5,000 have fled Philippines unrest

ALMOST 5,000 Filipinos have fled the Malaysian state of Sabah since security forces launched an offensive to root out Islamic invaders loyal to an obscure Philippine sultan, a government agency says.

The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Saturday it had recorded 4,983 adults and children who had arrived in the south of the archipelago after fleeing Sabah due to the ongoing fighting.

Paslur Abdullah, executive director of the government centre in charge of caring for the new arrivals, said the total was likely to be higher as many would have returned without registering.

"They arrive on small vessels. Some of them disembark without registering and they are met by relatives. We cannot detain them," he said, adding that it was not know if any of the invaders were among those fleeing.

The Filipinos began arriving in early March after clashes broke out between Malaysian forces and followers of the self-declared Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III who claims Sabah as his territory.

Some 200 followers of Kiram, some of them armed, arrived in Sabah in February in an attempt to claim the Malaysian state for the sultanate, reviving a centuries-old territorial row.

The incursion and a Malaysian counter-assault has left more than 60 militants dead along with 10 security personnel, according to Malaysian authorities, and strained relations with Manila.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has previously expressed concern that the unrest in Sabah might displace the estimated 800,000 Filipinos working there.

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Mandela spends third day in hospital

Nelson Mandela spent his third day in hospital after making "steady progress". Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela was on Saturday spending his third day in hospital after making "steady progress" for a recurring lung infection, the latest health scare for the nonagenarian anti-apartheid icon.

Messages of concern for the ailing 94-year-old, one of the towering figures of modern history, have poured in since his admission late Wednesday and President Jacob Zuma's spokesman gave an upbeat report on Friday.

"He was in good spirits, he had a full breakfast, and the doctors report that he's making steady progress," said Mac Maharaj.

"He sat up and had his breakfast in bed."

There was no update yet on Saturday from Mandela's doctors on his condition or details on how long he would remain at the undisclosed hospital, he said.

Mandela's recent health troubles have triggered an outpouring of prayers but have also seen South Africans come to terms with the mortality of the revered Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The former president is idolised in his home nation, where he is seen as the architect of South Africa's peaceful transition from white-minority ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.

Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994, he remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.

It is the second time this month that he has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for check-ups on March 9.

That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December, when Mandela was treated for another lung infection and underwent gallstone surgery.

He was diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime and has long had problems with his lungs. He has also had treatment for prostate cancer and has suffered stomach ailments.

Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told public broadcaster SABC that "Tata (father) is doing well".

"He's responding very well to treatment," said Madikizela-Mandela, who attended a Friday church service in Soweto where the congregation prayed for Mandela.

But officials said doctors' reports of Mandela's steady progress should be taken in context.

"Yes, indeed it is good news but we need to be cautious, bear in mind his age," said presidential spokesman Maharaj, who was a political prisoner with Mandela at Robben Island jail off the coast of Cape Town.

The name and location of the hospital where Mandela is being treated have not been disclosed to allow his medical team to focus on their work and to shield the family from the intense media interest.

In the past he has been hospitalised at a clinic in Pretoria.

Away from the public eye, Mandela has grown increasingly frail.

His December hospital stay was his longest since he walked free from jail in 1990.

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Karzai in Qatar to discuss Taliban office

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai travelled to Qatar on Saturday to discuss Taliban militants opening an office in the Gulf state for peace talks that could end more than a decade of war, his office said.

Until earlier this year, Karzai was strongly opposed to the Islamist extremists having a meeting venue outside Afghanistan as he feared that his government would be frozen out of any negotiations.

The militants refuse to have direct contact with Karzai, saying he is a puppet of the United States, which has supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the Taliban in 2001.

But, with NATO-led combat troops due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Karzai agreed to the proposed Taliban office in Qatar and is expected to firm up the plan with the emir of Qatar on Sunday.

Any future peace talks still face numerous hurdles before they begin, including confusion over who would represent the Taliban and Karzai's insistence that his appointees are at the centre of negotiations.

"We will discuss the peace process, of course, and the opening of an office for the Taliban in Qatar," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said before Karzai left Kabul with several senior members of his government.

"If we want to have talks to bring peace to Afghanistan, the main side must be the Afghan government's representatives -- the High Peace Council, which has members from all the country's ethnic and political backgrounds."

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Pope to celebrate first Easter vigil

Pope Francis has prayed for peace in the Middle East and stronger Christian-Muslim dialogue. Source: AAP

POPE Francis is to celebrate his first Easter vigil on Saturday after praying for peace in the Middle East and stronger Christian-Muslim dialogue at a torch-lit ceremony for Good Friday.

The newly-elected Argentine Pope will preside over a mass at St Peter's Basilica, baptising four adult converts to Catholicism - an Albanian, an Italian, a Russian and a US national.

The ceremony will wrap up a series of intensive preparations leading up to Easter Sunday - the holiest day in the Christian calendar - by the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years.

Tens of thousands of people are expected at mass on Sunday when the pope will issue a special blessing from the same balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he appeared on the night of his election.

Francis marked Good Friday with a traditional ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome, presiding over the re-enactment of Jesus Christ's last hours.

"Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did," said Francis, who followed the ceremony from under a canopy overlooking the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre.

The Pope also referred to a visit to Lebanon last year by Benedict, who stunned Catholic followers by resigning last month at the age of 85 saying he was too weak mentally and physically to continue.

"We saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and so many others," the 76-year-old Pope said.

At the Colosseum ceremony in Rome, prayers read out during the ceremony were written by a group of Lebanese young people who voiced hope for a Middle East "torn apart by injustice and conflicts".

The Vatican has voiced concern over the fate of Christian minorities in many parts of the Middle East and the rise of radical Islam, as well as calling for an end to conflict in the region.

Francis began the Easter season on Holy Thursday by washing the feet of 12 young prisoners including two Muslim inmates - in an unprecedented new take on an ancient pre-Easter ritual.

