Abbott and PM descend on western Sydney

TONY Abbott has fired the first shot in this week's war for western Sydney as Julia Gillard gears up for a five-day tour to reconnect with the Labor heartland and salvage support in once-safe seats.

The opposition leader descended on Campbelltown on Saturday, pledging to solve the area's transport woes and tackle crime as new polling highlighted just how hard the prime minister will need to work during her own visit.

The Fairfax Media/ReachTEL poll found the government is on track to lose the seats of Chifley, Blaxland, McMahon and Werriwa to the Liberals at the September 14 election. All four would normally be considered safe.

Such a result would result in frontbenchers Chris Bowen and Jason Clare and backbenchers Laurie Ferguson and Ed Husic being booted from parliament, in addition to Labor MPs in more marginal seats like Lindsay's David Bradbury.

And in particularly worrying news for Ms Gillard, the poll of 2550 voters spread across the four seats finds the collapse in Labor's support is due in large part to negative perceptions of her leadership.

Mr Abbott sought to highlight the local MPs' failings too.

"You've got Chris Bowen, who couldn't stop the boats. You've got Jason Clare, who can't stop the guns. And you've got David Bradbury, who wants to attack people's superannuation," Mr Abbott told reporters at Leumeah train station.

He rejected suggestions his visit to Campbelltown was aimed at stealing the spotlight from Ms Gillard.

"I know Sydney, I'm not a tourist in Sydney and this is my 47th visit since the election to western Sydney," he said.

Mr Abbott will return to the area in the coming days and says he will stop in at the Rooty Hill RSL - next door to where the PM is staying - on Monday at the invitation of a breakfast television program.

While Ms Gillard had no public appearances on Saturday, Trade Minister Craig Emerson sought to downplay the latest poll, suggesting it could not be trusted because it was automated, unlike the better known Newspoll and Nielsen.

"The people who are more likely to respond to those polls are the ones who have got a particular adverse view," Dr Emerson told ABC television on Saturday.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham, who lives in Sydney's west, says the party has lost touch with the area. He says the old working class is steadily vanishing and being replaced by more aspirational voters.

"And unless Labor understands that it too will vanish," he told Sky News.

Labor holds Chifley on a margin of 12.3, Blaxland on 12.2, McMahon on 7.8 per cent and Werriwa on 6.8 per cent. The poll suggests a leadership switch to Kevin Rudd could keep Chifley and Blaxland in Labor's hands.

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Drastic threat over deadly Borneo siege

MALAYSIA is threatening to take "drastic action" against intruding followers of a self-proclaimed Filipino sultan after a tense standoff erupted into a shootout that killed 14 people.

Twelve followers of the little-known sultan of Sulu and two Malaysian security personnel were killed in Friday's firefight, police said, as the more than two-week-old siege in a remote corner of Malaysia turned deadly.

Dozens of Filipinos have been holed up on Borneo island, surrounded by a massive Malaysian police and military cordon, since landing by boat from their nearby Philippine islands to insist the area belongs to their Islamic leader.

"We want them to surrender immediately. If they don't, they will face drastic action," said Hamza Taib, police chief of the Malaysian state of Sabah where the drama was taking place.

His comments echoed growing Malaysian impatience with the situation.

In Manila, Philippine President Benigno Aquino urged the gunmen to surrender immediately.

"To those who have influence and the capacity to reason with those in (the affected town of) Lahad Datu, I ask you to convey this message: surrender now, without conditions," he said in a statement.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose government has been embarrassed by the security breach, said in the shootout's aftermath that he told police and armed forces to take whatever action was necessary to end the impasse.

"Now there is no grace period for the group to leave," he was quoted as saying by Malaysian media, blaming the intruders for sparking the violence.

Muslim-majority Malaysia had previously avoided tough talk, expressing hope the intruders would leave peacefully.

The Filipinos, who are estimated to number between 100 and 300, sailed from their remote islands to press Jamalul Kiram III's claim to Sabah.

Kiram, 74, claims to be the heir to the Islamic sultanate of Sulu, which once controlled parts of the southern Philippines and a portion of Borneo.

The Sulu sultanate's power faded about a century ago but it has continued to receive nominal payments from Malaysia for Sabah under a historical lease arrangement passed down from European colonial powers.

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Mardi Gras to shine as rain clears

HEAVY rain has cleared just in time as thousands of people gather to celebrate Sydney's Mardi Gras, the Australian gay and lesbian community's night of nights.

Feathers, wigs and ponchos are the most common accessories on Oxford Street.

Spanish tourists Mark and Agnela began lining up early on Saturday afternoon to grab a spot and say they're shocked by the turnout.

"We have similar parades in Barcelona but they're quite new and not this big," Mark told AAP.

He said it was nice to see gay people celebrated and accepted in the event.

"Being gay is not something that is unusual any more. Things have changed for the good."

Around 10,000 performers are taking part in the event which celebrates the parade's 35th anniversary.

A key feature of this year's "Generations of Love" theme will be the participation of people who took part in Sydney's first Mardi Gras in 1978.

Creative director Ignatius Jones said the lead float would be "dedicated to the 78ers, the first generation".

The float would be surrounded by young protesters carrying parade "season posters" from 1978 up to 2013.

The two key "1978ers" participating in the parade would be media personality Julie McCrossin and the "godfather of Mardi Gras", Ron Austin.

Every major political party has entered a float this year and for the first time, the armed forces will be marching in uniform in the parade.

A number of "Bob Katters" will also take part in the parade, organisers have revealed, with performers dressing up like the maverick Queensland MP.

