Man charged over NSW stabbing murder

POLICE have charged a 41-year-old man with the murder of a young man who died after being stabbed during a fight in the NSW Hunter region.

The 21-year-old victim was stabbed in the chest and arm during a brawl outside a hotel in Cessnock about 2.30am (AEDT) on Friday, police said.

The man collapsed while trying to walk to the police station, which was a few metres away.

Paramedics took him to Cessnock Hospital but he could not be revived.

Police said a 41-year-old man turned up to Cessnock police station on Saturday morning and he was charged with murder.

The man was refused bail and will appear in Newcastle Bail Court on Sunday.

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Italy commemorates deadly quake

Italy has commemorated the fourth anniversary of the L'Aquila earthquake. Source: AAP

ITALY has commemorated the fourth anniversary of a devastating earthquake in and around the city of L'Aquila which killed 309 people and forced tens of thousands to abandon their homes.

Families of the victims led a torch-lit procession with thousands of people in the night between Friday and Saturday, when the tremor struck the mediaeval university town in the middle of the Apennine mountains in central Italy in 2009.

Reconstruction efforts have been heavily delayed - largely due to red tape and a lack of funds - and much of the city centre still lies abandoned.

Local archbishop Giuseppe Molinari celebrated mass in the night in a church in L'Aquila that was heavily damaged.

A church bell rang out 309 times at 3.132am local time - the exact moment that the 6.3 earthquake struck.

"Everything has been delayed. And young people are leaving. Politicians keep bickering," Molinari told Catholic news site tempi.it, adding: "We would like to see something move so we can start again. The situation is still critical."

Italian Senate speaker Pietro Grasso on Saturday laid a wreath at a student dormitory that collapsed four years ago, killing eight people.

Territorial Cohesion Minister Fabrizio Barca, who has promised to speed up the reconstruction, said: "The state cannot not rebuild this city."

A court in L'Aquila last year sentenced six scientists and a government official to six years in jail for multiple manslaughter for failing to provide sufficient warning to local residents following a wave of small tremors.

The seven defendants are appealing the sentence.

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Strong quake causes panic in Indonesia

A MAJOR 7.1-magnitude earthquake has rocked Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, sending panicked crowds running into the streets.

There were no reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued after the quake struck on land at 1.42pm local time on Saturday at a depth of 75km, 272km west-southwest of provincial capital Jayapura, the US Geological Survey said.

Local seismologists had measured the quake at 7.2.

People in the capital of the huge province said they felt the quake strongly and hundreds went running into the streets.

Narsi Bay said she was in a meeting on the first floor of a hotel in Jayapura when she felt "strong shaking".

"I went downstairs to go outside as quickly as I could as I was afraid that the building would collapse," the 21-year-old told AFP.

"I saw lamps, tables, and chairs shaking. Some people screamed in panic and shouted at others in the hotel to go outside."

Suharjono, from the country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said the quake was felt most strongly in Mulia city, Puncak Jaya district.

It was strong enough to "wake people who are sleeping and break windows, but it won't cause buildings to collapse", he said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the quake had not generated a tsunami.

Another official from the Indonesian agency said: "The quake happened on land, there is no tsunami threat."

The agency had not received any reports of damage.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

A massive quake struck off Aceh in 2004, sparking a tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province on Sumatra and tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean.

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China steps up response to bird flu cases

A second Chinese city culled birds on Saturday to prevent the spread of H7N9 avian influenza. Source: AAP

A SECOND Chinese city culled birds on Saturday to prevent the spread of H7N9 avian influenza, which has killed six people in the country, as Shanghai's live poultry markets remained shut.

China has confirmed 16 cases of the H7N9 strain, the health ministry said, since announcing a week ago that the virus had been found in humans for the first time.

The human infections have been confined to eastern China, with commercial hub Shanghai recording six including four deaths, and the other two fatalities in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.

One of the Zhejiang cases ate quail bought at a market in the city of Hangzhou, at which authorities began culling birds on Saturday after finding quail infected with H7N9, the official Xinhua news agency said.

In Shanghai, a uniformed worker sprayed disinfectant from a tank on his back at a local market in the city centre, where two live poultry booths were dark and the cages empty.

"People are worried," said Yan Zhicheng, a retired factory manager who like many elderly people makes a daily trip to market.

"Shanghai people eat a lot of duck and chicken. Now we can't touch them."

Shanghai had culled more than 20,500 birds at an agricultural market in a western suburb by Friday, after the virus was found in pigeons, and the government announced a ban on live poultry trading and markets.

But eggs remained on sale, as well as fresh and frozen poultry meat, as officials encouraged people to cook them well.

Chinese authorities maintain there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, a conclusion echoed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The US government on Friday advised American citizens living in China of the cases but said no travel or trade restrictions would be applied to the country based on the current situation.

In Shanghai residents were taking no chances, turning to traditional medicine and donning face masks.

Drugstores were running short of banlangen, a traditional Chinese medicine for colds made from the roots of the woad plant, used as a blue dye from ancient times.

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China crucial to Australian interests: PM

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has declared China to be "pivotal to Australia's political, strategic and economic interests" as she starts her second visit to the nation.

Ms Gillard has arrived on the Chinese resort island of Hainan ahead of trade and security talks, including her first official meeting with new Chinese president Xi Jinping, on Sunday.