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Suicide bomber kills 10 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber has targeted a senior Pakistani police commander in Peshawar, killing six people. Source: AAP

A SUICIDE bomber on Friday targeted a senior Pakistani police commander near the US consulate in Peshawar, killing at least 10 people, including two women, officials said.

It was the latest in a string of attacks as the country prepares to hold historic elections on May 11. The vote will mark the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan, which has been governed by four military rulers.

A security official said Abdul Majeed Marwat, commander of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, survived the attack and was taken to a military hospital with "only scratches".

Around 28 other people were wounded in the blast, medics said.

"It was a suicide attack, the target was the FC commander," police official Arshad Khan told AFP.

Witnesses said the bomber was on foot and blew himself up when the convoy of the police chief stopped at a military checkpost in the busy cantonment area of Peshawar.

The checkpost is about 300 metres from the heavily guarded American consulate, which has itself been the target of attacks in the past, an AFP reporter said.

"We have received six dead bodies, including two women. Eleven people were also injured," Sayed Jameel Shah, a spokesman for Peshawar's main Lady Reading Hospital, told AFP.

Another four bodies and 17 other wounded were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, a senior security official told AFP.

Among the dead were two soldiers and one member of the FC, while the wounded were a mixture of civilians and military personnel, officials said.

The blast damaged two motorcycles and four cars, including Marwat's vehicle. Splashes of blood lay on the ground and an AFP reporter saw a pair of legs, presumed to be that of the bomber.

Umar Din, 21, a rickshaw driver, said the force of the explosion flipped his rickshaw onto the ground.

"I came out and saw my passenger bleeding," he told AFP. "I picked up the passenger on my shoulder and ran to a safer place, it was horrible, people were bleeding and crying," he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistani police, soldiers and paramilitary units are frequently targeted by domestic Taliban, who have been fighting an insurgency since July 2007.

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Mandela spends second day in hospital

South Africa's Nelson Mandela is said to be responding positively to treatment for a lung infection. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela was spending a second day in hospital Friday after responding positively to treatment for a lung infection, the latest health scare for the revered anti-apartheid icon.

South African presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said there was no update on the condition of the frail 94-year-old, who was admitted to hospital just before midnight on Wednesday.

President Jacob Zuma sought Thursday to reassure South Africans that Mandela was in good hands as his doctors reported some progress in his treatment.

"The country must not panic, Madiba is fine," Zuma told the BBC, referring to South Africa's first black president by his clan name.

"The doctors advise that former president Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," Zuma's office said in a short statement Thursday.

The Nobel peace laureate was conscious when he was admitted, Maharaj, who was in prison with Mandela on Robben Island, had told AFP.

It is the second time this month that Mandela has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for checkups on March 9.

That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December.

"In Zulu, when someone passes away who is very old, people say he or she has gone home. I think those are some of the things we should be thinking about," Zuma said.

Mandela is idolised in his home nation, where he is seen as the architect of the country's peaceful transition from a white-minority ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.

Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994 he remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.

While Mandela the symbol bestrides South African politics, the man has long since exited the political stage and for the country's large young population he is a figure from another era.

He has not appeared in public since South Africa's football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring from public life.

Still, his nearly life-long struggle against apartheid resonates.

"We are deeply concerned with Nelson Mandela's health - he is a hero, I think, to all of us," US President Barack Obama said.

"When we think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the person's name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. So we wish him all the very best," Obama added.

"He is as strong physically as he has been in character and in leadership over so many decades. Hopefully he will come out of this latest challenge."

The name and location of the hospital where Mandela is being treated were not disclosed, to allow the medical team to focus on their work and to shield the family from the intense media interest.

"We know they are going through a difficult time and we want to ensure that their privacy is maintained," said Maharaj.

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China orders stepped-up scrutiny on Apple

APPLE is to face "strengthened supervision" from China's consumer watchdogs, state media reported Friday, as the US computer giant is hit by a barrage of negative publicity and court cases in the country.

China is Apple's second-biggest market, and its iPhones and other products -- many of them made in the country -- are highly popular, although it faces fierce competition from South Korea's Samsung.

State media have carried a series of attacks against Apple, with the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, running critical items for five consecutive days over alleged double standards in customer service and returns policies.

Apple has denied those accusations in statements to Chinese media but the condemnations have continued unabated, with the newspaper urging consumers to "strike away Apple's unparalleled arrogance" in one of its commentaries.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has asked trading standards bodies across the country to step up "contract supervision" on electronics manufacturers "such as Apple", the People's Daily said Friday.

"Local governments are required to... investigate and punish illegal activities in accordance with the law," it quoted the SAIC as saying in an official note.

An SAIC spokesman who declined to be named confirmed the existence of the document to AFP but declined to disclose details.

The People's Daily articles follow reports on state broadcaster CCTV, but users of China's Twitter-like weibos have been split, with some backing Apple and saying state-owned Chinese firms deserved more criticism for poor service.

Speculation has mounted that it is an organised campaign, and columnist and microblogger Lian Peng said he bought a new iPad Friday "on purpose" and will "seriously consider buying an iPhone 5".

"I don't fancy electronic items. But I feel embarrassed if I don't purchase after seeing the bombardment of advertising jointly staged by CCTV and the People's Daily," he wrote.

Kai-Fu Lee compared current events to 2009, when he was the head of Google China and the US search engine firm suffered state media potshots followed by official penalties.

Google effectively shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010 after months of tensions with the government over censorship, and now sends mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong.

But any underlying motive behind the attacks against Apple remains unclear.

China and the US are embroiled in a series of rows over technology and cybersecurity.

No-one from Apple's China office was available for comment on Friday.

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More victims feared in Vic wall collapse

Police are calling for witnesses to a wall collapse on Melbourne's Swanston Street. Source: AAP

A TEENAGER sacrificed his own life by falling on his sister to try and save her when a wall collapsed on them in a Melbourne street, it's been reported.

Students Alexander and Bridget Jones were walking on Swanston Street in Carlton on Thursday when a section of brick wall collapsed on them.

Alexander, 19, was killed, while Bridget, 18, suffered critical injuries and is fighting for her life in hospital.