A record 110 floats are expected to roll down Oxford Street in the harbour city's second biggest night after New Year's Eve.

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Rebels, troops die in north Syria battle

A FEROCIOUS battle on the outskirts of the northern city of Raqa, near the Turkish border, killed dozens of Syrian troops and rebel fighters, a watchdog reported.

"Fierce clashes pitting rebel fighters from several battalions against regular troops have raged since dawn on the outskirts of Raqa city," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.

"Army troops shelled several city neighbourhoods, as well as the outskirts, while the clashes left dozens of troops and rebels dead," the Britain-based group said without giving exact numbers.

"Explosions could be heard in the city, and towers of smoke could be seen rising into the sky.

Both the Observatory and activists in Raqa said the army was using helicopters to strafe rebels in some parts of the city, in a rare escalation of violence in the provincial capital.

Raqa city is strategically located near Syria's northern border with Turkey. Residents say it has become home to thousands of people forced to flee their homes in other war-torn parts of Syria.

"A large number of people were forced by mortar attacks on their district to flee their homes in the Masaken Shuhada area" of the city, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

"Because of the large number of civilians who have sought shelter in Raqa from other parts of Syria, the rebel Free Syrian Army had an agreement not to assault the city," he said.

"Saturday's battle was a rare but intense escalation."

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Asian markets mostly down, weak China data

ASIAN markets were mostly lower on Friday as traders took a breather after healthy gains in the previous session while Chinese data showed growth in manufacturing activity had slowed.

Wall Street provided a meek lead, with the Dow ending lower after flirting with a record high as investors appeared to take in their stride looming deep US budget cuts due to take effect later in the day.

Tokyo stocks closed 0.41 percent, or 47.02 points, higher at 11,606.38, as a weak yen helped the market recoup early losses sparked by profit-taking, and after the naming of a new Bank of Japan chief known to favour aggressive monetary easing.

Sydney slid 0.35 percent, or 17.98 points, to end the week at 5,086.1, while Hong Kong fell 0.61 percent, or 140.05 points, to 22,880.22 and Shanghai was 0.26 percent lower, shedding 6.08 points to 2,359.51.

Seoul was closed for a holiday.

China's official purchasing managers' index showed activity in the crucial manufacturing sector eased to 50.1 last month from 50.4 in January, suggesting a recent pick-up in the world's number two economy is weaker than initially thought.

A reading above 50 indicates growth.

British bank HSBC said later Friday that its final PMI for February came in at 50.4, a four-month low but also the fourth consecutive month of expansion after 12 months of contraction.

Zhang Liqun, a government analyst, said the figures showed a rebound in the economy was likely to lose steam, adding: "The February PMI extended a trend seen in January to decline modestly, indicating a rebound in economic growth will come to a stabilising point."

Shares in the United States ended lower, with the Dow seeing a late sell-off after moving within a few points of its record high seen just before the onset of the global financial crisis.

Traders were left unimpressed by a revision of fourth-quarter US economic growth, which came in at a lower-than-forecast 0.1 percent, although it was better than the 0.1 percent contraction previously estimated.

There seemed to be little reaction to the fact that the government was poised to start slashing spending Friday as the $85 billion in federal cuts known as the "sequester" comes in, which economists say will trim growth.

The Dow ended 0.15 percent lower, while the S&P 500 lost 0.09 percent and the Nasdaq edged down 0.07 percent.

Currency markets were quiet in early trade after a volatile week, which saw the dollar and euro surge against the yen before tumbling in reaction to Italian elections that renewed concerns about the eurozone.

In Tokyo the dollar bought 92.57 yen, compared with 92.58 yen in New York Thursday afternoon. The euro fetched 121.13 yen and $1.3079 compared with 120.95 yen and $1.3062.

Oil prices eased, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, shedding 16 cents to $91.89 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery sliding 23 cents to $111.15.

Gold was at $1,579.30 at 0805 GMT compared with $1,591.00 late Thursday.

In other markets:

-- Wellington edged down 0.05 percent, or 2.02 points, to 4,317.99.

Telecom Corp. was down 2.07 percent at NZ$2.37, Air New Zealand up 1.07 percent at NZ$1.415 and Chorus steady on NZ$2.90.

-- Manila skidded 1.18 percent, or 79.18 points, to 6,642.27.

-- Taipei rose 66.65 points, or 0.84 percent, to 7,964.63.

HTC rose 1.08 percent to Tw$280.0 while TSMC was 0.48 percent higher at Tw$104.5.

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Brothers 'can't accept pedophile's guilt'

Archbishop Denis Hart ignored reports that a pedophile might have been working at a college. Source: AAP

MANY Christian brothers refuse to accept that one of their ranks is guilty of the child sex crimes for which he was convicted, a Victorian inquiry has been told.

Members of the order also lack sympathy for sex abuse victims, Christian brother and researcher Dr Barry Coldrey told the parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse within religious organisations.

Dr Coldrey said some brothers had not accepted that Robert Best, who was convicted over the abuse of 11 boys over a 20-year period, was a pedophile.

"Even at this moment there are many brothers who refuse to believe that Robert Best is guilty," he told the inquiry in Melbourne on Friday.

He said some would still visit Best in prison.

Best was in 2011 found guilty of 21 charges, including the rape of a nine-year-old disabled boy, and later pleaded guilty to a further six.

All 27 charges related to 11 boys he taught at St Alipius primary school in Ballarat, St Leo's College in Box Hill, and St Joseph's College in Geelong between 1969 and 1988.

Dr Coldrey told the inquiry that the order had little sympathy for victims of sexual abuse.

"At the moment, the mood is sullen, angry and certainly little sympathy is expressed for victims," he said.