The visit comes as North Korea reportedly moved a missile capable of hitting South Korea and Japan, an action which drew condemnation as being provocative.

Before she left, Ms Gillard spoke on the phone with South Korean president Park Geun-hye, expressing Australia's strong concerns over North Korea, which she says "poses a serious risk to regional security".

Speaking to reporters in Sanya, Ms Gillard toughened her language.

"This is a regime that cannot feed and properly care for its people, that engages in some of the worst human rights abuses that we've seen around the world," she said.

"It is not in the interests of North Korea's people for this kind of belligerence to be demonstrated by the leadership of North Korea."

With Australia and China both members of the UN Security Council, the talks between Ms Gillard and President Xi will take on greater significance.

The prime minister said she would urge President Xi, who also heads China's military, to "use its influence" to bring North Korea back to "trust-building dialogue".

Ms Gillard's trip will open with her attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia - an investment, economics and trade summit which was co-founded by former prime minister Bob Hawke.

"China is absolutely pivotal to Australia's political, economic and strategic interests," she said.

She will meet International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Saturday, and later address Chinese and Australian business leaders at a lunch where she will hold bilateral meetings with some of the nine other national leaders attending the forum.

On Sunday she will address the Boao Forum and meet informally and officially with President Xi. Ministers Bob Carr and Craig Emerson are also expected to be in the meeting.

Ms Gillard is expected to use a brief visit to Shanghai - where Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten will join the delegation - to announce a new deal in currency trade between the two countries, which could help business and investment.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop, who is attending the Boao Forum, said she had heard concerns from Chinese business chiefs trying to invest in Australia.

"They are not made to feel welcome," she said.

Also on the agenda will be the strengthening of defence ties through more exchanges of senior military personnel, joint activities and information sharing.

Hainan Island is close to China's nuclear submarine base and the gateway to the South China Sea, with its many hotly disputed territories.

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Syd police dismantle illegal DVD network

Police have dismantled a large-scale counterfeit DVD distribution network in Sydney's northwest. Source: AAP

SYDNEY police have dismantled a large-scale counterfeit DVD distribution network and seized an estimated $20 million worth of illegal discs.

Detectives from Quakers Hill along with representatives from the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft and product security experts from Woolworths raided a factory unit in Kings Park and a home in Marayong on Thursday.

Officers found around 1.2 million suspected counterfeit high-quality DVDs, artwork, packaging materials, computers, gift cards and cash.

The DVDs included local and international movie titles and TV show box sets which would have had a retail value of more than $20 million, police said.

It's believed the DVDs could have cost the Australian film and television industry more than $60 million if they were distributed.

A 28-year-old Marayong woman was arrested and charged with two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and selling, infringing copy of a work.

She was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Blacktown Local Court on May 2.

Police said the network was using multiple names, residential and business addresses and post office boxes to import the DVDs, before they were assembled and repackaged at the factory unit and then sold over the internet.

It's further alleged that more than 65,000 DVDs had been sold with sales exceeding $1.6 million.

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Gillard wants the two Koreas to talk

Julia Gillard expressed solidarity in a phone call to South Korean President Park Geun-hye (pic). Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard will urge China to pressure North Korea to stop making provocative statements and accept South Korea's offer of trust-building talks.

Australia has clearly stated its condemnation of North Korea's "belligerent and provocative statements", Ms Gillard told reporters as she arrived in China on Friday for a six-day visit.

"I will be urging the Chinese leadership to use its influence to help with this issue, and help see an end to these provocative statements," Ms Gillard said.

North Korea should take a "different stance", she said amid mounting tensions in the region over its warlike rhetoric and threats of nuclear strike.

"This is a regime that cannot feed and properly care for its people, that engages in some of the worst human rights abuses that we've seen around the world.

"It is not in the interests of North Korea's people for this kind of belligerence to be demonstrated by the leadership of North Korea."

Ms Gillard says she has spoken to South Korea's President Park Geun-hye to express solidarity and Australia's concerns over the serious risk to regional security posed by North Korea's threats.

In their phone call, Ms Gillard emphasised the importance Australia placed on South Korea's security and promised to continue pressuring the rogue state to put an end to its stance and engage in dialogue with the south.

She said she thought both South Korea and the US had shown a great deal of restraint.

"But of course, among the many risks ... there is always the risk of miscalculation when tension is inflamed.

"Which is why it is very important to do all we can everything can to get North Korea to step back."

The prime minister wants North Korea to engage again in six party talks and accept an offer of president of South Korea for "trust-building dialogue".

Earlier in Canberra, US ambassador Jeffrey Bleich said there would be no changes to the American military presence in Australia following the North Korean threats.

But he did say the US was taking the threats seriously in all its missions around the world.

"We're not aware of any capability by North Korea, even with weapons they've identified ... being able to conduct a strike in Australia," he told AAP.

"From that perspective, no, we haven't changed our posture here."

Mr Bleich said the US had been very clear with China about its views, given China's special relationship with North Korea.

"It's incumbent on (China) to express the concerns of all of us about the belligerence of North Korea," he said.

"I know the prime minister is committed to reinforcing that message."

Mr Bleich noted North Korea had a relatively new leader.

"Where there are capacity for miscalculations, missteps or reckless behaviour ... we don't take anything for granted," he said.

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'Let Manus detainees mingle with locals'

Detainees on Manus Island should interact with the community, says PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA needs to consider allowing asylum seekers housed at the detention facility on Manus Island to interact with the local community, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says.