A man who cared for Bridget until the ambulance arrived told the Nine Network he believes Alexander's actions saved his sister's life.

"I personally believe that the young man who fell on her and subsequently died is the reason why the young lady is still alive," he said.

The Jones family have told the Nine Network they believe Alexander sacrificed his own life when put himself in harm's way to save his sister.

Alexander is a former Montmorency Secondary College school captain who spoke of becoming Prime Minister, according to reports.

Bridget has undergone surgery and remains in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Police believe there are more victims of the deadly wall collapse who had fled the scene out of fear before receiving treatment.

The wall collapsed as winds of up to 115km/h swept through the city.

North Melbourne resident Very Impressive, who changed his name by deed poll in 1992, said he rushed to help clear bricks after he heard the "almighty crash".

Mr Impressive said he used his jacket to Bridget warm her warm and spoke to her to try and keep her calm and aware of what was going on.

"We got more of the wall off them and we discovered there was a young man fallen against the young woman," he said.

Detective Senior Constable Brooke Manley said police want to speak to anyone who was injured in the incident, helped with the rescue or who saw it happen, including passengers on passing trams or people who recorded video footage.

"Our advice from the fire brigade is that there were other people injured," Det Manley said.

"Those people have left the scene through fear of remaining, being that they weren't entirely sure what the incident was, whether it was a wall collapsing or something on a larger scale."

Premier Denis Napthine said Planning Minister Matthew Guy would work with the building commission to examine similar walls around the state.

"It's been a free-standing wall for some time and we need to just make sure those sort of walls that are around Melbourne, around Victoria, are secure and safe," said Dr Napthine.

"This was a terrible, terrible, tragedy and we need to do everything we can to make sure it never happens again."

Eyewitnesses said a swarm of people desperately dug through bricks and rubble to help those trapped beneath when the wall collapsed about 3pm (AEDT).

The collapse occurred at the old Carlton & United brewery site, which is now a vacant building lot owned by construction company Grocon.

The company said there was no construction work under way.

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Newman backflips on Cape York reforms

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has backflipped on indigenous welfare reforms in Cape York. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman has backflipped on a decision to end indigenous welfare reform trials in Cape York.

Earlier this week Mr Newman said the state couldn't justify the cost of the program, even though it had been successful, and wouldn't fund it after 2013.

He insisted he wasn't abandoning the scheme, which has received about $100 million from the federal and Queensland governments.

He wanted a wider, more cost-effective rollout.

The trials have run since 2008 in four indigenous communities - Coen, Aurukun, Mossman Gorge and Hope Vale.

Part of the trial sees welfare payments withheld from parents who don't make decisions in the best interests of their children.

The premier's office issued a brief statement on Thursday afternoon to say the Cabinet Budget Review Committee had met and decided that it would spend another $5.65 million to extend the trial.

"We will continue to work with all indigenous communities to improve social outcomes," Mr Newman said in the statement.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who was in Brisbane on Thursday, said he wanted to see the reforms expanded to communities across the country.

"I'm happy to work constructively with all levels of government to make sure this happens," he said.

An independent report on the reforms, released on Thursday, said positive changes in education and social behaviour had been seen in the trial communities.

But gains in housing and economic development had been limited.

School attendance jumped - from four per cent below the rate in similar communities in 2008, to six per cent above it in 2011.

But keeping students in high school remained a significant challenge, the report said.

Residents say they're working towards becoming better parents and managing their money better to meet the needs of their families.

"Compared to three years ago, children are happier, more active and eating healthier food," the report said.

"Life is on the way up generally."

Progress was being made to remove legal and financial barriers to indigenous home ownership.

The reforms had also led to the creation of 220 jobs but had had a limited impact on the number of residents dependent on welfare.

The report concluded there could be no quick fix to challenges that were decades in the making.

"However, the trial of welfare reform points to a level of progress that has rarely been evident in previous reform programs."

The trial was supposed to end last year but was extended to December 2013 after the federal government kicked in $11.8 million.

In total, about $100 million has been spent on the reforms by federal and state governments.

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Santos 'committed' to CSG rules

SANTOS says it's committed to environmental protection in the state's north amid claims the oil and gas company is exploiting the NSW government's "piecemeal approach" to CSG waste water regulations.

The Wilderness Society says Santos has been allowed to build two "dams" in the Pilliga forest in northern NSW, which would store chemical-laden water involved in CSG fracking.

The dams, which have a capacity of 600 million litres and will contain poisonous arsenic, lead, chromium, salts and petrochemicals, could overflow into creeks that run to the Namoi River, which feeds the Murray-Darling, the Wilderness Society says.

It says no plans have been developed to deal with a possible overflow of the "dams", despite Santos expecting to begin drilling at the site this year.

Wilderness society campaign manager Naomi Hogan told AAP on Thursday that the construction of the "dams" shows Santos is taking advantage of the state government's "piecemeal approach" to CSG waste water regulations.

"The arsenic and heavy metals in the water would certainly cause danger to any species that were to drink that water, any vegetation," she told AAP.

In a statement, Santos said it had "committed to the community that we will operate at a high standard", and would be building a new water treatment plant in the area.

"This will be the best solution from a long term environmental perspective and is a major component of our Pilliga rehabilitation", said Sam Crafter, Santos community and government relations manager.

"Investing in new purpose built facilities is the best way to ensure that the local environment is protected, and the Pilliga Forest is rehabilitated."

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Pistorius lawyers appeal bail restrictions

Oscar Pistorius' older brother pleaded not guilty to the culpable homicide of a female motorcyclist. Source: AAP

LAWYERS for Oscar Pistorius have told a South African court that the Paralympic hero, facing a murder trial for the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend, was not a flight risk as they sought to ease stringent bail conditions.

"Why would this athlete go to a country without extradition and go and hide?" lawyer Barry Roux asked the High Court.

"He is going nowhere."

Pistorius, 26, is challenging a raft of conditions including strict travel restrictions that he says are unfair and unwarranted.