"No one ever won an election in the Christian Brothers by expressing sympathy for victims."

Dr Coldrey said his concerns that a convicted pedophile was working at Monash University's Mannix College were ignored by senior clergy members, including Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart.

Residences at the college were rented out to non-university students for four months of the year.

"Everybody who had a say took the cover-up option," Dr Coldrey said.

"Denis (Hart) took the cover-up option."

Dr Coldrey said he was not sure if the man was still working at the college under an assumed name.

The inquiry resumes in Melbourne on Monday.

Br Brian Brandon, the executive officer for professional standards for Christian Brothers Oceania, rejected that there was little sympathy within the Christian Brothers ranks for sex abuse victims.

In a statement, Br Brandon said he met regularly with victims and Mr Coldrey was out of touch with reality and his statements were unsubstantiated.

Br Brandon said the Christian Brothers expressed care and concern for victims.

He also offered an apology on behalf of the Christian Brothers to Archbishop Denis Hart for comments made about him by Mr Coldrey, who testified that senior clergy members including Archbishop Hart, ignored concerns that a convicted pedophile was working at Monash University's Mannix College.

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Metronet would cost $4.3bn: WA Treasury

THE West Australian Labor party's flagship Metronet rail plan has been independently costed at $4.335 billion by the state's Treasury.

Labor's scheme to run rail links to Perth's outer suburbs in a bid to ease congestion across the city was costed at $3.8 billion by the WA opposition - while Liberal state Treasurer Troy Buswell claimed the project would cost $6.4 billion.

The differential has been one of the main arguments between the two parties in the build-up to the March 9 state election.

And after demands to have the scheme independently assessed, WA Under Treasurer Tim Marney delivered his verdict on Friday afternoon, putting the scheme at about $500 million more than Labor claimed, but $2 billion less than the Liberal estimate.

He said not only did the figures show Labor couldn't add up, they also showed that the party wanted to build a rail line that was unreliable and unsafe.

Addressing the discrepancy in the treasury costings and his party's own estimates of the cost of building Metronet, Mr Buswell said Labor's planned budget is inadequate because it does not allow for a necessary duplication of the Midland rail line between Bayswater and Perth.

Pointing to treasury commentary that running 18 trains per hour on the Midland line would reduce reliability and safety, Mr Buswell said Labor's plan should now be renamed.

"This is not Metronet. This is Metronot, because it is not funded, not costed, not reliable and not safe," Mr Buswell said.

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Three dead as Malaysia ends stand-off

THREE people including two police officers were killed as Malaysian security forces ended a stand-off with Filipino gunmen over a territorial dispute in Sabah, the Philippine government said.

Dozens of followers of the little-known sultan of Sulu had been facing off with Malaysian police for the past two weeks, after they sailed from their homes in the southern Philippines to stake a territorial claim in Malaysian Borneo.

The 74-year-old Jamalul Kiram III says he is the head of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu, which once controlled parts of Borneo including the site of the stand-off, as well as southern Philippine islands.

The owner of the house where the leader of the gunmen stayed during the 17-day stand-off was also killed but the nationality was not known, Philippine foreign department spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters, citing a report by Malaysia's ambassador.

A third Malaysian police officer was wounded after the gunmen opened fire on their van, he said.

"The Malaysian ambassador said that the rest of the Kiram group in Lahad Datu escaped and ran toward the sea," he said, adding that 10 members of the group were arrested.

Malaysia's state news agency Bernama reported that two police commandos had been killed in a mortar shell explosion as they patrolled around the village where the gunmen were holed up.

It was unclear if they were the two police officers mentioned by Hernandez.

An official at the main hospital in the town of Lahad Datu near the site of the stand-off told AFP two police officers had been brought in with gunshot wounds but were in stable condition.

Hernandez said he could not confirm allegations by a Manila spokesman for the gunmen that Malaysian security forces had shot dead 10 members of the group and wounded four others.

Hernandez said Manila had formally demanded a full account of the security operation that ended the stand-off.

Kiram's spokesman Abraham Idjirani claimed Malaysian snipers had killed 10 of the sultan's men and wounded four other members of the group.

"I talked to (the group's leader) by telephone just now and asked him how many of his men were martyred. He told me 10. I enquired about the wounded and he said four," Idjirani told a news conference at Kiram's Manila home.

Idjirani insisted Kiram's men would continue to fight and would not leave Sabah.

The Islamic Sultanate of Sulu leased northern Borneo to Europeans in the 1870s.

While the sultanate's authority gradually faded as Western colonial powers exerted their influence over the region, it continued to receive lease payments for Sabah.

The former British colony became part of the federation of Malaysia when it was formed in 1963.

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Slovenia government falls

Slovenian PM Janez Jansa's year-old centre-right government has fallen in a no-confidence motion. Source: AAP

SLOVENIAN Prime Minister Janez Jansa's year-old centre-right government has fallen in a no-confidence motion following weeks of political turmoil in the small Eurozone country.

The job of forming a government amid the country's worst crisis since independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 now passes to political newcomer Alenka Bratusek of the centre-left, as Slovenia's first female premier.

Bratusek says her top priorities will be "normalising" life by softening "excessive" austerity measures imposed by the outgoing government and stimulating growth.

"We have to boost economic development," the former finance ministry official said, announcing plans for a revised budget shortly after taking over.

"We will stabilise public finances and agree with social partners over the necessary wage cuts and the very likely temporary increase of some taxes," she added.

Jansa became prime minister in February 2012 after his centre-left predecessor Borut Pahor himself lost a confidence vote, triggering early elections in Slovenia which has a population of two million.