Mr O'Neill made the comments on Tuesday in response to a question about mounting criticism in Australia over the running of the centre.

"We don't run the facility, we provide the opportunity for (Australia) to run the processing centre, and we've always stressed it has to be done in a humane as possible way and manner - we expect that to be carried out," Mr O'Neill told reporters in Port Moresby.

"If children are on board, we have already offered to the Australian government and everybody that the refugees must be allowed to interact with our communities.

"I think there needs to be some consideration given to that by the Australian government."

On Thursday, Paris Aristotle, part of former Defence chief Angus Houston's refugee policy review panel, said safeguards needed to mitigate the risk of mental health harm have not been put in place at the detention centre.

He said he was particularly concerned about the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, especially children, on Manus Island.

"Something needs to be done to address that immediately," he told ABC TV's Lateline on Thursday.

"Six months in, I don't think it's appropriate that children are still held in detention anywhere.

"If they were free to move around, if there were adequate services available for them and so forth, then that may have been an acceptable option."

He said he has had discussions with the federal government and immigration department and doesn't believe they are ignoring the panel's recommendations.

Mr O'Neill says the people of Manus would welcome more interaction with the asylum seekers.

"Manus is one of the most peaceful places in this country and people are very friendly, very welcoming.

"The community has willingly said they are free to move around and engage with them."

Following Mr Aristotle's comments, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for the facility to be closed down.

Australian authorities on Thursday transferred the first group of asylum seekers to be moved to the Papua New Guinea processing facility in two months.

Police last month charged 18 asylum seekers with fighting and assault following a series of incidents at the temporary facility on Lombrum Naval base.

Some of the detainees then went on a week-long hunger strike to protest the charges.

A legal challenge to the centre has been repeatedly adjourned as lawyers haggle over procedural issues.

It is next expected to come before Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia on Wednesday for a directions hearing.

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NATO strike kills Afghan police, civilians

The Taliban have stormed an Afghan court, killing at least 44 people in a bid to free insurgents. Source: AAP

A NATO air strike has killed four Afghan police and two civilians, Afghan officials say.

A spokesman for the US-led NATO force in Kabul told AFP that the military was checking the information.

Thursday's attack happened after Taliban insurgents targeted a local police post in eastern Ghazni province before dawn and NATO planes were called in to support the officers under attack.

"The NATO planes went there to assist the police, but the post was bombed and four police were killed. Two civilians present were also killed," Fazul Ahmad Tolwak, chief of Ghazni's Deh Yak district, told AFP.

Ghazni provincial administration spokesman Fazul Sabawoon confirmed the incident and gave a similar account.

The issue of civilian casualties in coalition operations is highly sensitive in Afghanistan, where the United States and its NATO allies have been fighting the Taliban for 11 years.

Previous incidents have provoked harsh criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is due to step down at elections next year, which coincide with the scheduled withdrawal of an estimated 100,000 foreign combat troops.

Last week Afghan officials said four civilians, including a child, were killed in a two-day raid against Taliban insurgents by Afghan and international forces in the province of Logar, south of the capital Kabul.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it was also investigating those accusations.

After an air strike killed 10 civilians, mostly women and children, in February, Karzai banned Afghan security forces from calling in NATO air strikes.

However it is unclear whether the ban has been enforced and many operations are jointly run by NATO and Afghan forces.

The strike came a day after Taliban gunmen killed 46 people at a court complex in the western city of Farah in a bid to free insurgents standing trial.

All nine attackers were killed in the assault, which began with a huge car bomb at the entrance to the court and continued for eight hours as security forces hunted one final surviving assailant.

The brazen attack raised further questions about the Afghans' ability to secure the country as NATO winds down its combat mission in the war-torn country by the end of next year.

The Farah death toll was the highest in Afghanistan from a single attack since a Shi'ite Muslim shrine was bombed in Kabul in December 2011, killing 80 people.

Karzai condemned the court attack as a "massacre" and said Afghans would "not let such killings of Muslims by the Taliban go unpunished".

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Dozens of senior Qld cops to retire early

MORE than 80 senior Queensland police officers will leave the service in coming weeks.

But Commissioner Ian Stewart says it won't affect operations, and all 86 have applied for, and been granted, voluntary redundancies.

"While their departure from the service will result in a loss of many years of experience and corporate knowledge, the subsequent renewal will provide significant opportunities for the QPS and the community we serve," the commissioner said in a statement.

"I acknowledge that we are losing not only colleagues but friends, mentors and confidants."

Mr Stewart says the loss of the officers will not affect the force's ability to cope with the massive security operation needed for the G20 Summit in 2014.

World leaders from the Group of 20 nations will gather in Brisbane in November next year.

Members of the G20 account for 85 per cent of global GDP, 80 per cent of global trade, and most of Australia's major trading and investment partners.

The security operation for their visit will be one of the largest Brisbane has seen.

Mr Stewart says with 11,000 sworn officers the force still has a huge capacity and depth of experience.

"I'm absolutely confident that we will have the capacity and the experience to manage any policing incident including our response to G20," he told the Seven Network.

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Indian boxing star takes dope test

INDIAN Olympic bronze-medallist boxer Vijender Singh has undergone dope tests as ordered by the government after police accused him of consuming heroin.

Vijender, who won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, gave his blood and urine samples to the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Wednesday, sports minister Jitender Singh said.

