Italy to pay 40bn euros owed to business

THE Italian government has given its go-ahead for a bill to repay 40 billion euros ($A50.06 billion) owed to the private sector in a bid to stimulate growth.

"The cabinet meeting today approved an urgent decree to pay back the debts of the public sector to the private sector," Prime Minister Mario Monti told a press conference after talks on Saturday.

The bill had been eagerly awaited by Italy's business community under pressure from the longest post-war recession in the eurozone's third largest economy and a lack of available credit from banks.

Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli said the payments could begin as early as Monday and would extend over the next 12 months.

Monti said total debts were 80 billion euros at the end of 2011 and that banks estimated they had since risen to more than 100 billion euros.

"This means costs for businesses and for the whole country. It is an unacceptable situation that has taken on ever greater dimensions," Monti said.

The interim prime minister, who is in charge awaiting the formation of a new government following elections in February, said the payments would not breach the threshold of 3.0 per cent mandated by the European Union.

Monti stressed that the approval of the draft bill did not mean his government had plans to stay in charge for longer, adding that Saturday's cabinet meeting "could be the last one".

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72 dead in Mumbai building collapse

AUTHORITIES have abandoned a search for more survivors from the collapse of a seven-storey building on Mumbai's outskirts that killed 72 people.

They say there is no hope of finding anybody else alive.

The cave-in of the partly finished building late on Thursday has highlighted widespread shoddy building standards in India where there is huge demand for housing and pervasive corruption often means cost-cutting and no inspections.

"The rescue work is now over since there is no hope of finding any more survivors," Sandeep Malvi, Thane municipal corporation spokesman, told AFP on Saturday.

"The death toll is now 72. About 36 are injured and undergoing treatment. At least 126 people have been rescued," he added.

Most of the victims were poor daily wage earners working at the site and their families, who were living with them. The dead included 17 children and 22 women, a local government statement said.

The building collapse is the deadliest since 2010 when 69 people were killed in New Delhi in a similar incident.

A 65-year-old woman was pulled from the rubble late on Friday after being trapped for almost 30 hours and was in stable condition in hospital, police said.

Police have arrested the two builders responsible for construction of the structure who had fled after the disaster and filed accusations of culpable homicide against them, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said.

The building's floors collapsed directly on top of each other like a pack of cards - a phenomenon known as a "pancake collapse" - making rescue work even tougher, said Alok Awasthi, commandant of the National Disaster Response Force.

"We are reasonably sure there is nobody there," Awasthi said after calling off the search.

Rescue workers used sledgehammers, chainsaws, hydraulic jacks and bulldozers to break through the mass of rubble in Thane district, 35 kilometres from central Mumbai.

"We had to proceed very slowly as any mis-step would have pushed up the death toll," Awasthi said, according to PTI.

The Maharashtra state government has announced a probe into the incident and suspended a top civic administrator and a police officer for dereliction of duty.

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World powers, Iran extend nuke talks

IRAN and world powers are battling to break the deadlock in the crisis over Tehran's nuclear drive.

Talks in Kazakhstan have been extended into the evening after a day of exhausting diplomacy on Saturday.

Officials from both sides are tight-lipped over whether any progress had been made but discussions continued longer than expected.

So far they have failed to resolve the main issue of whether Iran will accept limits on its nuclear program in return for some relief on the sanctions that have hurt the Islamic republic's economy in the past two years.

The world powers - comprised of the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany and known collectively as the P5+1 - are represented by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Iran's team is led by top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili who has until now held out little hope of concessions from Tehran.

An Iranian official close to the negotiations in the Kazakh city of Almaty said Tehran submitted a "detailed proposal" on Saturday that set off the day's negotiations.

But sources added that the parties still could not agree on details as well as the vital subject of where and when to meet again.

As well as bilateral discussions, the two sides held a plenary meeting in the morning, then continued in the afternoon. Another plenary session took place in the evening, officials said.