The double amputee was not in court for the appeal, which is being opposed by the state.

After being freed on one million rand ($A103,906) bail last month, the sprint star was ordered to surrender his passport and told to inform a correctional officer if he has to travel outside Pretoria.

But Roux said the strict terms the sprinter faced were tantamount to "house arrest".

The lawyers also object to the random mandatory alcohol and drug tests that are part of the bail conditions.

The athlete known as "Blade Runner" is also banned from returning to his upmarket gated home in Pretoria where he shot Reeva Steenkamp.

He claims he mistook her for an intruder - though the state maintains that the shooting was premeditated murder.

His lawyers want Pistorius to regain access to his home.

They are also challenging a condition that says he can have contact only with three people on his housing estate.

"A blanket restriction on speaking to residents is unfair and will infringe the appellant's fair trial rights," they argue in court papers.

Pistorius "is entitled to consult with persons in the estate for purposes of his own defence", they added.

He became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in last year's Olympic Games in London.

His next court appearance is scheduled for June 4.

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Nelson Mandela back in hospital

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been readmitted to hospital. Source: AAP

FORMER South African president Nelson Mandela has been readmitted to hospital with a recurrent lung infection, according to an official statement from the president's office. It urges people to pray for the anti-apartheid hero.

The 94-year-old was hospitalised "due to the recurrence of his lung infection" just before midnight on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

It is the second time this month that the Nobel peace laureate has spent the night in hospital and follows a nearly three-week stay in December for the lung infection and for surgery to extract gallstones.

Earlier this month, he spent a night in hospital for a "scheduled medical checkup".

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," said the presidency.

Zuma wished "Madiba", as South Africa's first black president is fondly known at home, a quick recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," he said.

"We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery."

NeN Revered at home and abroad, Mandela has grown increasingly frail away from the public eye with several recent health scares.

His December admission was the Nobel Peace Prize winner's longest hospital stay since he walked free from 27 years of apartheid jail in 1990.

In early 2012, he was admitted for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate persistent abdominal pain.

His lungs have also been a longstanding source of health problems.

In 2011, he was hospitalised for two nights for an unnamed acute respiratory infection.

Mandela was diagnosed with early stage tuberculosis in 1988 while imprisoned during apartheid.

In February, Zuma said he had found Mandela "comfortable and relaxed" and watching television after paying him a visit at his Johannesburg home.

"He had the brightest smile," said Zuma.

Earlier this month, friend and renowned human rights lawyer George Bizos, who defended Mandela during his 1960s treason trial, said Mandela was aware of currents political events but had memory lapses.

"Unfortunately he sometimes forgets that one or two of them had passed on and has a blank face when you tell him that Walter Sisulu and some others are no longer with us," Bizos told radio's Eyewitness News.

Sisulu, the former leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) who was Mandela's political mentor, died nearly a decade ago.

At the beginning of last month, two of his granddaughters released a picture of a smiling Mandela sitting with his youngest great-grandson in an armchair.

It was taken to show his recovery after his December hospitalisation, they said while promoting their new reality show, Being Mandela.

Mandela stepped down after one term as president after taking power after 1994 polls that dealt the final death blow to decades of white minority rule.

He is adored in South Africa where he is seen as the symbol of the divided country's peaceful shift into democracy.

He has not appeared in public since South Africa's Football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring.

Rumours of his failing health or even death flare up periodically, forcing the government to issue assurances that all is well.

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Four hurt, house destroyed by Vic bushfire

UP to 12 properties are feared destroyed in a massive bushfire in Victoria's west but authorities are not confirming any numbers until they can go in and assess the damage.

The CFA has issued two emergency warnings about the 1300 hectare fire that has descended on the 700-strong community of Dereel, west of Melbourne, sending many residents fleeing for safety.

Four firefighters have been injured after their firetruck slammed into a tree in thick smoke.

People who fled their homes ahead of the fire have told of the destruction but fire authorities have been unable to confirm the extent of the damage.

A State Control Centre spokeswoman told AAP that there have been reports of 12 properties affected by the blaze but have been unable to confirm it while the fire still rages.

"We haven't been able to get in and assess the damage, so if they are homes or sheds, we just don't know yet," she said.

It's feared that a wind change on Wednesday night could send the blaze towards the community of Mount Mercer.

CFA chief officer Euan Ferguson said the injured firefighters were expected to be released from hospital on Wednesday night.

The volunteer members were hurt when their firetruck crashed into a tree in thick smoke and then became surrounded by fire.

"The firefighters enacted full crew protection and took shelter in their vehicle following correct procedures as per their training," Mr Ferguson said.

He said the crew should be commended for their actions and quick thinking under such difficult circumstances.

An emergency warning has also been issued for a separate bushfire at Hallston, east of Melbourne.

The CFA says the fast-moving, out-of-control fire is likely to threaten the communities of Hallston, Dickies Hill Junction, Allambee South and Berrys Creek.

The fire is burning across 312 hectares and creating spot fires a kilometre ahead of the front, the CFA says.

Earlier on Wednesday, crews at Officer battled a fire which was looming near a major electricity connection between the city and power generators in the Latrobe Valley.

Australian Energy Market Operator spokesman Joe Adamo said the fire did not pose a threat to Melbourne's electricity supply.

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Top cop admits Vic police links to bikies

Victoria Police has launched an internal probe after claims that bikies have infiltrated the force. Source: AAP

VICTORIAN police are being corrupted by outlaw motorcycle gangs because of criminality, naivety or stupidity by officers, the state's top officer says.

Chief Commissioner Ken Lay says there is intelligence that is of concern regarding the relationship between police officers and bikies.

"There are a number of current investigations ongoing. There is also intelligence that is causing both myself and my senior executive team considerable concern about some of the emerging issues," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"Often these issues are around criminality, often they're around naivety and often they are around stupidity.

"But in each case there is evidence of outlaw motorcycle gangs trying to reach inside Victoria Police and affecting the way we do our business."

Mr Lay said less than 10 police were currently being investigated for links to bikies.