The boxer had earlier refused to be tested by Punjab Police, who while investigating his links to an alleged dealer in a $US24 million ($A23 million) drug haul last month said Vijender had taken heroin 12 times.

The minister, who had on Monday requested NADA to carry out immediate tests on Vijender, said late on Wednesday that the tests were carried out successfully on blood and urine samples.

"I will wait for the results before deciding on any action. I don't want to speculate. But ... if Vijender has made a mistake, he should of course be punished or penalised," the minister was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

NADA officials declined to comment or say when the test results will be declared.

Police seized 26 kilograms of heroin with a street value of 1.3 billion rupees ($A23 million) in March in Punjab. The alleged dealer was arrested along with five others.

Vijender, himself a police officer in the neighbouring state of Haryana, was linked to the haul after a car belonging to his wife was found outside the residence of the alleged dealer near Chandigarh.

The 27-year-old boxer, who became a household name in India after winning the Olympic medal, has strongly denied any link to the drug dealer and has slammed as "ridiculous" the allegations against him.

The high-profile sportsman has not been seen in public for the past few weeks, but his close friend and sparring partner Ram Singh was arrested by the Punjab Police on Wednesday for what they said was "custodial interrogation".

The Punjab Police had on Monday announced Vijender had taken heroin 12 times and Ram Singh five times, but did not specify how they had reached this conclusion.

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Red tape strangling Aust universities

AUSTRALIAN universities are spending millions of dollars and thousands of work days each year dealing with red tape, the sector's peak body says.

A new report shows a typical Australian university spent 2000 days in 2011 preparing 18 reports for one government department, out of 46 sets of data it required.

The cost of compiling the 18 reports came to $26 million across the university sector, the PhillipsKPA report says.

The report, released on Thursday, comes five years after then-education minister Julia Gillard promised the Labor government "will be taking the foot of government off the throat of our universities".

Data reporting costs universities as much as $30 for every $1000 of funding, and between $3000 to $8000 per grant.

"What this report shows, and bearing in mind that it only addresses a part of one portfolio, is that the university sector is groaning under the weight of an ever increasing regulatory and reporting load," Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson said.

"The dead weight of unnecessary, redundant and duplicative regulation and reporting not only leads to waste in the allocation of university and government resources, it also diverts substantial funds away from the core business of universities - teaching, scholarship and research," Ms Robinson said.

Opposition tertiary education spokesman Brett Mason said the regulatory burden was compounded by duplication.

The report, commissioned by the federal tertiary education department, recommended the creation of a central list and timetable of the different reporting requirements.

This would help universities and help cut red tape.

Ultimately, it said there should be a single national body for collection of higher education data.

Universities Australia wants the Productivity Commission to undertake a full review of university regulation and reporting that covers all government agencies.

Universities now have to report data regularly to bodies including the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, state governments, the Australian Research Council, the immigration department, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and a range of other agencies who want to know different things.

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Rape of US student mars Rio's reputation

The brutal rape of a US student has raised safety concerns in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the World Cup. Source: AAP

THE brutal gang-rape of a US student in a Rio bus has revived concern about public safety ahead of the World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympics, despite an overall drop in violence.

Over the weekend a 21-year-old American student was repeatedly sexually assaulted and her French boyfriend was beaten during a six-hour abduction aboard a minibus in the famed beach district of Copacabana.

The case grabbed international headlines and drew comparisons to last December's similar gang-rape of a young Indian woman in New Delhi, which led to a 25 per cent fall in tourist arrivals.

"Nobody expects to be assaulted in Disneyland. Copacabana is our Disneyland. It rings alarm bells," Alfredo Lopes, president of the Rio Hotels Association, said, according to press reports.

The rape came as Rio pressed on with a campaign to shake off a reputation for violent crime, with a succession of police operations to take control of dozens of favelas, slums once under the sway of drug traffickers or militias.

The Marvellous City, as Rio is known, is to host the Confederations Cup, a dry run for next year's World Cup, in June.

And a month later, the city is to welcome Pope Francis and some 2.5 million people for World Youth Day.

The female American student and her French boyfriend boarded a minibus at around midnight on Saturday in Copacabana headed to Lapa, a trendy area home to popular bars and dance clubs.

Two men who also boarded the minibus ordered the rest of the passengers to get off and handcuffed their victims.

They then proceeded to beat the young man with a metal bar and rape the young woman as they rode around the city, Rio's tourist police (DEAT) said.

After seeing photographs of two of the detained suspects, a young Brazilian woman who was raped on March 23, also in a minibus, identified them as her assailants, DEAT added.

The driver of the minibus may also have taken part in the rape.

The G1 news website said the Frenchman suffered a severe eye injury and a fractured face while the American's nose was broken during the assault.

Minibuses are part of Rio's transportation network and, in a city of six million inhabitants, are considered a convenient means of getting around.

Although the case sparked deep revulsion in Brazil, officials were quick to insist it was an isolated incident.

"It is horrendous, but this is not a routine occurrence in Rio," Rio state security secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame told AFP. "It is unfair to present it as such."

"Such a brutal rape is very spectacular but is generally quickly forgotten. It is not (as) common in Brazil as it is in India," said Augusto Rodrigues, a crime expert at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

"It is an isolated incident which must not be used as a parameter to measure violence," said Michel Misse, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Asked about a 24 per cent rise in rapes in Rio from 2011 to 2012 (from 4871 to 6029), both experts attributed it to increased reporting by women to special police units set up to assist sex assault victims.