The two sides had held an indecisive first day of meeting on Friday that ended with only an agreement to meet again and Western officials admitting the positions were still far apart.

Ashton started Saturday by meeting Jalili in the hope of establishing whether Tehran's position had shifted from its tough demands of the previous day.

Both sides acknowledge differences despite growing Western fears about the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program.

Iran insists on international recognition of its asserted "right" to enrich uranium and wants that condition to be a part of any deal.

The world powers on the other hand say the onus is on Iran to take the first step to guarantee its nuclear program is and has been exclusively peaceful.

They insist on Tehran ending enrichment to high levels and verifiably suspending operations at the Fordo mountain bunker where such activity takes place before recognising Iran's nuclear rights to less threatening activities.

The P5+1 grouping is especially worried about Iran's enrichment to levels of up to 20 per cent and wants the Islamic republic to ship out the part of its 20-per cent enriched uranium not converted into powder for reactor fuel.

Iran denies it is developing the atomic bomb and argues that it requires a nuclear program solely for peaceful medical and energy needs.

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British woman stabbed to death in Kashmir

A YOUNG British woman holidaying in Indian Kashmir has been found dead in a pool of blood on a houseboat.

Police have arrested a Dutch man on suspicion of her murder.

The 43-year-old was taken into custody as he tried to flee the scenic Kashmir valley in the foothills of the Himalayas, police superintendent Tahir Sajjad said on Saturday.

"We walked into a pool of blood in her room," Sajjad said.

"We found a sharp-edged knife close to her body. The young lady had multiple stab wounds."

The attacker broke the latch on the cabin door of the 24-year-old British tourist who'd been staying in the houseboat on the picturesque Dal Lake in the Indian Kashmir city of Srinagar for two months.

Police were investigating whether the victim had been sexually assaulted in the incident, which comes after a string of attacks on tourists travelling in India.

They said her body had been sent for a post-mortem examination.

"We can confirm the Jammu and Kashmir police have the body of a British woman. We have contacted the next-of-kin and we are providing consular assistance to the family," a British High Commission (embassy) spokeswoman told AFP in New Delhi.

"At this moment, we cannot reveal the identity of the woman," she added.

In a statement, the police said that the victim was from Manchester.

Police said they had arrested the suspect in a taxi near Qazigund, 75 kilometres south of Srinagar on the highway leading out of the Kashmir valley.

He had been staying in the same houseboat as the victim and had arrived on Thursday, they said.

He had allegedly fled in a small boat which capsized as he was trying to reach the shore, forcing him to swim. The suspect was carrying only his passport when he was arrested, police said.

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Afghan bomb kills 3 soldiers, 2 civilians

THREE NATO soldiers and two coalition civilians have been killed in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan.

The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Saturday the five were killed following an improvised explosive device attack.

Officials did not disclose the nationalities of the fallen soldiers and civilians in line with ISAF policy.

An ISAF spokesman in Kabul said the blast was a car bomb that targeted a military patrol in the insurgency-hit south. There were also Afghan civilian casualties, he added.

An Afghan official also confirmed that the blast was a car bomb on a NATO military patrol in Qalat city, the capital of southern Zabul province.

"An explosive-packed car went off this morning in Qalat city as a NATO convoy was passing. We heard it has caused heavy casualties," the provincial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The attack is one of the deadliest to target US-led coalition forces this year, as their troops wind down their operation in the war-torn country ahead of a scheduled full withdrawal in 2014.

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Rebel govt aims to hold sway across Syria

SYRIAN rebel prime minister Ghassan Hitto has begun talks to form an interim government to administer the whole of Syria.

"The interim government is the executive authority that will extend its authority over all national Syrian territory, and it will consist of 11 ministries," the main opposition Syrian National Coalition said in a statement on Saturday.

Nominees for each post must "be able to work from within Syrian borders," said the coalition.

"The nominee cannot be a pillar of the current regime (of President Bashar al-Assad) or have committed crimes against the Syrian people."