Jansa has struggled to implement structural reforms and austerity measures seen as vital for putting what was once a model newcomer to the European Union and the Eurozone in 2007 back on the road to growth.

The death blow came when the corruption watchdog in January accused him of tax irregularities, prompting three parties to quit his five-way coalition and leaving his government with only a third of seats in parliament.

The charges, which also toppled the leader of the largest opposition party - Zoran Jankovic of Positive Slovenia - prompted large protests across the country among ordinary Slovenians fed up with austerity and corruption.

An opinion poll earlier this week showed that Slovenians wanted Jansa out, with 21 per cent backing him and 77 per cent opposed.

More than 50 per cent also backed the creation of an interim technical government, raising the prospects of new early elections for the second time in 14 months.

Bratusek, who only became an MP at the last election and says she'll seek a vote of confidence after a year in office, is facing a tough task, political analyst Vlado Miheljak warns.

"A much bigger uncertainty is whether Bratusek will manage to form a new government since the People's Party (SLS) and the Civil List (DL) might not be ready to collaborate in it," he told AFP.

The two centre-right parties were the first to leave Jansa's coalition government but after the last election in December 2011 they baulked at teaming up with Positive Slovenia.

Slovenia's economy grew between 2004 and 2007 at about five per cent per year but the global financial crisis found the export-dependent country badly exposed.

The national debt more than doubled between 2007 and 2011 and the new government will inherit a banking system saddled with bad debt and possibly needing outside help.

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Cyclone Rusty weakens to a category one

Tropical Cyclone Rusty has put new areas on red alert as it moves inland from WA's Pilbara coast. Source: AAP

THE remnants of tropical cyclone Rusty are causing major flooding in the Pilbara catchment areas and river levels are expected to remain high for days.

Around 4pm WST, two hours after all cyclone warnings were cancelled, emergency services said minor to major flood levels had been reached in the Nullagine, Oakover, Coongan and De Grey rivers, with further peaks possible in coming days.

Residents of Port Hedland, Marble Bar and Nullagine considered themselves fortunate to avoid the full force of the cyclone, which was a category four before it crossed the coast on Wednesday, weakening as it moved inland.

A dolphin washed ashore in Port Hedland battered and bruised but alive, and fallen trees and branches needed clearing up around the town.

But it was the tiny community of Pardoo further north that copped the full brunt of Rusty's winds.

Pardoo Station owner Graham Rogers said his 200,000 hectare property was "flogged" by the cyclone, which damaged buildings and killed cattle.

The main cause of the deaths was hypothermia, Mr Rogers said.

Pardoo Roadhouse manager Ian Badger said a shed was demolished, some cladding was torn from the building and a few trees were brought down.

He described the winds as "extremely intense".

"It is a hell of a mess to clean up," Mr Badger told ABC radio.

"I had two truck drivers who were stranded and spent their time in their cabs.

"It just blew, and rained, and blew and blew and blew."

Export facilities at Port Hedland were closed for 86.5 hours but re-opened for inbound ships around 4pm WST.

Rio Tinto resumed ship loading at its Dampier and Cape Lambert ports, although the company had continued mining, dumping and stockpiling iron ore throughout the emergency.

The three ports collectively handle some 500 million tonnes of iron ore annually.

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Bangladesh leader sentenced to death

A SPECIAL war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced a leader of an Islamic political party to death for crimes stemming from the nation's 1971 fight for independence.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was found guilty of eight counts out of 20 charges involving mass killings, rape and atrocities during the nine-month war against Pakistan, prosecutor Syed Haider Ali said.

The verdict was announced by presiding tribunal judge ATM Fazle Kabir in a packed courtroom.

"Justice has been done to those who lost their loved ones at the hands of Sayedee," Ali said.

Lawyers for the defendant boycotted the tribunal during the verdict.

Comments from Sayedee's lawyers were not immediately available, but he had previously denied the allegations and said the charges were politically motivated. He has 60 days to appeal.

Jamaat-e-Islami was enforcing a nationwide general strike on Thursday to denounce the trial and to demand Sayedee be freed.

He is the third defendant to be convicted of crimes against humanity since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government initiated the tribunal in 2010.

In the first verdict in January, the tribunal sentenced former Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad to death on similar charges.

Another Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah was sentenced to life in prison in February for atrocities during the war.

Another seven top leaders of Jamaat are on trial for their alleged role in the atrocities during the war.

International human rights organisations also questioned fairness of the trial, referring to the disappearance of a witness for Sayedee.

Bangladesh says the 1971 war left 3 million people dead, 200,000 women raped and forced millions to take shelter in neighbouring India.

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Spain's Bankia posts $A24.57bn loss

Bailed-out Spanish banking giant Bankia suffered a loss of $A24.57 billion in 2012. Source: AAP

BAILED-OUT Spanish banking giant Bankia suffered a loss of 19 billion euros ($A24.57 billion) in 2012, it said in an earnings statement.

Bankia, which has become a symbol of Spain's banking collapse, said the losses were in line with its expectations after the Spanish government nationalised it in May.

In December it received 18 billion euros in eurozone aid to restructure it.

Bankia's chairman Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri said that despite the net losses of 19.193 billion euros the bank's financial situation was in line with its aims.

"We have a very solvent balance sheet. We are a tremendously solvent and solid entity," he told a news conference.

The European Commission approved the payment of 18 billion euros to rescue Bankia, obliging it to restructure by closing branches and cutting jobs.

The bank has announced it will close a third of its branches. Unions say the restructuring will lead to 4,500 job cuts.