"Before they were ashamed to report such crimes in police stations run by men," Misse said.

The experts insist that, broadly speaking, security has never been better in Rio and in Brazil in general, even though the crime rate remains high compared with European or US norms.

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NSW bike rider killed after hitting tree

A MOTORCYCLE rider has died after hitting a tree on the NSW south coast.

The 23-year-old man was riding along Quinns Lane, South Nowra about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, when he left the road and struck a tree.

The man suffered head injuries and died at the scene, police said.

It's believed the man was from Bomaderry.

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Abbas to meet Kerry in Jordan

PALESTINIAN president Mahmud Abbas is to meet in Jordan with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is pushing for a renewal of peace talks.

"US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with president Abbas next Sunday in Amman," said a Palestinian official on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

After meeting Kerry, Abbas would on Monday travel to Qatar for a meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative committee for talks likely to focus on US efforts to revive the stalled peace process, the official said.

Israeli press reports said Kerry would arrive in Israel on Saturday night for talks with the leadership, but there was no confirmation from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kerry, who took up his post on February 1, made his first visit to the region alongside US President Barack Obama last month, holding one-on-one talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leadership in Jerusalem and Amman on March 24.

"I think the stage has been set for the possibilities that the parties can hopefully find a way to negotiations," Kerry said in Baghdad a day later, describing the meetings as "a good beginning".

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Eurozone inflation down for third month

INFLATION across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro fell for the third month running in March to its lowest level in nearly three years, official figures show.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said on Wednesday consumer prices in the eurozone were up 1.7 per cent in March from the year before, its lowest level since July 2010 and down from a 1.8 per cent rate in February.

Weaker energy price inflation was one of the main reasons behind the fall.

Though the decline takes inflation further below the European Central Bank's target of keeping price rises just below 2 per cent, no change in interest rates is expected at Thursday's monthly policy meeting.

The ECB has been reluctant to take its main interest rate below the record low of 0.75 per cent even though the eurozone is in recession and inflation has dropped.

The decline in inflation in March was widely expected, though some economists were anticipating a bigger drop to 1.6 per cent, as prices continue to be weighed down by the recession and high unemployment, which, among other things, keeps a lid on wages and consumer spending.

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Lower rates benefit the economy: Swan

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says low interest rates have benefited both families and business. Source: AAP

FINANCIAL markets are holding out for one more interest rate cut this year by the central bank, which is looking for signs of expansion in the non-mining investment sectors of the economy.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash interest rate at three per cent for another month at its board meeting on Tuesday, as was widely expected.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said the lower interest rates seen since 2011 were flowing through the economy and benefiting both families and business.

"Today's low interest rates will continue to support sectors under pressure from global headwinds, the high dollar and a cautious consumer," he said in a statement.

The RBA again indicated it could cut the cash rate later in the year to support domestic demand, given a benign inflation outlook.

"The peak in resource investment is drawing to a close," governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.

"While the near-term outlook for investment outside of the resources sector is relatively subdued, a modest increase is likely to begin over the next year."

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief economist Greg Evans said any suggestion the RBA had finished cutting rates was premature given what was happening in the mainstream economy.

"Clearly the Reserve Bank wants to see this transition from the stronger parts of the economy to the weaker parts, and that's far from locked in," Mr Evans told reporters in Canberra.

"Any indication they have given about strength in the mainstream economy seem to be based more on hope than reality."

ACCI's latest business survey found lower interest rates and a more stable international economy were beginning to benefit businesses.

The March quarter survey of investor confidence found business owners believe conditions are favourable for the first time in two years.

The survey's index reading of 50.8 points, compared with 49.3 points in the December quarter, was above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction.

But Mr Evans said businesses remained reluctant to invest, employ and borrow.

"We still think a rate reduction is justified between now and June," he said.

Similarly, manufacturing remains in the doldrums.

The Australian Industry Group's performance of manufacturing index fell 1.2 index points in March to 44.4 points, below the key 50 level.

"The strong dollar, falling selling prices, further cost pressures and the weakness of commercial and residential construction continue to take their toll," Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said in a statement.

Opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella said this was the thirteenth consecutive month of decline in activity.

"The job-destroying policies of this divided and dysfunctional Gillard Labor government are continuing to take a heavy toll on the Australian manufacturing sector," she said.

Meanwhile, house prices in capital cities, as measured by the RP Data-Rismark Home Value index, rose 1.3 per cent in March to stand 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

Over the March quarter, prices rose 2.8 per cent, the biggest quarterly rise since May 2010.

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Eurozone manufacturing slump deepens

THE downturn in the 17-nation eurozone's manufacturing sector deepened sharply in March, with even powerhouse economy Germany dragged down, a key survey shows.

The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 46.8 points in March, up from an initial estimate of 46.6 but well short of the already weak 47.9 posted in February.

The outcome has left the closely followed indicator at a three-month low and below the 50-points boom-bust line since August 2011.

The average PMI for the three months to March was 47.5 points, which Markit said on Tuesday was the best performance since the first quarter of 2012, but the latest figures showed a clear deterioration across the eurozone.

Germany at 49 points slipped to a two-month low while "rates of decline gathered pace in all the other nations ... with the exception of France," Markit said in a statement.

