N Korea takes sexist swipe at president

North Korea has taken its first official swipe at South Korea's new president Park Geun-Hye. Source: AAP

NORTH Korea has taken its first official swipe at South Korea's new president, using a sexist phrase to paint Park Geun-Hye as overbearing and manipulative.

A statement released on Wednesday by a spokesman of the North's armed forces ministry said South Korean officials were engaging in a round of "warmongering" orchestrated by the "poisonous swish" of the president's skirt.

The spokesman did not use Park's name or title, referring to her only as the current "owner" of the presidential Blue House in Seoul.

"Swish of the skirt" (or "chima baram") is a common derogatory Korean term used to criticise women seen as overly bossy or domineering.

North Korea's propaganda machine had slammed Park repeatedly during the presidential campaign, warning that she would adopt the dictatorial methods of her father, the late military strongman Park Chung-Hee.

But Wednesday's official comment was the first since she was sworn in a little more than two weeks ago as the first female president of what remains a largely male-dominated country.

It also slammed recent comments by Park - that the North's obsession with nuclear weapons would bring about its own collapse - as "utter ignorance".

Handling North Korea is a major challenge for any South Korean president and, in many cases, has been the issue by which their entire presidency is defined.

Park had campaigned on a promise of greater engagement with the North, but just two weeks into her term is facing threats from Pyongyang to unleash a second Korean War backed by nuclear weapons.

Addressing a lunch function on Wednesday, Park made no mention of the sexist slight and stressed her total commitment to ensuring national security.

"I will certainly safeguard the security of the Republic of Korea and its people no matter what sacrifices it takes," Park said, using the South's official name.

"North Korea's nuclear programs are unacceptable and we will respond thoroughly to provocations," she said, while adding that she was not ready to give up her campaign pledge to build more trust between North and South.

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Cardinals start second day of voting

No new pope has been elected following a first vote by cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. Source: AAP

CARDINALS have entered a second day of conclave to elect a pope.

The 115 cardinals held a first inconclusive vote in the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday as they began the process of finding a successor to Benedict XVI.

Black smoke billowed into the night air above the Vatican, indicating no one had gained the two-thirds majority needed to become the 266th pope.

White smoke - produced by mixing the smoke from burning ballots with special flares - will eventually indicate a new pope has been chosen.

No clear frontrunner has emerged, but the three favourites are Italy's Angelo Scola, Brazil's Odilo Scherer and Canada's Marc Ouellet, all conservatives like Benedict.

"So far there is no majority, but some candidates with little support will fall out soon," an anonymous cardinal who is too old to vote told the Italian daily La Stampa.

Some analysts suggest that Benedict's dramatic act - the first papal resignation in over 700 years - could push the cardinals to take an equally unusual decision and that an outsider could emerge as a compromise candidate.

However, two-thirds of the cardinals are from Europe and North America, and the view among many experts is only someone with experience of the inner workings can reform the scandal-tainted Vatican bureaucracy, the Roman Curia.

In interviews given before the conclave, cardinals pointed to new job requirements arising from the problems facing a church that is struggling in many parts of the world with scandals, indifference and conflict.

"Managerial skills will surely be useful," Vienna Archbishop Christoph Schoenborn told La Stampa newspaper.

And in an indication of a fault line among voting cardinals between Vatican insiders and those running far-flung dioceses, Nigerian John Onaiyekan spoke of "new and innovative methods to boost collegiality".

"In this regard there is a lot of room for development," said Onaiyekan, the archbishop of the Nigerian capital Abuja.

All were appointed by Benedict or his predecessor and ideological soul mate John Paul II.

What many cardinals want is a leader who can re-ignite Catholic faith - particularly among young people - in the way the charismatic John Paul II did.

There have been calls too from within the church for a rethink of some basic tenets such as priestly celibacy, the uniform ban on artificial contraception and allowing women to be priests as in other Christian denominations.

The scandal of sexual abuse of children by priests going back decades - and the cover-up of their actions by senior prelates - also cast a long shadow on the Church that the next pope will inherit.