A long recession brought on by the collapse of a building boom in 2008 left Bankia saddled with unpaid loans.

In Thursday's earnings report BFA-Bankia, the financial group that includes the troubled lender, said it made provisions of 26.8 billion euros in 2012.

It offloaded 22.3 billion euros' worth of bad property-linked assets to a "bad bank" set up to purge the bad loans of Spain's banks. Of this figure, 19.5 billion were from Bankia.

After the government stepped in to rescue Bankia by nationalising it, Spain then had to seek a broader bailout for its whole banking sector from the eurozone.

The recession has driven Spain's unemployment rate to 26 per cent.

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WA Labor campaign launch venue cancelled

WESTERN Australia's Labour Day holiday seemed like good timing for the opposition's general election launch, but the party has been left looking for a venue after its booking was cancelled.

WA Labor said on its Facebook page it had confirmed a booking with Catholic Fremantle university Notre Dame for March 4, but were advised on Tuesday that a mistake had been made.

The university said it had taken the booking in January, but later realised it was "inconsistent" with its policies concerning the hosting of party-political events during election campaigns.

The ALP's Facebook entry was posted around the same time Opposition Leader Mark McGowan was taking part in a second debate with Premier Colin Barnett at an Australian Christian Lobby function, where the two leaders touched on weighty topics including abortion, prostitution, gay marriage and euthanasia.

Their views took up a little breakfast radio airtime on Wednesday, but were overshadowed by the threat of the then-category four cyclone Rusty off the Pilbara coast, which was downgraded to a category three as it made landfall near the tiny community of Pardoo.

The afternoon airwaves were dominated by a fast-moving bushfire on Perth's northeastern fringes, and with Mr Barnett in the state's far south for much of the day, the politicians didn't get much of a look-in with local media.

Before flying to Albany - where he recently copped flak for using a government jet to attend events including a campaign "kick off" for local Liberal candidate Trevor Cosh - Mr Barnett received some coverage for a planned $20 million expansion of Joondalup Arena in Perth's northern suburbs.

The Liberals also promised $5 million to refurbish and maintain Goldfields Art Centre in Kalgoorlie, which if implemented would ensure the world's third-largest mining conference, Diggers and Dealers, stayed in the Goldfields town.

The party also pledged a $12 million upgrade to Great Eastern Highway between Greenmount and Mundaring to improve safety on the deadly road.

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Farm chemical laws gets nod from committee

A COMMITTEE has recommended the Australian government pass a bill to improve the efficiency of rules around farming and veterinary chemicals.

The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives in November and was designed to tighten up regulations and provide greater public certainty about the safety of chemicals approved for use in Australia.

But the bill was referred to a Senate committee after industry raised concerns about whether it would have any real effect.

After reviewing the bill and hearing from witnesses at a public hearing, the Senate committee on Wednesday recommended the federal government pass the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation Amendment Bill 2012.

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Car fringe benefits taxes to be reviewed

A COMMITTEE has called on the Australian government to review the car fringe benefits taxation arrangement.

The recommendation, handed down by the Senate Economics References Committee on Wednesday, relates to the tax benefits enjoyed by employers who provide their staff with cars for work.

In June 2011 the government passed legislation that changed the formula for calculating car FBT to address "perverse incentives" for more car use, particularly during peak hour commuting.

During debate on the bill, it was agreed the committee would look at the changes and report back to the Senate.

The committee drew no significant conclusions from its review, noting it was difficult to examine the impact of the amendments less than 18 months after they were made.

The sole recommendation was that the government commence a review of the car FBT framework in 2015.

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Blaze in illegal Indian market kills 13

A blaze in an illegal market in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata has killed at least 19 people. Source: AAP

A FIRE swept through a six-storey building housing illegal shops in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, killing 19 people who were unable to flee the inferno, local officials said.

Hundreds of firefighters gathered at the scene of the blaze at the Surya Sen market near the railway station in the centre of the former colonial capital, where decrepit and poorly maintained buildings are vulnerable to fires.

A total of 38 people who were sleeping in the building when the blaze broke out at around 4am (0930 AEDT) were rescued. Many have been transferred to two city hospitals for treatment.

"We found dozens of people lying unconscious with severe burn injuries on the floors of shops and some died of suffocation in their sleep," state fire services director Gopal Bhattacharya told AFP, adding that 19 corpses had been recovered.

The unlicensed shops clustered in the building were selling plastics, papers, and foam products which created acrid black smoke that impeded rescue efforts and led to the high death toll.

"The fire has been brought under control," Bhattacharya told AFP around midday.

City mayor Sovan Chatterjee said the building had "illegal construction and the shops inside the building were opened without permission of the civic body".

Firefighters said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of the blaze, but short-circuits caused by old and faulty wiring are frequently the source.

In March 2010 a huge blaze on one of Kolkata's most exclusive streets killed 43 while in late 2011 90 people were killed when a fire engulfed a city hospital.

In the 2010 fire on Park Street which shocked the city, many people fell or jumped to their deaths after finding that a top-floor fire exit leading to the roof had been locked.

The chief minister of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, visited the scene of the fire.

She expressed regret at the endemic flouting of fire regulations and building norms in the densely populated city of 14 million.

"Kolkata is a more then 300-year-old city with nearly eight lakhs (800,000) premises. Many illegal constructions have come up over the years," she said as she announced an inquiry and compensation for the victims.

The families of the dead will receive 200,000 rupees ($A3,600).

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Two US sailors admit Okinawa rape: reports

TWO US sailors have admitted raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa last October, news reports say.

Skyler Dozierwalker, 23, and Christopher Browning, 24, attacked the woman in central Okinawa during a brief trip to the semi-tropical island chain.