The opposition has been divided over the need for an interim government and over Hitto's election as premier at a meeting in Istanbul last month.

After the coalition's vote to name Hitto, a dozen prominent opponents froze their membership of the umbrella group accusing the powerful Muslim Brotherhood bloc of having pushed through the nomination.

Mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army chief Selim Idriss has said a key condition for accepting an interim government was that its authority should cover the whole of Syrian territory, not just areas under rebel control.

The coalition said the government will comprise ministers of defence, interior, foreign affairs, local administration, economy and public resources, education, agriculture and water, health, infrastructure, relief and justice.

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Indon detains Muslims heading to Aust

INDONESIAN police have arrested 35 Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar planning to make the treacherous sea crossing to Australia to seek asylum.

Officials said on Friday the arrests came the same day Rohingya being held at a detention centre on Sumatra island beat to death eight Buddhist detainees from Myanmar (Burma) after being enraged by photos of recent communal violence in their homeland.

Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities, have fled Myanmar in their thousands since Buddhist-Muslim tensions exploded in their home state of Rakhine last year.

The 35 migrants, who included 12 children, were arrested at a flat in the city of Surabaya, East Java province, for not having the necessary immigration documents to be in Indonesia, said local police chief Wiji Suwartini.

"They planned to go to Australia," she told AFP, adding that they would be sent to an immigration detention centre in the city.

An increasing number of Rohingya have been arriving on Indonesian shores, where many face long stints in detention awaiting UN assessment for refugee status.

Friday's attack at the detention centre in Belawan underscored the soaring Muslim-Buddhist tensions that have cast a shadow over political reforms in Myanmar which have brought an end to decades of authoritarian military rule.

Australia is facing a steady influx of asylum-seekers arriving by boat, many of whom use Indonesia as a transit hub, paying people-smugglers for passage on leaky wooden vessels after fleeing their home countries.

Hundreds have died making the treacherous journey over the past few years.

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US trade deficit shrinks to $43bn in Feb

THE US trade deficit edged lower in February after a big jump in January, government data released on Friday shows.

The Commerce Department reported the trade gap shrank to $US43 billion ($A41.4 billion), down from the revised $US44.5 billion in January.

The decline, which came after a large 16.7 per cent deficit increase in January, surprised analysts who had projected a deficit of $US44.7 billion.

US exports grew 0.8 per cent to $US186 billion, strengthened by the exports of industrial goods (up 4.5 per cent) and cars (up 1.6 per cent).

Meanwhile, US imports held steady at $US228.9 billion.

US imports of crude oil, which represent more than 10 per cent of imported goods by the US, dropped 5.6 per cent to $US23.6 billion.

But US imports of foreign cars rose 4.6 per cent between January and February to reach $US24.8 billion.

On a 12-month basis, the US trade deficit has dropped by 3.5 per cent.

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Canada unemployment rate rises to 7.2%

A LOSS of 55,000 jobs in March pushed Canada's unemployment rate up 0.2 per centage points to 7.2 per cent, its government statistics agency says.

Fewer people were working in accommodation and food services, public administration and manufacturing, while there was little change in all other industries, said Statistics Canada on Friday.

The private sector shed 85,000 employees while the ranks of the self-employed rose by 39,000.

There was little change in the number of public sector jobs.

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Strong 6.2 quake rocks Russia near NKorea

A POWERFUL 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck in eastern Russia near the border with China and North Korea.

The US Geological Survey says the epicentre of the quake was southwest of Vladivostok, around nine kilometres from the Russian border town of Zarubino, at a depth of 561 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the tremor, which struck seconds after 12 am Saturday local time.

A 6.1-magnitude quake struck Russia's far east last month, and a 6.9 quake rocked the region in February. Neither caused significant damage.

An underground formation in the area known as the Kuril-Kamchatka arc is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

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NKorea warns it can't protect embassies

NORTH Korea says it can't assure the safety of embassies in Pyongyang after April 10, and is urging Britain, Russia and other European nations to evacuate diplomatic staff amid soaring nuclear tensions.