And in a reminder of the relentless pace of the scandal, new details emerged implicating one of the cardinals, Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahoney, of protecting predator priests.

Lawyers said on Tuesday the archdiocese had agreed to pay nearly $US10 million ($A9.75 million) to four men who alleged they were molested by a priest in the 1970s.

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Strong economy vital for NDIS: Abbott

Australia can only afford the NDIS with the coalition in power, Tony Abbott has told parliament. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION leader Tony Abbott says a strong economy is vital to delivering the National Disability Insurance Scheme and only the coalition can deliver both.

Joining the NDIS debate in parliament on Wednesday, Mr Abbott said a strong economy was the only guarantee the scheme would succeed.

"A rich country can afford a National Disability Insurance Scheme, a poor country cannot," he said.

"The party that you can best trust to deliver a National Disability Insurance Scheme is the party that you can most trust to deliver strong economic growth.

"Such a party is in fact the coalition," he said.

The opposition leader used his speech to renew his offer to work with the Gillard government in a bi-partisan parliamentary committee to oversee the scheme from introduction to completion.

Labor has not moved to legislate for such a committee but Mr Abbott said he would if elected.

The opposition leader called the NDIS bill one of the most complex pieces of policy ever put before the Australian parliament but said it was still a work in progress.

"It is a building site ... Is it to be a scheme such as Medicare, is it to be in effect Medicare for people with disabilities?" he said.

"Or is it to resemble more closely the workers' compensation schemes."

Earlier on Wednesday, Disability Reform minister Jenny Macklin told parliament the bill should pass both houses by the end of next week.

Debate on the NDIS has been adjourned.

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Ryan right man for development role: Fox

TRUCKING magnate Lindsay Fox has given a tick of approval to the Napthine government for creating the ministry of state development and putting Victorian deputy premier Peter Ryan at the head.

Mr Fox said infrastructure in Victoria is in a deplorable state and likened it to a man about to suffer a heart attack because his arteries are blocked.

"The new ministry is one of the best things I have heard from the state of Victoria for a long time," he told AAP.

Mr Fox said he worked with Mr Ryan in the period after the Black Saturday bushfires in February, 2009 and was impressed with his enthusiasm.

"He's a can-do man and if there is red tape to go through, then he'll go through it," he said.

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UK PM urges Argentina to respect vote

David Cameron has urged Argentina to respect the wishes of Falklands residents after referendum. Source: AAP

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Argentina to respect the wishes of residents of the Falkland Islands after they voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain a British territory.

Before the result on Tuesday, Buenos Aires had dismissed the vote as meaningless in international law, saying it would not affect its claims on the South Atlantic archipelago.

But Cameron said the 98.8 per cent "yes" vote, on a turnout of 92 per cent, was "the clearest possible result there could be" and Argentina should respect that.

"They should take careful note of this result. The Falkland Islanders couldn't have spoken more clearly," he said in a statement.

"They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."

He added that he was personally "delighted" at the outcome.

"The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through and that is how they want to stay. People should know we will always be there to defend them," he said.

"We believe in self-determination. The Falkland Islanders have spoken so clearly about their future and now other countries right across the world, I hope, will respect and revere this very, very clear result."

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1.7 million apply for 1500 Indian jobs

INDIA'S largest state-run bank has received 1.7 million applications for 1500 entry-level clerk jobs - and has promised to examine all of them.

State Bank of India chairman Pratip Chaudhuri attributed the huge interest to good marketing and attractive employment terms, with the number of applications underlining the appeal of "jobs for life" in the Indian public sector.

For positions in Mumbai, the bank offered a starting package of 69,000 rupees ($A1,245) a month.

Job opportunities in the Indian private sector have fallen in the past 18 months as economic growth has dropped to its lowest level in a decade.

The government forecasts that India's once-booming economy will grow by five per cent in the financial year to March 31.

Last year, it grew by 6.2 per cent but even that rate is insufficient to create the jobs India needs for its fast-growing young population.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a former economist, believes the country needs at least eight per cent growth to create enough jobs.