France stood at 44 points, a three-month high, while Italy was on 44.5, its lowest for seven months and Spain on 44.2, a five-month low.

Markit warned that the data suggested worse could be to come, after recent figures had allowed analysts to hope the economy might have finally touched bottom.

Manufacturing "looks likely to have acted as a drag on the economy in the first quarter, with an acceleration in the rate of decline in March raising the risk the downturn may also intensify in the second quarter," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said in a statement.

"The surveys paint a very disappointing picture across the region, with all countries either seeing sharper rates of decline or - in the cases of Germany and Ireland - sliding back into contraction," Williamson said.

He said the Cyprus bailout appeared not to have had any impact so far but "the concern is that the latest chapter in the (eurozone debt) crisis will have hit demand further in April".

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Sydney taxi driver saves woman from fire

A taxi driver has helped save an elderly woman trapped in a house fire in Sydney's west. Source: AAP

A TAXI driver has helped save an elderly woman trapped in a house fire in Sydney's west.

The blaze started in the front bedroom of a cottage on Como St, Merrylands about 1pm (AEDT) on Tuesday, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said.

An 87-year-old woman was inside the home with her female carer, but it's believed they had trouble getting out, he said.

Taxi driver Hassan Charouk was driving along Como St when he saw the house alight.

He told the Seven Network the blaze was "terrifying", but he didn't think twice about going inside to help.

"(It was) very scary. When I entered the house it was dark and scary. I was able to get the old lady, pick her up and drag her out," he said.

The woman was taken to Westmead Hospital due to smoke inhalation.

The front bedroom of the home was extensively damaged, Fire and Rescue NSW said.

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Abbas blames Israel for prisoner's cancer

PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas has blamed the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the death of a prisoner suffering from terminal cancer.

"The Palestinian presidency holds the government of Netanyahu responsible for the martyrdom of prisoner Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh today in the prisons of the Israeli occupation," Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Abu Hamdiyeh, 64, died at Soroka hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva where he was suffering from terminal throat cancer, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

"Prisoner Maisara Abu Hamdyieh died today. He had cancer," Qadura Fares, head of the Ramallah-based Prisoners Club, told AFP, accusing Israel of responsibility due to its "refusal to release him for treatment."

The Palestine Liberation Organisation too lashed out at Israel, accusing the Jewish state of a "premeditated crime against humanity" and warning more terminally ill prisoners could die.

"We are still looking at a grave situation with the hunger-striking prisoners and dozens of cases of long-term illnesses in need of treatment," it said.

"The world should move quickly in light of the deterioration of their health."

Abu Hamdiyeh, who was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life in jail, began complaining of throat problems about nine months ago and was subsequently diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus.

The Israel Prisons Service confirmed his death, adding that a process for his early release had been under way in the light of his deteriorating health.

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Asia manufacturing picks up in March: data

MANUFACTURING activity across Asia expanded in April with widely watched barometers suggesting the region's export-dependent economies were continuing to recover.

China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) hit 50.9 in March, its highest since April 2012 when the figure stood at 53.3, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

The PMI is a widely watched indicator of economic health, with a reading above 50 suggesting expansion while anything below points to contraction.

British bank HSBC, whose survey focuses more on smaller enterprises than the official data, said its final PMI stood at 51.6 in March, up from 50.4 in February, when the reading dipped to its lowest since October.

"China's recovery continues, mainly driven by the gradually improving domestic demand conditions," said Qu Hongbin, a Hong Kong-based economist with the bank, in a statement.

HSBC's PMI readings for many other Asian economies all improved in the month, with Vietnam hitting a 23-month high of 50.8.

South Korea saw its strongest figure for a year, reaching 52.0 thanks to solid increases in output and new orders as demand from China and Japan was strong, HSBC said.

In Taiwan, the PMI climbed to 51.2 in March, the fourth consecutive month of improvement and up from 50.2 in February, on the back of new orders from both home and abroad continuing to rise.

HSBC's index for Indonesia reached a four-month high of 51.3, from 50.5 in February, underpinned by a faster expansion in new orders and a slight increase in production, the bank said.

India's figure was also positive at 52.0 in March, although that was the lowest reading for 16 months and down from 54.2 in February, as repeated power cuts weighed on activity.

Speaking of the latest data CIMB head of research Song Seng Wun told Dow Jones Newswires: "It paints a story of modest recovery rather than an all-out, straight line all-guns-blazing story, which would have pleased the market more."

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South Korea leader vows retaliation

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament is set to meet at a time of soaring military tensions. Source: AAP

SOUTH Korea's new president has promised a strong military response to any North Korean provocation after Pyongyang announced the two countries are now in a state of war.

President Park Geun-Hye's warning came as North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament was set to hold its annual session and a day after ruling party leaders vowed to enshrine Pyongyang's right to nuclear weapons in law.

In a meeting with senior military officials and Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin, Park said she took the near-daily stream of bellicose threats emanating from the North over the past month "very seriously."

"I believe that we should make a strong and immediate retaliation without any other political considerations if (the North) stages any provocation against our people," she said.

Park, a conservative who had advocated cautious engagement with the North during her campaign, has been compelled to take a more hardline posture after assuming office in February.

The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since North Korea's long-range rocket launch in December which its critics condemned as a ballistic missile test.

United Nations sanctions were followed by a nuclear test in February, after which came more sanctions and more apocalyptic threats from Pyongyang as South Korea and the United States conducted joint military drills.