Countries across Europe on Friday reported receiving a letter suggesting they pull out of Pyongyang, as an increasingly bellicose North Korea moved two mid-range missiles to its east coast.

"Their communication said that from April 10, the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organisations in the country in the event of conflict," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office said.

"Our understanding is that the North Koreans were asking whether embassies are intending to leave, rather than advising them to leave."

Britain was considering its next steps, she said, while reminding North Korea of its responsibilities under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomatic missions.

Russia, which has relatively close ties with North Korea, also received the missive.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was in close contact with its partners including China over the suggestion.

"The suggestion was made to all embassies in Pyongyang and we are trying to clarify the situation," Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying on a visit to Uzbekistan.

"We are in close contact with our Chinese partners as well as the Americans", and all participants in the frozen six-party talks process seeking peace on the peninsula, he added.

He said there were "many factors" that needed clarification.

The spokesman of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, Denis Samsonov, told Russian news agencies a representative of the North Korean foreign ministry "suggested that the Russian side examine the question of evacuating the employees of the Russian embassy".

He said the mission had taken note of the information and was working normally.

"We are currently in the process of taking the decision," said Samsonov, adding that the current situation in Pyongyang was "absolutely peaceful".

A Russian foreign ministry source was quoted as saying by the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies that the security of Russian citizens was the priority in the taking of any decision.

"Unfortunately, the situation (on the Korean peninsula) is not developing in the way that we would like. For us the security of our citizens is the priority," said the unnamed source.

In Sofia, a foreign ministry spokesman said North Korea has sent letters to Bulgaria and other EU countries telling them to consider pulling their diplomatic staff from Pyongyang for security reasons.

"Yes, we - along with other EU member states - have received such a letter signed by a deputy foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Dimitar Yaprakov told AFP.

He said all foreign ambassadors had been summoned by Pyongyang's foreign ministry "telling them that it was ready to assist them if they wanted to evacuate their missions".

"The chiefs of EU missions to Pyongyang are meeting tomorrow there to discuss a common position and common action," he added.

The Czech foreign ministry also confirmed receiving the statement.

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John Kerr 'dreamed of becoming PM'

FORMER governor-general Sir John Kerr reportedly once dreamed of becoming prime minister.

Kerr controversially dismissed Labor PM Gough Whitlam in 1975 during his second term in office.

But in series of interviews conducted by the National Library of Australia, transcripts of which have been obtained by News Limited's Australian, Kerr reportedly revealed he had become estranged from Labor long before the dismissal and had thought of taking parliament's top job for himself.

In one interview, published by the paper for the first time on Saturday, Kerr said Whitlam "represents something that perhaps I might have been, had I stayed in the party as he did".

He also said he discussed his future with former Liberal prime minister Robert Menzies and how he could make his "way to the top".

The interviews with Kerr, who died in 1991, reveal that he also considered a dozen offers to be a Liberal MP before becoming governor-general.

"I had, during the 60s, re-established an interest in politics and was tempted to submit myself in the Liberal interest," he said.

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My bushfire meal changed the game: Nixon

FORMER Victoria Police chief Christine Nixon says leaders will never again leave their post during a disaster out of fear they'll be criticised like she was on Black Saturday.

Ms Nixon, who served as chief police commissioner for almost eight years, left for dinner at a pub only minutes after being told the state's bushfires on February 7, 2009, could become a disaster and people would probably die.

A royal commission into the deaths of 173 people on that day later criticised her hands-off leadership style and called it inadequate.

She was also heavily criticised in the media for her decision to leave her post during the peak of the fires.

But Ms Nixon told the Nine Network program The Bottom Line, which airs on Saturday, that the incident had changed emergency management.

"I don't think anybody will ever leave the scene of anything ever again, with the criticism that happened," she said.

"Just in case something serious happens to them, they'll be able to say, 'Well, I was there.'"