Chaudhuri said all 1.7 million applicants - more than 1,100 per position available - would be assessed.

"We have conducted such examinations in the past by hiring schools across the country. This time, we may have to do two shifts," he told the newspaper.

Nine out of ten Indians are employed in the "informal" sector in jobs that offer no security, few perks and often illegal working conditions, government data shows.

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Court battle over Irwin reserve in Qld

CAPE York traditional owners are continuing their fight to overturn a decision by the Queensland government to declare part of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve a nature refuge.

The Cape York Land Council wants a say in the management of the land.

The council alleges Environment Minister Andrew Powell failed to follow due process before making a decision in September to turn a 125,000 hectare area, near Weipa, into a protected reserve.

The council launched action in the Planning and Environment Court in Cairns last month and the case was mentioned in the same court on Monday.

The case is to be mentioned in Cairns on June 3.

The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, a part of the Wenlock River basin, was purchased by the federal government as a tribute to Steve Irwin following his death in 2006.

Resources company Cape Alumina Limited resumed planning a bauxite mine on the reserve in October last year after the state's co-ordinator general gave it significant project status.

The plans were shelved after the former Queensland government in 2010 declared the Wenlock River to be a wild river, placing stringent environmental regulations on the entire basin.

The current state government has promised to repeal the Cape York Wild Rivers declarations.

A Cape York Regional Planning Committee has been established to identify zones of economic development and environmental protection.

Some indigenous groups have said the Wild Rivers protections hold them back from economic development.

But the Wilderness Society fears it will lead to widespread environmental damage and weaken protection for some of the state's most beautiful rivers.

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Fire sparks evacuation in southwest Vic

A LARGE grassfire burning around the Cashmore area in Victoria's southwest is under control and no longer threatening houses.

Some residents were evacuated as the 145-hectare fire threatened homes but the CFA said shortly after 8pm (AEDT) on Wednesday it was under control and some roads had been reopened.

An emergency warning has been downgraded to a watch and act alert and residents are being allowed back to their properties.

About 130 firefighters and seven water bombers battled the blaze in temperatures that nudged 37 degrees.

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Most parts of SA face total fire ban

MOST of South Australia will be under a total fire ban on Tuesday following a spell of hot weather and minimal rainfall which have dried out fuel in the bush.

The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) has declared fire bans in 13 out of the 15 districts.

CFS State Coordinator Leigh Miller says the public should be aware of weather conditions and be mindful of the activities they carry out on Tuesday.

"We are urging the public to delay any activities that could potentially start a fire, and consider undertaking these when weather conditions are milder" Mr Miller said.

"Now is the time that people should be following their Bushfire Survival Plan."

He said the CFA was prepared for what is set to be a potentially very dangerous day.

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Giant snail destroyed in Brisbane

A SNAIL the size of a cricket ball and posing a serious threat to Australia's biosecurity has been destroyed after it was found creeping across a Brisbane container yard.

Staff called the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) after finding the large snail crawling across the cement yard.

It was a Giant African Snail.

The exotic pest has an insatiable appetite and is capable of destroying 500 hundred types of plants including vegetable crops, fruit trees and Australia's native eucalypts.

Giant African Snails can live through harsh conditions, growing up to 20 centimetres in length and weighing up to a kilogram.

Acting DAFF regional manager Paul Nixon said on Monday officers found no evidence of other snails, eggs or snail trails when they inspected the container yard.

They will continue precautionary surveillance over the coming week.

"Giant African Snails are one of the world's largest and most damaging land snails," Mr Nixon said in a statement.

"Australia's strict biosecurity requirements and responsive system has so far kept these pests out of Australia and we want to keep it that way."

Meanwhile, a 42-year-old man was on Monday convicted and fined $7000 in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court for illegally importing 48 plant cuttings from France into Australia.

He had asked the seller to make a false declaration on the package when sending it to Australia, DAFF said.

It was found by a detector dog.

The department says plant cuttings pose a significant biosecurity risk and can carry disease as well as harbour exotic pests.

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