Dozierwalker told Naha District Court he committed the crime, while Browning also admitted the charges but denied having conspired with the petty officer in advance, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said.

Okinawa is the reluctant host of more than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in Japan. The rape provoked outrage and led to a nationwide curfew on all American military personnel in Japan.

Despite the curfew, misconduct involving US servicemen, much of it drunken, has continued to fuel anti-US sentiment in communities with bases.

The attack came amid already high tensions in Okinawa, which saw demonstrations last year against the US deployment to the island of Osprey aircraft. Local activists charge they have a poor safety record.

In 1995 the gang rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by US servicemen sparked mass protests resulting in a US-Japan agreement to reduce the huge US military presence on the Okinawan chain.

Washington sees the island as a vital strategic base in a region that is increasingly wary of the power of China's rising military.

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Gympie flood peak revised up

GYMPIE'S expected flood peak has been revised up by a metre, placing extra businesses and several homes in the southeast Queensland town at risk.

The forecast level of 19 metres is one metre lower than the level reached almost exactly a month ago when more than 100 premises went under.

Mayor Ron Dyne says the adjustment makes a big difference.

"At 18 metres we were looking at around about 34 businesses. We're probably now going to have to go up to around 40 or 45, and probably three to four houses at this stage," Mr Dyne told AAP.

"We began at 12 metres when we started on this latest journey, then it became 16 metres, then 18, so I just hope 19 metres is the last so we can get on with life."

Mr Dyne said after the second flood in a month, townsfolk are a bit water shy.

"They're a resilient crowd but they're jack of it. The retail side of things aren't flash anyway; then you get four floods in one year and two in a month and some businesses have had to empty their shops every time."

Panel beater Noel Edmonds moved back into his River Road workshop just two weeks ago after it was swamped by two metres of water last month.

Now he is evacuating again.

"It's catastrophic. We've just had enough," he told AAP, saying he couldn't afford to move the business.

Weather bureau hydrologist Jess Carey says once the Mary River peaks, it should drop back to normal pretty quickly.

"By late Thursday it should be almost back to normal," he told AAP.

Forecaster Geoff Doueal says the rain should start easing on Wednesday, although some falls up to 100mm are possible between Gladstone and Bowen.

"As far as the rain goes, you'd have to think the worst is over for Gympie. There'll be an easing trend over the next couple of days," he said.

The threat to Bundaberg has also passed, Mr Doueal said.

"We think Bundaberg will have some scattered showers, with about 10mm tomorrow."

A woman who got lost in flooded bushland north of Brisbane for 16 hours was found on Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old, who had been grocery shopping, was stopped by floodwaters not far from her home near Pomona on Monday afternoon.

She tried to walk home along a bush track with her shopping bags but became lost in the leech-infested scrub.

Search and rescue teams caught up with her just a few kilometres from her home.

A 77-year-old man drowned on Monday afternoon after being swept from his car in floodwaters near Kilcoy, northeast of Brisbane.

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S&P downgrades Rio outlook

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded miner Rio Tinto's outlook to negative from stable. Source: AAP

A SHARP jump in global miner Rio Tinto's debt has led to a downgrade in its credit outlook by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

S&P downgraded the miner's outlook to negative from stable.

It affirmed Rio's A minus credit rating.

The company's reported gross debt of $26.7 billion at the end of calendar 2012 was up from $21.5 billion at the start, while cash flow had fallen, S&P said.

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Japan passes $A138bn stimulus budget

JAPAN'S parliament has passed a $US142 billion ($A138.69 billion) extra budget that forms a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to tackle the deflation that has dogged the economy for years.

The package squeaked by the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament less than two weeks after the lower house approved the spending.

The measure is part of a wider stimulus package announced by Abe's cabinet in January, after his Liberal Democratic Party swept December elections on a pledge to revive the world's third-largest economy.

The new money will be earmarked for various economy-boosting measures, including job growth, upgrading Japan's ageing infrastructure, and rebuilding disaster-struck areas hit by the 2011 quake-tsunami.

Plugging a public-pension financing gap was among the other spending measures.

The total package could top 20 trillion yen if spending by local governments and the private sector was included.

Japan's economy shrank for a third straight quarter between October and December, leaving it mired in recession largely due to weak export demand, and stirring fears about its ability to cement a recovery.

Abe has pledged to pull Japan out of years of falling prices, which dampen demand and business investment, through big spending and aggressive monetary easing.

He has pressured the Bank of Japan for such policy measures, with a new central bank chief set to be nominated as early as this week.

The hawkish prime minister has also said he would boost defence spending. Japan is embroiled in territorial disputes with China and South Korea, while an unpredictable North Korea jangled regional nerves earlier this month with its third nuclear test.

But the big spending plans have stoked fears over Japan's already tattered fiscal health, the worst among industrialised nations, with public debt standing at more than twice the size of the economy.

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Woman scales Mt Everest twice within days

A NEPALESE woman mountaineer has been recognised by Guinness World Records for climbing Mount Everest twice in the same climbing season.

Nepal's Tourism Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati handed over the certificate issued by Guinness World Records to 29-year-old Chhurim who scaled the 8850-metre summit on May 12, 2012, and again a week later on May 19.

Chhurim, who like most Nepalese Sherpas use only one name, said she plans to climb other high peaks in the future.

Everest has been climbed by nearly 4000 climbers but women climbers make only a small portion of that number, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

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Ecstasy haul on Sydney's eastern beaches

A MAN found asleep in his car with the engine running has led police to an alleged haul of nearly 1000 ecstasy tablets on Sydney's eastern beaches.

