the vehicle.

Police pursued the car a short time later at Casino but the robbers managed to dump the vehicle and escape on foot.

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