But he conceded outlaw motorcycle gangs were good at what they did and understood what information they needed to get and how to get it.

Announcing a new taskforce had been set up within the professional standards command (formerly ethical standards department) to uncover corrupt police, Mr Lay said the threat might not be immediate, but he had to act to stamp it out now before it got worse.

"If we have members of Victoria Police that are compromised by these gangs it puts at risk the integrity of the organisation for a very long time," he said.

Two of Australia's leading outlaw bikies - Comanchero president and convicted drug trafficker Amad Malkoun and Bandidos sergeant-at-arms Toby Mitchell - have been cultivating police members, Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday.

Olivia Monaghan, a PhD candidate who is investigating police corruption, says it is critical that Victoria Police act quickly before corruption explodes within its ranks.

"Police officers rarely enter the force with a desire to engage in corruption, they're enticed into it and over the next few weeks and months the Victoria Police really need to look at taking a serious and active approach to changing their internal culture," she said.

"That is what history has shown us. It only takes a couple of rotten apples to ruin the orchard."

Mr Lay said he could not guarantee no more infiltration of police ranks by bikies had occurred.

"It would be silly for me to say that," he told the ABC's 730 Report.

Mr Lay was asked about the reappointment of a constable, Lauren Conte, who had allegedly inappropriately searched the force's LEAP database after forming a relationship with a bikie.

She is now back working in the police operations response unit, the ABC said.

Mr Lay said he had been given legal advice that he could not interfere with the decision on Ms Conte.

"It is true to say that I found the determination of the hearing officer quite perplexing," he said of the decision.

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Hong Kong stocks close 0.69% higher

HONG Kong stocks rose 0.69 per cent on Wednesday, in line with a regional rally following another record for the Dow Jones index on Wall Street.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 153.74 points to 22,464.82 on turnover of HK$63.36 billion ($A7.84 billion), with buying sentiment also supported by strong corporate results.

"The market may have a little bit more upside in the short run underpinned by quarter-end window dressing and a raft of mostly solid corporate earnings," Prudential Brokerage associate director Alvin Cheung told Dow Jones Newswires.

However, he added: "The Cyprus problem hasn't completely gone away and China's monetary stance is switching from easing to tightening."

Wall Street provided the catalyst for buying as the Dow rose 0.77 per cent to end at a new record, while the S&P 500 added 0.78 per cent to close just two points shy of its own all-time high set in October 2007.

US dealers were lifted by data showing durable goods orders for February rose solidly, while a survey revealed home prices jumped 8.1 per cent in 20 leading US cities for the 12 months to January, the highest year-on-year increase since mid-2006.

In Hong Kong trade Bank of China closed up 2.0 per cent at HK$3.62 after saying net profit rose 12 per cent in 2012, beating forecasts.

And Hutchison Whampoa added 1.5 per cent to HK$81.95 after enjoying a 19 per cent increase in 2012 underlying profit, while Wharf rallied 7.0 per cent to HK$68.95 on the back of pre-tax profits from property sales more than doubling.

Sinopec rose 2.0 per cent to HK$9.10 while Macau casino operator Sands China closed up 2.2 per cent at HK$40.80 and Melco Crown rose 2.1 per cent to HK$59.40.

Chinese shares ended up 0.16 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.59 points to 2301.26 on turnover of 85.7 billion yuan ($A13.22 billion).

Despite the gains investors are concerned about a share glut if China's securities regulator resumes initial public offerings after suspending them for nearly five months, analysts said.

Auto makers were higher on hopes that a fuel price cut will boost vehicle sales. Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coach rose 2.87 per cent to 6.80 yuan while SAIC Motor climbed 0.81 per cent to 14.92 yuan.

Property developers extended gains, with Gemdale gaining 1.67 per cent to 6.70 yuan while Poly Real Estate rose 1.17 per cent to 12.06 yuan.

Steel firms were up on bargain hunting. Funshun Special Steel jumped 2.85 per cent to 6.14 yuan while Fangda Special Steel Technology rose 1.14 per cent to 4.43 yuan.

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ACTU wants govt to back minimum wage bid

The ACTU is pushing for a $30-a-week pay rise for Australia's lowest paid workers. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S peak union body wants the federal government to back its push for the country's lowest paid workers to get a $30 a week wage boost.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions will ask Fair Work Australia to increase the national minimum wage to $636.40 a week, benefiting 745,000 workers.

It equates to a 79 cent-an-hour increase from $15.96 to $16.75 per hour.

But Employment Minister Bill Shorten said the government would only support a more modest increase.

"I believe that the union claim is at the high end," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said he expected a Labor government to support the lowest-paid workers and the increase was justified.

"As of today, the minimum wage is less than half of what average weekly earnings are," he said.

"What we're concerned about is that we will end up with an underclass of workers, or a working poor."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott gave qualified support to the wage push, saying he didn't begrudge workers a pay rise.

"So I would want to look very carefully at the particular circumstances of businesses before saying yes, let's have an across the board rise," he told reporters in Melbourne.

However, his treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said Australia's current minimum wage was a barrier to higher employment participation.

"What it means is it's harder to get entry into the workforce," he told Fairfax Radio.

"It means that employers are having second thoughts about employing people."

Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox described the claim as "way out of the ball park".

Ai Group is proposing a two per cent increase in total remuneration for those on the minimum wage, amounting to a rise of about $12 on the minimum weekly wage.

Mr Willox said businesses were struggling to cope with high costs and the high Australian dollar.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief Peter Anderson said a $30 weekly increase would hit "low income, low profit" small businesses and cost jobs.

"We have to be extremely careful in these cases because you run the risk that one person's wage rise reduces the working hours or undermines the job security of another person," Mr Anderson told ABC's 7.30 Report.

Mr Anderson said Fair Work had last year "overshot" with its minimum pay increase of $17.10.

"They gave a wage rise that was higher than the rate of inflation that emerged, and as a result business have had to pay more than they should have had to pay just 12 months ago," he said.