Ms Nixon, who led bushfire recovery efforts after the disaster, said the criticism she faced was very harsh and she's still not sure if her staying at the state control centre would have made a difference.

"I let some people down. Some people believed I did," she said.

"Whether or not me being there or not would have made any difference to the fires is a whole other issue."

Ms Nixon is considered a trailblazer for women in the force and she led police through a difficult corruption scandal and Melbourne's gangland war.

But her pub dinner on Black Saturday has continued to dog her distinguished career.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in 2011 that Ms Nixon would have to reflect on that day for the rest of her life.

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Labor plans budgets for fairness: Wong

LABOR will always plan its budgets to ensure a fair and just society, Finance Minister Penny Wong says.

She says a sustainable budget is ultimately a social responsibility.

"It is a responsibility to not only provide social services today but also to work to ensure the economy and the budget will sustain them into the future," Senator Wong said in a speech to the Australian Fabian Society in Adelaide on Thursday.

"Simply expecting future generations to bear the costs is neither progressive, nor is it responsible."

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan will hand down his sixth budget on May 14. Opinion polls suggest it may be his final one.

Labor is yet to deliver a budget surplus since regaining government in November 2007, as the impact of the global financial crisis continues to ripple through government coffers.

Senator Wong says the values of sustainability and fairness will underpin Labor's decisions on the budget.

She says Labor aims to ensure the budget remains sustainable.

"Fiscal responsibility is not, and cannot be, the preserve of the conservatives," she said.

"The task of modern Labor is to marry a mandate to govern with progressive values and economic responsibility."

Government budgets would always be finite, she said.

"And in the end, it is the most vulnerable - those who need support to get ahead - that often lose out if we disregard fiscal sustainability," Senator Wong said.

"We only have to look to overseas to see the impact on social safety nets when budget positions are allowed to deteriorate."

Many governments in Europe have cut social security payments following the hit to their budgets since the global financial crisis.

Labor has felt political heat in recent weeks over possible changes to superannuation concessions for the wealthy in the upcoming budget.

Senator Wong said superannuation required a long-term perspective, with the ageing population and the greater life span of Australians placing a strain on government services.

"This government's approach to superannuation will continue to be guided by the same principles of sustainability and fairness," she said.

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Aspiring Aussie model arrested in New York

AN aspiring Brisbane model has been arrested in New York for allegedly swindling a bank out of $A275,000 so he could pay for braces for his teeth.

Azeem Ali-Shabazz, 19, who on his Facebook page claimed he worked for the top global agency Ford Models, has been charged with grand larceny and is being held on $US20,000 ($A19,000) bail in the Manhattan Detention Complex.

US authorities allege he received a $US286,648 business loan from Sovereign Bank by falsely claiming he was the owner of CW Capital Asset Management, but in a jailhouse interview with the New York Daily News, Ali-Shabazz said he was also a victim.

Ali-Shabazz, who was living in Queens and wanted money to get braces for his teeth, said he was promised $US1500 by three men if he participated in the bogus loan application.

"I wanted to get braces," he told the Daily-News.

"I've got a nice smile, but I wanted a million-dollar smile."

Ali-Shabazz was arrested last Thursday when he went to a Sovereign Bank branch in Manhattan to ask why his account was frozen.

The teenager said he did not receive a cent of the $US286,648, and only knew the three men who duped him as Darryl, Orlando and Jason.

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Russian tycoon sells airline for 1 rouble

RUSSIAN tycoon Alexander Lebedev has sold his Moscow-based airline Red Wings for a symbolic 1 rouble (31 Australian cents) after it was grounded following a fatal crash of one of its Tupolev jets.

"Yes, I have signed documents on selling 100 per cent of Red Wings to a group of investors for 1 rouble," the billionaire known for his criticisms of the Kremlin wrote on his blog, without revealing the identity of the buyers.

"I did everything I could to save the company," wrote Lebedev, who part-owns Russia's most critical opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta and whose son Evgeny Lebedev owns Britain's The Independent and Evening Standard newspapers.

