Federal government has Qld in its sights

The PM is determined to sign up more states and territories to her schools funding reforms. Source: AAP

THE federal government has Queensland in its sights as it seeks to sign up another conservative state to its $14.5 billion schools funding package, following its success with NSW.

As Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited Rockhampton on Wednesday to woo voters in the Liberal National Party-led state with more federal money for an ageing highway, she pointed to NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's schools decision.

"Let's be very frank here ... a conservative premier has found what is on the table acceptable for the children in his schools," Ms Gillard told ABC radio.

The Liberal NSW government on Tuesday signed up to the schools plan, earning itself $3.7 billion in federal money, leaving the other states and territories under pressure to accept a deal ahead of a June 30 federal deadline.

Treasurer Wayne Swan stepped up the pressure by accusing Queensland Premier Campbell Newman of bowing to federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who could become Australia's new prime minister in September.

"What the premier of Queensland ought to do is put the kids of Queensland first, not bow down to the interests of Tony Abbott," Mr Swan said.

Ms Gillard is awaiting a letter from Mr Newman outlining the state's position.

A spokeswoman for Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the state hoped Ms Gillard "can meet us halfway".

Under the current offer, Queensland's total funding would be $3.8 billion, with the federal government kicking in 65 per cent.

If Queensland signs, Ms Gillard will be more than halfway to getting national agreement on her schools funding plan, given all of the Labor states are expected to agree.

That would leave Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, which continue to argue their deals aren't up to scratch.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine planned to speak to Ms Gillard on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Labor has offered $4.1 billion in federal funding to upgrade the ageing Bruce Highway in the Labor-held Queensland seat of Capricornia, which is under threat from the Liberals ahead of the September federal election.

Ms Gillard says the "huge" 10-year funding commitment is four times more than what the Howard government spent on the notoriously dangerous road over a similar period.

"Federal Labor understands that infrastructure matters," she said in a statement.

The federal money is conditional on Queensland agreeing to stump up $1 billion for the project, under current arrangements for federal infrastructure projects.

"It's over to Premier Newman," Ms Gillard told reporters in Rockhampton.

But Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the offer was already expected as part of the usual 80-20 federal-state funding split.

"New funding, not recycled announcements, ahead of this year's federal election will be the key to delivering for one of Queensland's most notorious national roads," Mr Emerson said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Mr Abbott again accused Labor of making spending promises it couldn't keep.

"Every day we have government ministers announcing that there is pressure on the revenue, and every day this government announces more multibillion-dollar spending initiatives," he told reporters in Melbourne.

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Musharraf denied bail over Bhutto killing

A Pakistani court refused to extend bail for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. Source: AAP

A PAKISTANI court refused to extend bail for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a lawyer said.

It is the second of three cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule for which he has been denied bail.

He is already under a two-week house arrest at his villa on the edge of Islamabad over his decision to sack judges when he imposed emergency rule in November 2007.

Musharraf, who attended a separate hearing relating to the Bhutto case on Tuesday, did not appear before the court on Wednesday and neither did his main lawyer.

"The court dismissed General Musharraf's bail application," prosecution lawyer Chaudhry Azhar told reporters on Wednesday after the hearing by the Lahore High Court sitting in Rawalpindi, the garrison city twinned to Islamabad.

"Now the FIA (federal investigative agency) should arrest him," he added.

Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder Bhutto, who died in a gun and suicide attack in December 2007.

His arrest and disqualification from contesting elections on May 11 have been a humiliating blow for the former ruler of nuclear-armed Pakistan, who returned home last month promising to "save" the country.

On Tuesday, police said they had recovered a car carrying detonators and explosives on the road leading to Musharraf's house

The Pakistani Taliban have threatened to kill Musharraf who escaped three assassination attempts during his rule, but denied anything to do with the car.

Nobody has been convicted or jailed for Bhutto's assassination on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, despite a long-running court case.

Musharraf's government blamed Bhutto's killing on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement and who was killed in a US drone attack in August 2009.

In 2010 a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to give her adequate protection.

Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is chairman of the outgoing Pakistan People's Party, has accused Musharraf of her murder.

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82 die in Bangladesh building collapse

AT least 82 people have died and 700 are injured after a eight-storey building containing several garment factories collapsed on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital on Wednesday, a doctor says.

Hiralal Roy, a senior emergency ward doctor at the nearby Enam hospital, said: "The death toll is now 82. At least 700 people have also been treated at the hospital."

"The toll will rise as conditions of some injured were critical " he told AFP.

But the hospital toll contradicts information from the Bangladesh health ministry which says the death toll is 70.

Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said that by Wednesday afternoon 70 bodies had been removed from the eight-storey building.

Corpses and the injured were removed from the higher reaches of the pile of flattened floors with makeshift slides made from cloth which just hours earlier was being cut into shirts and trousers for export to Western markets.