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Scammers cheat elderly WA man out of $700k

A WEST Australian man has been cheated out of $700,000 in an inheritance and investment scam.

The man, aged in his 70s, was caught up in the fraud for three years.

Police say more than $1 million has been sent to scammers in West Africa from WA's Mid West region alone in recent months, with police visiting 23 fraud victims this week.

A Geraldton construction worker, aged in his 30s, was tricked into sending $26,000 to a woman he met through a dating website.

He even paid for her flight to Perth and went to the airport to pick her up, but she never showed.

The amounts sent to scammers by other victims ranges from $300 through to $75,000.

The police assignment Operation Sunbird began in May 2012 due to a rising amount of money being transferred from WA to West Africa including Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

It developed into Project Sunbird when the scale of the problem was realised and is now coordinated by the Major Fraud Squad and Consumer Protection.

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Italy high court overturns Knox acquittal

Italy's highest court of appeals delayed a ruling on whether Amanda Knox will face another trail. Source: AAP

ITALY'S highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial.

The Court of Cassation ruled on Tuesday that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

Kercher's body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and other roommates in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.

Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fuelled sex game gone awry. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito denied wrongdoing. An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence.

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Five-year jail sought for ex-Olympus head

JAPANESE prosecutors have sought a five-year jail term for the former head of Olympus for his involvement in a $US1.7 billion ($A1.6 billion) loss cover-up scandal that hammered Japan's corporate governance image.

They also asked the Tokyo District Court to slap a whopping one billion yen fine against the disgraced camera and medical equipment maker whose top executives hid losses stemming from bad investments for years.

"The huge amount involved is unmatched in the past. It eroded domestic and international confidence in the (Japanese) market," prosecutors told the court, according to Jiji Press news agency.

The defendants will have the chance to speak at a court hearing next month.

"We have laid out our argument and are waiting for the verdict," an Olympus spokesman said without elaborating.

Former company president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa is facing the heaviest jail term of five years with prosecutors requesting shorter sentences for former Olympus vice president Hisashi Mori and auditor Hideo Yamada, who were also key figures in the scandal that was exposed by a whistleblower.

In September, the trio pleaded guilty to charges they falsified financial results between 2007 and 2011, with Kikukawa telling the court he would take "full responsibility" for the crime.

Olympus has also admitted to the scheme which saw complex accounting methods used to hide losses tied to bad investments made in the 1990s.

The case was brought to light in 2011 by Michael Woodford, the firm's first foreign leader, who initially questioned executives about past acquisitions and outsized consultant fees.

The Briton was abruptly demoted shortly before exposing the scheme, as Kikukawa took the helm again, and Olympus initially denied allegations.

The company later admitted its wrongdoing and sacked executives involved in the scandal, including Kikukawa, as Japanese, British and US authorities launched probes into the firm.

Olympus subsequently agreed to a reported STG10 million ($A14.61 million) payout to Woodford to settle a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

The company has already been fined $US2.4 million for its wrongdoing by Japan's Financial Services Agency.

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Boat tragedy sparks asylum policy debate

The PM called on the opposition and the Greens to support the people-swap plan with Malaysia. Source: AAP

THE deaths of two asylum seekers after a boat capsized, and the arrival of two new vessels, have sparked calls for the federal government to change its approach to border security.

The Australian Greens and refugee advocates are calling for a coronial inquest into Monday's tragedy near Christmas Island, and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says a new approach is needed to stop the dangerous attempts to reach Australia.

Three others who were injured are being treated in Perth after being airlifted from Christmas Island overnight by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the deaths are "incredibly distressing" and wants the opposition and Greens to back recommendations made by the Houston expert panel, which include her people-swap plan with Malaysia.

"The thing that is stopping me from bringing it into operation is that unfortunately the leader of the opposition and his team has decided it is in their political interest to see more boats," Ms Gillard said in Perth on Tuesday.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott rejected the call, telling reporters in Sydney that when Ms Gillard referred to the Malaysia deal, she was looking for an excuse to do nothing.

"Because the Malaysia people-swap involves just 800 people and just at the moment we're getting 800 people a week," he said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government's no-advantage rule and offshore processing policies are not preventing people getting on boats.

She wants a coronial inquest and a review of Australia's boat interception protocols.

"We need to make sure we are doing absolutely everything we can to avoid these tragedies from happening," she said in Adelaide.

Mr Wilkie said it was yet another "damning indictment of the government's flawed, irregular immigration policy".

"This is not a border security problem but a humanitarian challenge," he said.

"Unless and until there is a sophisticated policy addressing source, first asylum and transit countries, the boats will keep coming."

Seven people were treated for injuries, with three airlifted to Perth.

They include a six-year-old boy, who nearly drowned, who is in Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.

Royal Perth Hospital is treating two women in their 20s, one of whom is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

All three suffered injuries relating to water and diesel ingestion but are in a stable condition.

The fishing boat carrying 96 people capsized after stopping for an Australian Customs vessel, Ocean Protector.

Customs was responding to a call for help made by a passenger on Sunday night.

After two officers boarded the boat on Monday morning, two large waves struck the vessel and it rolled.

Customs officers plucked people from the water, but two, a woman and a boy, were dead, believed drowned.

Australian authorities formally suspended their search at 1700 AEDT on Monday after reports that all passengers had been recovered.

Two more suspected asylum-seeker boats, carrying 105 and 83 people, were intercepted by the Australian navy near Christmas Island on Monday.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said 35,000 people had arrived by boat under Labor.

"Only a change of government will restore the proven measures of the Howard government," Mr Morrison said.

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Vietnam whistleblower defends WikiLeaks

PENTAGON Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg waited decades for someone like Bradley Manning to follow in his footsteps.

He hails the US Army private accused of spilling secrets to website WikiLeaks as a champion of truth and not a betrayer of his country.

Manning was arrested in May 2010 on 22 charges of giving classified material on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to WikiLeaks.

Military prosecutors have accused Manning of the capital crime of aiding the enemy, saying they will not seek the death penalty for the 25-year-old man but want him to spend the rest of his life in prison.