Those threats have run the gamut from limited artillery bombardments to pre-emptive nuclear strikes, and have been met with warnings from Seoul and Washington of severe repercussions.

The US military said Monday it had deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of the ongoing "Foal Eagle" military exercise.

The jets were reportedly flown out of the US air base in Okinawa, Japan.

North Korea has already threatened to strike the US mainland and US bases in the Pacific in response to the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in this year's exercise.

The annual gathering of the North's Supreme People's Assembly usually scores low on important policy announcements - its role largely limited to unanimously pushing through pre-decided budgets and personnel changes.

But with North Korea having declared itself in a "state of war" with the South, Monday's session will be closely watched for any sign of the current crisis impacting on the fortunes of members of the ruling elite.

"The North has played most of its political cards, so I don't see any fresh, tangible threats to come out after the meeting," said Cho Han-Bum, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"It will probably issue some kind of symbolic statement, like urging all North Koreans to stand ready for a possible war," Cho said.

The parliament session was preceded by a gathering on Sunday of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party, chaired by North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-Un.

The meeting declared that the North's possession of nuclear weapons "should be fixed by law", and that its nuclear arsenal should be beefed up "qualitatively and quantitatively".

On Saturday, North Korea announced it had entered a "state of war" with South Korea and warned that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict.

Both South Korea and the United States chose to downplay the announcement as just another in a long line of rhetorical provocations.

One threat that grabbed more attention related to the possible closure of a joint-Korean industrial complex which lies inside North Korea.

The Kaesong estate - established in 2004 as a symbol of cross-border cooperation - is a crucial source of hard-currency revenue for North Korea which has never allowed past crises on the peninsula to impact its operations.

On Saturday, the North's state body in charge of the complex said it would shut Kaesong down completely if South Korea continues to affront Pyongyang's "dignity".

The border crossing to Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres on the North side, was functioning normally on Monday.

The operating stability of the complex is seen as a true bellwether of inter-Korean relations, and its closure would mark a significant escalation of tensions beyond all the military rhetoric.

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Berezovsky's girlfriend doubts suicide

THE 23-year-old girlfriend of the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky said she did not believe he had killed himself and that they had been planning to go to Israel on holiday together days after he was found dead.

In an interview with liberal weekly New Times, Katerina Sabirova said she did not believe Berezovsky, 67, whom she first met four years ago, would have killed himself, and that in their last conversation a day before his death, his voice "had sounded better than usual."

Berezovsky, 67, was found on March 23 in the bathroom of a mansion outside London and a postmortem found that he had been hanged and no evidence of a struggle.

"He was definitely planning to come to Israel on Monday (March 25). I know that for sure," she told the magazine and gave them a printout of her air ticket to Tel Aviv.

"He had big plans" of going to the Dead Sea, she said, adding that he had been down but that she had not believed he was suicidal.

Berezovsky "used to say: 'Imagine if I'm not around, all the problems will go away,' but this wasn't a guide to action, I could not and cannot imagine that he could do this. It's very hard to believe this," Sabirova said.

Berezovsky was due to meet her at Tel Aviv airport's VIP lounge, after flying out with his bodyguard Avi, she said. He had proposed the trip on March 18, as Sabirova's British visa had run out.

The magazine printed a photograph of Sabirova, a pretty brunette, with Berezovsky, his arm around her shoulder. Friends of Berezovsky confirmed that they were in a long-term relationship, it said.

When she came to a Moscow restaurant for the interview "heads turned," the magazine wrote.

Sabirova also confirmed that Berezovsky had discussed with her his letter to Putin asking for forgiveness, whose existence was revealed after Berezovsky's death by Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

"He said that he did not see another way (to return to Russia) than to bow down," she said, adding that she saw a draft and inferred that Berezovsky sent it in November.

Friends of Berezovsky concurred that he had been extremely depressed after losing a multi-million-pound court battle against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea football club, last year.

AFP tdw

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Easter road toll 7 more than last year's

EIGHTEEN people have been killed on the nation's roads during the Easter break, seven more than this time last year.

Two pedestrians are among the victims, with the latest a male who died at the scene of a crash at Waterloo Corner, north of Adelaide, on Monday evening.

In Perth, a male pedestrian, 21, died after being hit by a prime mover on the Mitchell Freeway about 7.20pm (WST) on Sunday.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner and have asked witnesses to the accident, or anyone who saw a pedestrian on the freeway beforehand, to call Crime Stoppers.

The first death on WA roads in the Easter period was on Thursday, when a 66-year-old man died after his car and caravan rolled over near Albany in the state's south.

There were also two off-road crashes in WA which were not included in the official toll figures.

On Saturday afternoon, a 37-year-old man died and a 33-year-old man was injured when their motorcycles collided on a blind bend on private property about 50km north of Kalgoorlie.

The 37-year-old man, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from his bike and suffered serious head injuries.

On Friday afternoon, a 29-year-old motorcyclist from Geraldton died after crashing in sand dunes near Northampton in WA's Mid West region.

In South Australia, a 27-year-old man died when his ute rolled in Mount Gambier on Saturday night.

Three people died in two separate crashes in South Australia on Good Friday.

"South Australia has already recorded its worst Easter road toll in recent years and thousands of families are still to make the journey home today," South Australia Police said in a statement.