Earlier, Mohammad Humayun, a supervisor at one of the garment factories said: "We had sent two people inside the building and we could rescue at least 20 people alive.

"They also told us that at least 100 to 150 people are injured and about 50 dead people are still trapped inside this floor."

The collapse happened about 8.30am and since garment factories in the area routinely work 24 hours a day, it appeared likely that the four factories housed in the building were staffed at the time.

After cracks appeared in the building on Tuesday, evacuated workers were forced back into the building, one survivor said.

"The managers forced us to rejoin and just one hour after we entered the factory the building collapsed with a huge noise," said a 24-year-old worker who gave her first name as Mousumi.

"I am injured. But I've not found my husband who was working on the fourth floor," she told AFP, estimating that 5000 people worked inside the building, which also contained apartments, a bank and shops.

Firefighters and soldiers using drilling machines and cranes worked together with local volunteers in the search for other survivors from the building, which pancaked onto itself and stood only about two storeys tall.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan told reporters that the building was illegal and violated the country's building code.

The huge death toll is likely to raise further questions about safety in the garment industry.

The November fire at the Tazreen garment factory drew international attention to the conditions workers toil under in the $20 billion-a-year textile industry in Bangladesh.

The country has about 4000 garment factories and exports clothes to leading Western retailers.

Tazreen lacked emergency exits and its owner said only three floors of the eight-storey building were legally built.

Surviving employees said gates had been locked and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm went off.

The factory made clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands.

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UK cosmetic report relevant to Australia

A MAJOR UK report that attempts to tame the under-regulated, rapidly growing cosmetic intervention industry is relevant to Australia, a leading surgeon says.

The UK Keogh report, released on Wednesday, found most people who have cosmetic interventions take their safety for granted but large swathes of the non-surgical sector are "almost entirely unregulated".

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons president Geoff Lyons said Australia is ahead of the UK in some respects, but local practitioners and politicians should get behind the thrust of the report.

"What it's about is trying to increase the safety of people undergoing cosmetic surgery, either being non-invasive or invasive, and that's what we're all about," Dr Lyons told AAP.

He said legislation was failing to keep up with the rapidly growing industry.

"There needs to be an ongoing understanding from the government this is a rapidly changing area," Dr Lyons said.

The Keogh report was commissioned in response to the Poly Implant Protheses (PIP) implant scandal, which it said had exposed "woeful lapses" in product quality, patient care and record keeping.

An estimated 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received the PIP implants, which some health authorities say are twice as likely to rupture as other brands.

British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) president Graeme Perks said the PIP crisis had stirred fear over other "fillers".

"Having a bit of filler doesn't seem to be a big deal but if it goes wrong the consequences are disastrous," Dr Perks said.

In the UK, nine out of 10 cosmetic interventions are non-surgical, according to the report.

"We were surprised to discover that non-surgical interventions ... are almost entirely unregulated," it said.

It recommended all dermal fillers be made prescription only and all practitioners be properly qualified for the procedures they offer.

Dr Lyons said that in Australia, many of the injectable interventions, like Botox, are classed as S4 drugs and can only be prescribed by a doctor.

But he admitted more could be done.

"There's area for further reform but these are now S4 drugs," he said.

In comparison, laser skin treatments are less regulated, he said.

"Pressure's afoot to regulate that industry more closely," Dr Lyons said.

He said the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons would support closer monitoring of those items.

Dr Perks said, in the UK, parts of the industry were resistant to regulation.

"The problem is, if plastic surgeons speak out and say 'this is unsafe we don't think it's a good idea', the people who aren't plastic surgeons cry foul," he said.

Dr Lyons said Australia could benefit from the report's work.

"We should be looking to make sure the people doing these procedures are properly trained," he said.

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Myanmar hails EU lifting of sanctions

The EU has agreed to lift the last of the bloc's economic and individual sanctions against Myanmar. Source: AAP

MYANMAR has hailed a European Union decision lifting political and economic sanctions against the former pariah state.

Senior Myanmar diplomat Aung Lynn told reporters at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, that the international community can expect more reforms.

"This is a very good beginning," he told reporters on Tuesday, adding that Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) recognises the still enormous work ahead for the country, one of Southeast Asia's least-developed.

Myanmar would continue to work with the EU, he said.

The 27-nation bloc lifted all sanctions except those against the sale of arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression.

The economic sanctions were suspended last April for one year after Myanmar's military rulers handed over power to a civilian government.

The measures had targeted more than 800 companies and nearly 500 people, and included the suspension of some development aid.

EU officials say the sanctions' permanent abolition will encourage firms and development organisations from the bloc - the world's largest economy - to strengthen ties with Myanmar.

"We know that much remains to be done, on human rights, on democracy, fighting poverty and achieving lasting peace. We don't underestimate the challenges", said Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief.