Writing on Twitter, he said he took the decision to sell "because of the fears of the bureaucrats in charge (of the sector)".

The Russian civil aviation agency in early February suspended operations by Red Wings, citing violations and lack of financing.

The flight ban came after one of the airline's TU-204 planes crashed on landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on December 29, killing five crew members, although the civil aviation authority said it was unrelated.

The aviation authority identified numerous violations by the airline and judged that it did not have enough financial resources to properly maintain its fleet.

Lebedev protested in February that there were no grounds for the decision to stop flights by the airline, which served several Russian cities.

Red Wings has a fleet of eight TU-204 planes, a mid-range jet that was first developed in the late Soviet era.

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US stocks mixed after jobless claims jump

US stocks have opened mixed after unemployment claims unexpectedly jumped, offsetting positive market reaction to new stimulus measures by the Bank of Japan.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.86 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 14,569.21.

The broad-based S&P 500 inched 1.21 points, or 0.08 per cent, higher to 1,554.90.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 4.94 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 3,213.66.

The mixed result came after Bank of Japan economic stimulus measures sent the Nikkei 225 index up 2.2 per cent.

But initial US jobless claims, an indicator of the pace of layoffs, totalled 385,000 in the week ending March 30, up 28,000 from the prior week's reading, the Labor Department reported.

The unexpected increase in claims came on the heels of a disappointing report on Wednesday on private-sector hiring.

The Department of Labor on Friday will release its closely watched monthly non-farm jobs and unemployment report.

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Nine broke rules in program on Neil Brooks

THE broadcast watchdog has found the Nine Network's A Current Affair broke rules on accuracy, privacy and complaints handling in a 2012 program on Olympic gold medallist Neil Brooks.

Nine's program accused Neil Brooks and his wife Linda of scams in Australia, the US and France.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said on Thursday the program aired on March 5, 2012, did not have enough evidence to support a claim that police in these three countries were investigating allegations of fraud against the former swimmer and his wife.

ACMA said Nine had also breached privacy provisions, but it did not say what they were.

It also said Nine had committed a technical breach of the complaints handling process by not providing a substantive response to a complaint from Mr Brooks.

The code says licensees don't have to respond to complaints that are the subject of legal proceedings and Brooks had issued a concerns notice under the defamation act.

But ACMA says the broadcaster should have provided a response because the court action had not commenced.

It said Nine had accepted its findings and would acknowledge that on its website.

"It has conducted training on its complaints-handling obligations," ACMA said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Brooks won gold as part of the men's medley relay team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was a former high-profile presenter on the Seven Network.

He left Australia with his wife and daughter Brooke in 2010. He first lived in France before moving to the United Kingdom.

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WWII bomb in central Berlin defused

GERMAN sappers successfully defused a World War II bomb unearthed near Berlin's main train station in a delicate operation that snarled rail and road traffic for several hours.

The 100-kilogramme explosive was dropped by an Allied plane during the Second World War and discovered Tuesday, a police spokesman told AFP, adding that experts believed it was a Soviet-made bomb.

"The operation to defuse the device took about half an hour," the spokesman said.

"Everything went according to plan."

The bomb was found about 1.5 kilometres north of the main station and the rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, said up to 50 regional and long-distance trains had to be re-directed to other hubs for nearly four hours.

More than six decades after the war, authorities believe there are still some 3,000 bombs buried beneath Berlin alone, and unexploded devices are regularly discovered in construction work.

In June 2010, a 500-kilo Allied bomb, thought to be British, exploded and killed three German sappers, and seriously injured two others in the central city of Goettingen as they prepared to defuse it.

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US stocks open slightly higher

US stocks brushed off a weak employment report and poor trading overseas and opened slightly higher.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 11.45 points (0.08 per cent) at 14,673.46.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.99 (0.06 per cent) to 1,571.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite increased 4.78 (0.15 per cent) to 3,259.64.