At about 10am (AEDT) on Monday police were called to Kingsford after concerns were raised for a man seen asleep in the driver's seat of a hire car.

Police said that when the 32-year-old woke up he tried to drive away but was restrained by officers who then searched the car and found 984 ecstasy tablets.

The man was arrested and later returned a alcohol breath analysis reading of 0.060, police said.

He has been charged with supplying a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs, supply prohibited drugs, possessing prohibited drugs and low range PCA (Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol).

He was refused bail and will appear at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

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Man drowns in Qld floodwaters

A MAN has drowned after being swept from his car near Kilcoy northeast of Brisbane as more torrential rain pounds southern Queensland.

Police say the man became trapped as he drove along Mary Smokes Creek Road, inland from the Glasshouse Mountains about 4pm (AEST) on Friday.

He was washed from his car.

Heavy rain has been predicted over a 600km stretch of Queensland coast, from Gladstone to the NSW border.

The weather bureau says widespread falls of 100mm are likely with even higher totals forecast in some areas through Tuesday.

In Bundaberg, which is still recovering from devastating floods in the wake of cyclone Oswald, falls of up to 200mm are possible on Tuesday with the rain likely to last until Wednesday.

Flash flooding alerts have been issued for a number of areas including Gladstone, Gympie, Kingaroy, Hervey Bay and Fraser Island.

Flooding is also possible on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts as well as Brisbane and Ipswich.

The town of Gympie is expecting a minor flood peak of six metres on Monday night.

Big swells have closed beaches, carving out three metre sand cliffs on Surfers Paradise Beach. Stairs and walkways have also been ripped out of the dunes.

A newborn baby was flown to Gold Coast Hospital after his mother gave birth as flood waters rose rapidly in northern NSW.

The 37-year-old woman gave birth to the boy about 4.40am (AEST) on Monday before emergency crews could reach her property at Palmvale, near the NSW-Queensland border.

SES and swiftwater rescue crews eventually reached her by boat but a rescue chopper from Queensland was called amid fears floodwaters would keep rising.

"They are both doing well and travelled in a stable condition," CareFlight paramedic Clint Peters said in a statement.

The baby boy was named Sabre.

In Brisbane's south, swift water rescue teams saved 16 children on Monday morning after their bus was trapped by flash flooding.

Three crews ferried the children to safety in inflatable boats.

On Monday afternoon Brisbane's Flood Operation Centre began releasing water from Wivenhoe and Somerset dams, the city's main water supplies.

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Qantas director quits amid Italian probe

Qantas director Corinne Namblard has resigned after becoming caught up in a corruption probe. Source: AAP

QANTAS director Corrine Namblard has resigned from the airline's board after becoming caught up in an Italian corruption investigation.

Ms Namblard denies any wrongdoing in relation to the investigation into the privatisation of Siena airport, but was stepping down in the best interests of Qantas and herself while it continued.

"Ms Namblard was especially concerned to ensure that the continuing media focus on the current Italian proceedings did not distract Qantas from implementing its strategic imperatives nor detract from the achievements that Qantas has had in meeting the challenges to its business," Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford said in a statement on Monday.

"The Qantas board appreciates those sentiments.

"It is also apt to note that Ms Namblard strenuously denies any wrongdoing in relation to the matters which are the subject of the Italian proceedings, and the Qantas Board has no reason whatsoever to doubt that position."

Ms Namblard, a French financier who joined the Qantas board in 2011, has been questioned in Italy as part of an investigation into alleged bid rigging and the Tuscan Monte dei Paschi di Seina bank.

She reportedly was asked to by Italian investigators to provide evidence about her involvement in the privatisation of Siena airport in 2007.

She was chief executive of Galaxy Fund, the winning bidder, at the time.

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Bangladesh Islamists want bloggers killed

BANGLADESH police fired live rounds in clashes with Islamists demanding the execution of bloggers they accuse of blasphemy, killing at least three protesters and injuring dozens.

Eighteen of the injured suffered bullet wounds in the unrest at Singair in the central district of Manikganj, as the Muslim-majority nation was hit by an Islamist-enforced strike.

Khalilur Rahman, residential medical officer of Singair Hospital, told AFP three young men died of bullet wounds there.

"We've sent 18 other bullet-hit injured people for better treatment to Dhaka. The condition of three people is very critical," he added.

Mizanur Rahman, deputy police chief of Manikganj, said clashes broke out after up to 3,000 protesters, including students from religious schools known as madrassas and supporters of the main opposition party, barricaded a highway.

"They attacked us with machetes, sticks, bricks and firearms from three sides when we tried to clear the barricade. We fired back in self-defence," he told AFP, adding that at least 40 people were injured.

"The imam of the local mosque used a loudspeaker to rally the protesters. They were shouting slogans for the execution of the bloggers, accusing them of being non-believers and atheists," Rahman said.

The violence broke out as 12 small Islamic parties, backed by the largest Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, called a nationwide strike in protest at Friday's police action against Islamists.

Four people were killed, three in police shooting, and about 200 were injured during Friday's protests by tens of thousands of Islamists, demanding the hanging of bloggers whom they say blasphemed Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

Tensions have risen over allegedly anti-Islamic blog posts by Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death last week near his home in Dhaka.

In recent weeks Haider and fellow bloggers had launched massive protests demanding a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the execution of its leaders for alleged war crimes in the 1971 independence struggle against Pakistan.

Since Haider's death, Bangladeshi social media has been flooded with his alleged blog posts and with those by other bloggers mocking Islam, triggering protests by a number of Islamic groups and clerics.