The official Easter road toll is now five in South Australia, two in NSW, four in Queensland, three in Victoria, two in Tasmania and two in WA.

There have been no road deaths in the ACT or the Northern Territory.

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Media man dies in Sydney cliff top fall

SYDNEY sport and media circles are mourning journalist-turned-PR consultant Rod "Rocket" Allen, whose body was discovered on Cockatoo Island.

It is understood Mr Allen had been camping with his wife Laila on the Sydney Harbour island on Saturday night to celebrate a former colleague's 50th birthday.

Police believe Mr Allen fell from a cliff overnight, but investigations into his death continue.

A spokeswoman could not confirm a News Ltd report he became disoriented when he was returning to his tent on the northern side of the island in the early hours of Sunday morning and fell from a viewing platform overhanging a sandstone cliff.

News Ltd reported investigations by water police would focus on whether there was adequate fencing, lighting and signage around the 20-metre drop and the pathways leading to the platform.

The man nicknamed Rocket joined the media industry more than 20 years ago, as a cadet with News Ltd, and eventually became a sports managing editor for Fairfax before going on to found the public relations firm Rocket Group in 2009.

As media manager for the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club, he watched the Wanderers win the Premiers Plate on Friday in the team's inaugural season.

Club executive chairman Lyall Gorman said football had lost a great friend.

"On this day of immense shock and sadness, we remember Rod's wonderful warm nature," Mr Gorman said.

"I am not sure that in the nine years I have known Rod that I have ever seen him happier or prouder when it came to football (than on Friday)."

As news of his death spread on Sunday evening, friends and colleagues took to Twitter to express their grief.

"Wow.. Can't believe it, Rod Allen, amazing guy, love to his family and friends. Shocked," said Socceroos captain Lucas Neill.

One colleague wrote: "Rod Allen was an inspirational sports editor and a wonderful mentor for all who worked with him,"

Another described the media man as a "master of his craft and an even better bloke", while a third remembered him as a "good guy with a ready smile".

Mr Allen had worked as head of media relations for Football Federation Australia, supporting Australia's bids for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the Socceroos' campaigns for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

FFA CEO David Gallop paid tribute to Mr Allen's professionalism.

"His no-nonsense approach to the task at hand was his trademark and many who dealt with him appreciated this dedication to getting the story, hitting deadline or managing an issue," Mr Gallop said.

"On behalf of the Australian Football Community, we offer our deepest condolences to his family during this extremely sad time."

Fairfax reported friends and family left the island about 2pm (AEDT) on Sunday before gathering in Balmain to mourn.

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Mandela spends fourth day in hospital

Nelson Mandela is comfortable and breathing without difficulty after being treated for pneumonia. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela remains in hospital for a fourth day after South African officials say he's making steady progress following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia.

The frail 94-year-old, one of the towering figures of modern history, was admitted late on Wednesday for his third hospitalisation in four months.

Doctors drained a build-up of fluid, known as a pleural effusion or "water on the lungs", that had developed from the lung infection.

"This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, Zuma's spokesman said it was too early for another update on the anti-apartheid icon's health.

"I have no update to issue this morning. It's too early. I don't even know how he spent the night," Mac Maharaj told AFP.

"I have said he is responding (to treatment), making steady progress."

It was unclear how long South Africa's first black president would remain hospitalised.

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 at home, 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, Mandela remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.

It is the second time this month Mandela 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 for another lung infection and gallstone surgery, his longest since he walked free from jail in 1990.

He was diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 year jail term and has long had problems with his lungs.

He has also had treatment for prostate cancer and has suffered stomach ailments.

Keertan Dheda, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Cape Town, said a pleural effusion was the accumulation of water between the lining covering the lung and the chest wall.

Having the fluid tapped was a minor procedure, he said.

"One can drain the fluid with a needle and a catheter and in some cases that's all that's needed," he said.

Other cases required the fluid to be chemically broken down if it had formed pockets or a small operation if infected.

"The older you are, the longer pneumonia takes to get better," said Dheda, adding that mortality was also higher.

"It takes a bit longer, everything is a bit slower and a bit more complicated the older you get."

French pulmonologist Jean-Christophe Renaud said Mandela had a good constitution and could recover well.

"But at 94, everything is serious, especially taking into account his previous medical history."

While Mandela's legacy continues to loom large, he has long since exited the political stage and for the large young population he is a figure from another era, serving as president for just one term.

He has not appeared in public since July 2010.

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Beatles album sells for $279,000

A RARE, signed copy of The Beatles' album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been sold for a record $US290,500 ($A279,000) at auction.

The Hollywood Reporter entertainment magazine reported on its website that the album, signed by all four members of the famous band, was purchased through Dallas-based Heritage Auctions by an unnamed buyer from the Midwest.

Earlier estimates suggested the album would sell for about $US30,000, the publication said.

The Beatles are believed to have signed the cover around June 1967 when the album was released.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the previous record for a signed Beatles album cover was $US150,000, which was paid for a copy of Meet the Beatles.

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Family escapes Adelaide house fire

A FAMILY with five children has escaped unscathed from a fire which engulfed a home in Adelaide's north.

The single storey duplex house at Smithfield Plains was fully alight when fire crews arrived on Sunday afternoon.

A neighbour alerted the family inside the house and they evacuated safely.

The fire was controlled in 15 minutes with crews managing to stop its spread to the rest of the duplex.

Fire investigators will determine the cause.

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