The modest gains came after payrolls firm ADP said the US private sector added 158,000 jobs in March, well below the 197,000 forecast by analysts.

However, Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare noted that ADP revised higher its February jobs figure.

"Factoring in the revision, private-sector payrolls increased over the two-month period on the order that was expected before today's release," O'Hare said in a research note.

Stock indexes in Britain, Germany and France were all lower Wednesday.

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Hyundai, Kia recall 1.9m vehicles

SOUTH Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling nearly 1.9 million vehicles in the United States to fix brake lights and airbags, the US government said.

The brake light recall affects Hyundai and Kia vehicles in model years between 2007 and 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea's largest automaker, notified the NHTSA it was recalling nearly one million vehicles to fix a faulty stop light switch that increases the risk of a crash.

The malfunction may prevent the brake lights from illuminating when the brake pedal is depressed or may prevent deactivation of the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal.

Hyundai said it was recalling recalling certain Accent, Tucson, Elantra, Santa Fe, Veracruz, Genesis Coupe, and Sonata vehicles in model years ranging from 2007 to 2011.

Hyundai's affiliate, Kia Motors Corporation, is recalling some model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles to fix the brake light switch.

Repairs of the affected vehicles will be free of charge, the companies said.

Hyundai, together with its smaller affiliate Kia, is the world's fifth-largest automaker.

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Fall injuries up as population ages: study

AN ageing population has seen the number of elderly people hospitalised after a fall increase by more than 5,000 in one year, with women accounting for the majority of the accidents, a report says.

The latest study from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows 83,800 people aged over 65 were hospitalised in the 2009/10 financial year - an increase of 5,100 on the previous 12 months.

The most common cause of injury was slipping, tripping or stumbling on level ground, rather than down steps or off furniture, the report released on Thursday said.

About 70 per cent of falls occurred in a home or aged care facility, with a third of the injuries hip or thigh related, and a fifth to the head.

"This condition is at advanced age - 75, 85, 95 - when people become very unstable on their feet and bones become weak in many cases," AIHW spokesman Professor James Harrison told AAP.

"The ageing population is another way of saying the proportion of people in the overall population that are in the at risk age group is increasing."

The report found 69 per cent of cases involved women, which Professor Harrison attributed to the simple fact that women live longer.

He said the average 15.5 days elderly patients spent in hospital after a fall, and the ageing population, made a "very strong public policy and budgetary" case for preventing accidents and trying to limit the seriousness of injury.

He said falling could be managed and reduced by encouraging older people go keep fit to improve muscle strength and balance, while drugs could be used to make fragile bones stronger.

High risk cases could also be equipped with the likes of hip pads, to reduce the likelihood of injury after a fall, Prof Harrison said.

"There is quite strong imperatives to look for ways of reducing the risk to a person, even if you can only reduce the risk per person of falling and fracturing a little bit," Prof Harrison said.

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NSW park staff want bulletproof vests

A UNION is demanding the NSW government provide orange bulletproof vests to workers in national parks that are being opened to recreational shooters.

The union representing park workers, the Public Service Association of NSW, is calling on the government to buy the bright orange vests for all employees who are potentially endangered by the hunting program, Fairfax Media reports.

The union will also write to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione seeking consent.

Recreational hunters will be allowed into national parks later this year following the O'Farrell government's deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party.

The controversial move has raised concerns that visitors to parks risk being accidentally shot by hunters.

However, the government says strict safety controls will be in place.

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Ex Vic cop sues state over jail time

A FORMER drug squad detective is suing the state of Victoria for alleged mistreatment while in custody awaiting trial over the murder of a police informer.

Former detective Paul Dale was charged with the murder of police informer Terence Hodson, who was executed in 2004 along with his wife Christine.

Mr Dale has alleged in a statement of claim seen by the The Age newspaper that his human rights were breached when he was forced to wear bright red prison clothing, was held in isolation and then put in a unit with three Lebanese-speaking men convicted of terrorism offences while on remand in the high-security Barwon Prison.