"I have significant identification with all whistleblowers, but with Bradley above all," said Ellsberg.

"I'd like to see him get the Nobel Peace Prize," Ellsberg continued, tossing in a military Medal of Honour and a Congressional Gold Medal.

"He deserves to be seen as a hero. Certainly, he is a hero of mine."

Ellsberg sees Manning's case as mirroring his history-making move in 1971 to leak what became known as the Pentagon Papers, a report about US political and military machinations involving the Vietnam War.

"It is the first time since the Pentagon Papers that someone has put out a large raft of material," Ellsberg said in an interview at his home in the wooded enclave of Kensington across the bay from San Francisco.

"I think Bradley has done the right thing," continued Ellsberg, who will be 82 in April. "We've needed this kind of revelation frequently."

The Pentagon Papers were finally published in full in June 2011, 40 years after then US military analyst Ellsberg slipped excerpts of the classified report to the media.

Ellsberg's act of defiance revealed evidence that successive US administrations had lied to the public about Vietnam.

Pentagon Papers leaks led Nixon to set up a covert White House investigations unit, known as The Plumbers, to prevent further leaks to the media.

Members of the unit were subsequently implicated in a 1972 burglary at the Watergate complex in Washington - sparking the scandal that eventually forced the president derisively nicknamed "Tricky Dick" to quit in 1974.

A set of Pentagon Papers books were prominently displayed in wall-to-ceiling bookshelves in Ellsberg's home.

"I couldn't have done that without Xerox," Ellsberg said, referring to how he photocopied thousands of pages from the report.

"Manning couldn't have done what he did with access to a thumb drive."

Manning told a military tribunal in February that he leaked secret files to WikiLeaks in order to start a "public debate."

He remains in military custody pending trial and has pleaded guilty to misusing classified information but denies the damning charge of aiding America's enemies.

He sent WikiLeaks, which campaigns against government secrecy and publishes leaked information on a secure website, two military logs of daily incidents during the US campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also provided a vast trove of US diplomatic cables and cockpit video from a US helicopter gunship involved in an incident in which Iraqi civilians died.

Ellsberg also gave hero status to WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange.

"Julian Assange was in uncharted territory, by himself, and no one had ever set out to do what he did in the form of facilitating leaks by people like me or Manning," Ellsberg said.

"Using digital age tools to do it and offering anonymity."

"The charges that WikiLeaks had blood on their hands the very first day that they put it out have proven not to be true," Ellsberg said.

"Ironically, they were made by people who were up to their chins in innocent blood of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere."

Ellsberg argued that the charges against Manning should be dropped for the same reason the case against him was dismissed, namely governmental misconduct that "offends the sense of justice."

Ellsberg told of warrantless wire taps, the burglary of his former doctor's office and even efforts to have him "completely incapacitated."

He put those tactics on par with Manning being held incommunicado for three years, more than 10 months of that time in solitary confinement, and part of the time deprived of clothing and sleep.

Ellsberg contended that instead of betraying the trust placed in him, Manning was true to his vow as a soldier to support and defend the US Constitution.

"The widest form of participation in evil-doing is keeping it secret."

"There is, in effect, a war on whistleblowers," Ellsberg said. "Call it a war on truth-telling, especially truths about government crimes, lies, war and recklessness."

Ellsberg sadly noted that Manning is likely to spend a long time in prison. Charges Manning already pleaded guilty to carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.

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Man critically hurt by storm-felled tree

A RUNNER hit by a falling tree in a wild storm that lashed southeast Queensland remains in a critical condition.

The man, 58, suffered serious head injuries on Sunday night in the Brisbane suburb of St Lucia, and was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

A spokeswoman told AAP he was still critical on Monday night.

Power firm Energex said 1500 properties were still without power at 5pm (AEST), down from 60,000 at the height of the super cell storm.

"Our crews will be working through the night to get that power back on," a spokeswoman said.

The affected homes are in the Brisbane, Logan, Redlands and Scenic Rim areas.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Amber Young said heavy rain and wind gusts of 90km/h had been recorded.

Emergency Management Queensland said most of the 100 calls for help it received were for damage caused by the strong winds, including damaged roofs and downed trees.

Three men were plucked from their upturned dinghy by a dredge boat in Moreton Bay after being spotted by a passing cargo ship, four hours after they capsized.

The west Brisbane suburb of Carol Park recorded 45mm of rain in 45 minutes, while 40mm fell in 30 minutes at Brassall in north Ipswich.

Ms Young said the chance of more storms on Tuesday had subsided.

"There was certainly a possibility earlier in the day and we have seen some storms form on the high ground northwest of Brisbane," she told AAP.

"But the sea breeze along the coast has helped to stabilise things."

Ms Young said she "would never rule out" more super cell storms over autumn.

Energex urged home owners and businesses to make sure they secured loose items and had a storm plan in place.

"The weather has been quite unstable," the spokeswoman said.

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Hong Kong stocks close up 0.61%

HONG Kong shares have ended 0.61 per cent higher after Cyprus agreed a last-minute deal with its international creditors that will qualify it for a crucial bailout.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 135.85 points to 22,251.15 on Monday on turnover of $HK60.68 billion ($A7.54 billion).

Chinese shares ended flat. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.07 per cent, or 1.56 points, to 2326.72 on turnover of 85.4 billion yuan ($A13.2 billion).

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Car thief shot over drug debt: WA court

WHAT began with a $20,000 car being stolen as collateral to settle a drug debt ended in Jeremia Iskander's murder, a West Australian court has heard.

Damien Phillip Mathews and Hayden Shane Wayne Joseph are on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court for the murder of the 21-year-old, who was shot in the chest at close range on December 2, 2011.

Prosecutor Amanda Forrester said in her opening address on Monday that Mathews fired the fatal shot, but Joseph was involved in its planning and therefore equally culpable.

The court heard Mr Iskander had been friends with Joseph for several years, but they had fallen out because Joseph owed him money.