Aung Lynn said Myanmar was looking forward to assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN for the first time next year, and would show the world how serious his country is about reform.

Myanmar declined the chairmanship in 2006 amid threats by Western governments to boycott ASEAN events due to Myanmar's then extremely poor human rights record.

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Qualified nod for Woodside dividend

MOODY'S Investors Service says Woodside Petroleum's special dividend and increase in its targeted dividend payout ratio is credit negative but can be accommodated within its existing credit rating and stable outlook.

"Woodside's financial profile has been strengthened due to the increased cash flow generation following the start up of the Pluto LNG project, combined with Moody's expectation for lower than previously projected capital expenditures over the next several years", said Moody's analyst Matthew Moore.

"As such, the announced shareholder friendly initiatives are manageable, albeit they absorb most of the near-term cushion at the rating level (of Baa1)," he said in a statement.

Woodside will pay a special dividend of 63 US cents per share next month and target a dividend payout ratio of 80 per cent of underlying net profit.

The special dividend was announced after the oil and gas company recently shelved its controversial $45 billion Browse gas plant and ruled out a near-term expansion of its flagship Pluto project.

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NSW police officer caught drink driving

A NSW police officer has been suspended after he was caught drink driving, police say.

The officer, 48, was arrested on Sunday after he returned a high range reading of 0.173 during a breath-test at Tweed Heads, police said.

Police suspended the man's drivers licence and he will appear in Tweed Heads Local Court for driving with a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol and other driving offences.

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Iran denies link with Canada terror plot

Canadian police say they have arrested two people over an al-Qaeda-supported plot to derail a train. Source: AAP

IRAN is denying any link with two suspects charged with plotting a terrorist attack against a Canadian passenger train.

Canadian authorities claim the suspects - 30-year-old Chiheb Esseghaier and 35-year-old Raed Jaser, - had "direction and guidance" from al-Qaeda members in Iran, though there was no allegation the planned attacks were state-sponsored.

Esseghaier is believed to be Tunisian and Jaser is from the United Arab Emirates.

Some al-Qaeda members were allowed to stay in Iran after fleeing Afghanistan but were under tight controls.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters on Tuesday that there is "no firm evidence" of any Iranian involvement, and groups such as al-Qaeda had "no compatibility with Iran in both political and ideological fields".

He called the Canadian claims part of hostile policies against Tehran.

Esseghaier and Raed Jaser were allegedly planning to carry out an attack on a Via Rail passenger train, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told a news conference.

A bail hearing was set for Tuesday.

"Today's arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada," Public Safety Minister Vic Toews warned.

Charges against the two include conspiring to carry out an attack and conspiring with a terrorist group to murder persons, though very few details about the plot were revealed.

Assistant RCMP Commissioner James Malizia told reporters the suspects "were receiving support from al-Qaeda elements located in Iran" but added: "There's no indication that these attacks were state-sponsored."

Asked to describe the kind of support offered, he replied: "Direction and guidance."

Malizia said the suspects were "not Canadian citizens" but declined to reveal their nationalities. One of the two men had lived in Montreal for several years, he added, without saying which one.

The suspects' plans were "not based on their ethnic origins but on an ideology," police said.

RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said the duo - who had been under surveillance since last August - planned "to derail a passenger train" in the Toronto area.

"We are alleging these individuals took steps and conducted activities to initiate a terrorist attack. They watched trains and railways in the Greater Toronto area," Strachan added.

A Toronto lawyer said his client, a local imam, first alerted authorities about one of the suspects, who the imam had noticed trying to spread extremist propaganda to youths within the community, according to a report in local newspaper the Globe and Mail.

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Five killed in another shooting in US

GUNFIRE erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police say.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9.30pm on Sunday (1430 Monday AEST) at the apartments in Federal Way found two injured men on the ground in a parking lot.

"When we arrived, there was a lot of gunfire already being fired and multiple calls, 911 calls of gunfire," said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock on Monday.

One of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two on the ground, she said.

At that point, other officers opened fire. The suspect died, but police said it wasn't immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

Police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit.

Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was accidentally hit by gunfire.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

"We're gonna continue to go door to door in hopes that we can find some additional witnesses, and hopefully we won't be finding any more victims," Schrock said.

After police flooded the scene and carried out searches of the area, authorities said they did not think another shooter was on the loose.

There were no reports of any officers being injured.

Federal Way is about 30km south of Seattle.

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Fake bus driver 'a misunderstanding'

REPORTS of a man posing as a bus driver and picking up students on the Gold Coast have turned out to be a big misunderstanding.

The alarm was raised on Monday morning by a concerned parent who told police her child feared something was amiss.

The driver didn't seem to know where he was going, and wasn't collecting fares from the students he picked up a number of stops in the Coombabah area.

It turned out that the driver was new, unfamiliar with his route, and didn't know how to work the ticketing machine properly.

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