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Howard takes a swipe at independent MPs

FORMER prime minister John Howard hopes federal independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor will lose their seats at the next election.

The two MPs, who represent traditionally conservative electorates in regional NSW, sided with Labor after the 2010 election and effectively handed them power.

"I hope both Oakeshott and Windsor lose their seats, because the political predisposition of those two electorates was not to support the current government, but rather to support the opposition," Mr Howard told the Nine Network on Sunday.

"They didn't take any notice of that, and I'd like to see both of those seats come back to the National Party."

The former prime minister said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had "enormous ability".

If anybody other than Mr Abbott had been leading the Liberal Party in the past three years, Kevin Rudd would have remained leader of the Labor Party and would have won the last election with a comfortable majority, Mr Howard said.

"That, in my opinion, is why Abbott's position is so strong."

He also dismissed suggestions that Mr Abbott could be replaced by former leader Malcolm Turnbull.

"I don't believe for a moment that the Liberal Party will be led at the next election by anybody other than Tony Abbott," he said.

But Mr Howard said there was a "real possibility" that the Labor Party would replace Julia Gillard with Mr Rudd as its leader.

"In the end, leadership is determined by the laws of arithmetic," he said.

"Even the most popular leaders can be removed if people think they're going to do better under another one."

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China enjoys traditional Lantern Festival

CHINA celebrated the traditional Lantern Festival on Sunday with fireworks and food, as millions of migrant workers flowed back to cities and smog blanketed a large part of the country.

The Lantern Festival formally marks the end of celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year period, 15 days after it began, and is celebrated by viewing lanterns and setting off fireworks, among other activities.

The Ministry of Railways estimated around 6.4 million people would make train journeys on Sunday.

Many of China's migrant workers from rural areas delay their return to their workplaces beyond the official public holiday, which lasts only a week.

Air pollution in the Chinese capital of Beijing spiked higher on Sunday as more traffic and firework blasts caused smog, China Central Television reported, as local officials urged people to limit the amount of fireworks they set off.

The government issued a smog alert on Sunday for central and eastern parts of China, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Heavy air pollution in recent weeks has been blamed on coal-burning and vehicle exhaust emissions.

In China's commercial hub of Shanghai, worshippers thronged the Jing'an Buddhist Temple, burning incense and tossing coins into a giant urn to make wishes for the coming year.

Shoppers snapped up dumplings made from glutinous rice with sweet or savoury fillings, called "tang yuan", traditionally eaten on the holiday.

"The pork ones sold out early. We can't make enough," said a clerk at a branch of the famous Shanghai dumpling chain Wang Jia Sha, who offered crab meat or sweet sesame paste alternatives.

Outside Beijing in Yuxian, a rural part of Hebei province, residents marked the festival by holding a parade with a dragon dance and releasing red paper lanterns like small hot-air balloons into the sky.

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Centre-left are favourites as Italy votes

ITALIANS fed up with austerity went to the polls on Sunday in elections likely to be won by the centre-left, as Europe held its breath for signs of fresh instability in the eurozone's third largest economy.

The elections are Italy's first since billionaire tycoon Silvio Berlusconi was ousted in 2011 during a wave of financial market panic and replaced by former top European commissioner Mario Monti.

The most likely winner is the Democratic Party and its leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who says he will stick to reforms but also do more for growth as Italy endures its longest recession in 20 years.

"I am voting for the Democratic Party. I don't want us to end up like Greece," said Alessandro, a 63-year-old manager, as he cast his ballot in Milan.

But the scandal-tainted Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister who is also a defendant in two trials for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, could come a close second.

In third place, according to the polls, could be a new protest party led by comedian turned activist Beppe Grillo who has channelled growing social discontent and anger at traditional politicians.

"Italy votes in uncertainty," read a headline in La Stampa daily, while the Il Fatto Quotidiano said: "The undecided voters will decide it".

Polls will close at 2100 GMT on Sunday (0800 Monday AEDT) and open again for a second day of voting at 0600 GMT (1700 AEDT) on Monday, closing at 1400 GMT (0100 Tuesday AEDT).

Exit polls are expected immediately after the close and preliminary official results will begin trickling through later on Monday and perhaps into Tuesday.

Officials have called on Italians to vote, amid fears that general disenchantment with politics could mean a much lower turnout than usual.

Forty-seven million Italians are eligible to vote.

Opinion polls indicate the result may not give Bersani alone a strong enough majority to rule and he may have to seek an alliance with Monti, which could bring the economics professor back into government.

A coalition between Monti and Bersani would not be simple because of the differences between the free-marketeer Monti and a small far-left party that is already in coalition with Bersani.

Berlusconi will also continue to be a powerful force. He has risen sharply in the polls with a promise to reimburse an unpopular property tax.

He has also won votes by blaming a "hegemonic" Germany for Italy's woes.

Candidates were supposed to stay silent on Saturday on the eve of the vote but Berlusconi apparently broke the rules by speaking to journalists.

In an interview with Greek television that was reported by Italian media, Berlusconi said, "I contradicted the lords of austerity who are now trying to get rid of me."

He said Monti was "subservient and always on his knees in front of Mrs Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel) and now she does not want to lose him".

"I would give her a run for her money," he said.

Berlusconi was forced out in November 2011 after a parliamentary revolt, a myriad of sex scandals and a wave of panic on financial markets.

The sober Monti, a former economics professor, has brought the markets to heel and restored Italy's image as a key player in the eurozone debate.

Italy is the euro area's third largest economy after Germany and France and a major exporter.

While its debt is sky-high at around 120 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) - second only to Greece's - its public deficit is under control.

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