Ms Forrester said two of Joseph's cars, including one he estimated to be worth $20,000, were stolen to force him to pay his debt.

She said Joseph believed Mr Iskander was driving the car and doing burnouts, "rubbing his nose" in his loss.

The court heard Joseph and Mathews confronted Mr Iskander in a driveway and the three men, as well as a woman who accompanied the accused men, had an argument.

Mr Iskander said he wanted to have a "one-on-one" with Joseph, Ms Forrester said.

Instead, Mathews had shot Mr Iskander in the chest and then fled with Joseph.

An ambulance took Mr Iskander to Joondalup Health Campus, where he died.

In the lead-up to the murder and the hours after it, Joseph sent many text messages to friends, indicating in one message he was responsible for Mr Iskander's death, Ms Forrester said.

Joseph and Mathews set fire to the car to destroy evidence and went missing for nine days until they finally turned themselves in, she said.

Police say they found four unfired bullets in the driveway that the prosecution claims came from the gun used in the killing, but no weapon has been found.

However, defence lawyer Vesna Amidzic, representing Joseph, said the entire incident was "completely unexpected".

Colin Lovitt, representing Mathews, said one of the key witnesses, who claimed to have seen his client with a gun, was unreliable and biased.

"A man is dead, but that doesn't mean he's been killed by someone," he said.

Mr Lovitt said Mr Iskander was a violent bully who had a "keen interest" in guns.

"He was someone who liked to throw his weight around," Mr Lovitt said.

It was Mr Iskander who had a gun in his trousers and who struggled with Mathews over the weapon, Mr Lovitt said.

He said it was during the struggle that a shot was fired, but not deliberately.

"They (the accused men) shouldn't be made to pay a price over and above for what they did," Mr Lovitt said.

"There's no criminal responsibility at all."

He said the fact that they did something as "stupid" as burning the car did not mean they were guilty of murder.

The trial is set down for four weeks.

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Ex-chief justice is Pakistan caretaker PM

PAKISTAN'S election commission has chosen a former high court chief justice nominated by the country's outgoing ruling party to serve as caretaker prime minister in the run up to a historic national election this spring.

The head of the election commission, Fakhruddin Ebrahim, announced the decision to appoint Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Sunday.

Khoso served as the chief justice to the high court in southwest Baluchistan province and also briefly served as the acting governor of the province.

The election commission chose Khoso out of four nominees, two submitted by the recently ruling Pakistan People's Party and two by the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N.

Pakistan is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on May 11 - the first transition between democratically elected governments in the country's history.

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Take holiday in tornado-hit area: Napthine

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has toured areas of the state's northeast devastated by a tornado. Source: AAP

VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine is encouraging people to take their Easter holidays in towns where a tornado cut a devastating path.

More than 20 homes and 100 caravans were destroyed when the freak storm smashed through towns on the Victoria-NSW border on Thursday night.

The tornado packed winds of between 250 and 300 km/h, sending roofs, caravans, vehicles and trees flying, injuring 20 people.

Dr Napthine toured the affected towns of Koonoomooo, Yarrawonga and Bundalong on Sunday.

"The devastation in the area affected has just been horrific," he told reporters at Koonoomoo.

The premier said the best way for other Victorians to help was to holiday in the tourist-dependent region.

"Come up here over Easter. It'll be open for business," he said.

"Show your support for the local community. Spend a few dollars in the town and help rebuild the local economy of this devastated community."

Dr Napthine said emergency accommodation had been provided to all those whose homes had been left uninhabitable.

The federal government has made available disaster assistance payments for those affected by the tornado.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) welcomed the premier's plea for Victorians to holiday in the tornado-hit region but said his government was closing down offices of the Department of Primary Industry (DPI) in the area.

"Maybe he could take his own advice and re-open the DPI Cobram office and keep those 10 jobs and stop relocating another 12 DPI personnel from the Corryong and Wangaratta," CPSU media manger Julian Kenneally said.

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Central Africa rebels 'seize' presidency

REBELS in the Central African Republic say they have seized the presidential palace in the capital Bangui, with heavy fighting reported there.

"We have taken the presidential palace. (President Francois) Bozize was not there," one of the rebel commanders on the ground, Colonel Djouma Narkoyo, said on Sunday.

He said the rebels - who have vowed to topple Bozize - were planning to move on to the national radio station where rebel leader Michel Djotodia planned to make an address.

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Israel vows immediate answer to Syria fire

ISRAEL'S new Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon is vowing an "immediate" answer to all Syrian gunfire onto the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, saying the Damascus regime is responsible.

"Every violation of Israeli sovereignty and shooting from the Syrian side will immediately be answered by silencing the source of fire," he said in a statement on Sunday.

His remarks were made shortly after Israeli troops on the strategic plateau shot at a Syrian army post after coming under fire for the second time in 12 hours, the army said.

"We view with great seriousness the shooting last night and this morning from Syria at an IDF force on territory of the State of Israel," Yaalon said.

"We see the Syrian regime as responsible for every breach of sovereignty. We shall not allow the Syrian army or any other body to violate Israeli sovereignty firing into our territory."

Earlier, a military spokesman said shots had been fired at troops in the southern Golan Heights.

"The soldiers responded with accurate fire toward the Syrian post from which they were fired upon," he said. No one was hurt on the Israeli side.

It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was from the Syrian army or from rebel forces in the area.

Late on Saturday, gunfire hit several military vehicles travelling in the same area, causing damage but no casualties, the army said.

And earlier this month, a mortar round landed on the Israeli-controlled sector after nearly three months of quiet, without the conflict raging in Syria spilling across the ceasefire line.

Last November, gunfire from Syria prompted troops to respond with artillery in the first instance of Israeli fire at the Syrian military since the 1973 war.

Israel is closely monitoring its border with Syria and fears that jihadist elements from among the rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad might attempt to attack the Jewish state.

Earlier this month, Israel expressed concern that the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights could pull out altogether after Syrian rebels snatched 21 of their troops in the ceasefire zone bordering Israel.

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