He alleges the state exposed him to increased risk of psychiatric injury through the conditions in which he was held and he now suffers from conditions including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, The Age reports.

Mr Dale walked from court a free man in 2010 after the Office of Public Prosecutions withdrew the charge.

It came after drug kingpin Carl Williams - who allegedly told police that Mr Dale had asked him to arrange the hit - was murdered in Barwon Prison.

Mr Dale was last week found not guilty of lying to the Australian Crime Commission over his links to Williams.

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Speeding Vic P-plater loses wheels

A SPEEDING P-Plater has lost his ute for a month for driving 85km/h over the speed limit in Victoria.

The 18-year-old was nabbed on the Princes Freeway just before 10pm (AEDT) on Tuesday after doing 185km/h in a 100km/h zone at Laverton in Melbourne's southwest, police say.

The Werribee man's white ute was impounded and he is expected to be charged on summons with exceeding speed, driving at a dangerous speed and other traffic offences.

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NSW voters say no to CSG: poll

THREE quarters of NSW voters oppose coal seam gas (CSG) exploration on agricultural land, a new poll shows.

Nearly one in six people - 17 per cent - support allowing the process, according to the Fairfax Media/Nielsen poll.

The survey reveals 75 per cent of coalition voters oppose the practice, close to the 73 per cent of Labor voters who are also against it.

The poll comes after the NSW government was criticised for not yet signing a protocol to refer big coal and coal seam gas projects to a national expert panel for advice on their environmental impact.

A report by the Council of Australian Governments Reform Council, released on Tuesday, said NSW was the only participating state not to reach agreement with the commonwealth on how to decide where projects were referred for advice.

Mining company Dart Energy also announced on Tuesday that it would slash 70 per cent of its workforce as it reins in costs in response to tighter government restrictions on coal seam gas projects.

Dart will suspend its field operations in NSW and instead focus on its overseas CSG projects, including those in Britain and China.

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US stocks rise as Europe rallies

US shares have risen in opening trade, lifted by European stock market rallies following a four-day Easter holiday weekend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58.45 points (0.40 per cent) at 14,631.30 in the first six minutes of trade on Tuesday.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 7.14 points (0.46 per cent) to 1569.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 19.66 (0.61 per cent) at 3258.83.

"The resilience of the European markets has set a good tone," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

Wall Street stocks rebounded from losses on Monday on disappointing US manufacturing data. The Dow slipped 0.04 per cent, the S&P 500 gave up 0.45 per cent and the Nasdaq sank 0.87 per cent.

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Ford, Chrysler post good US sales

FORD and Chrysler have reported their best US sales performances since 2007 as analysts predict the auto industry as a whole will also rack up its biggest month in five years.

Chrysler said on Tuesday its sales rose five per cent to 171,606 vehicles in March despite limited inventory of some of its best-selling models, including Jeep and heavy-duty Ram trucks.

It was the company's 36th consecutive month of gains in year-over-year sales, and the strongest sales since December 2007.

Ford posted its best performance since May 2007 as sales rose six per cent to 236,160 vehicles in March.

Toyota sales rose one per cent to 205,342 units in March.

"The auto industry continued its string of impressive monthly results, and at Toyota we had our best month since Cash for Clunkers in August of 2009," said Bob Carter, head of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

"A strong first-quarter close and increased consumer confidence continue to position the auto industry as a leader in the economic recovery."

The strong sales come after years of painful restructuring and the collapse of demand following the 2008 financial crisis which pushed General Motors and Chrysler into government-backed bankruptcies.

Automotive website Edmunds.com forecast that total industry sales will rise 5.3 per cent from March 2012 once all automakers have reported to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.6 million vehicles.

With total sales forecast at nearly 1.5 million vehicles it would be the best performance in sheer numbers since May 2007, and would be a 24 per cent gain from February.

Since auto sales vary significantly from month to month because of traditional shopping patterns, seasonal sales and product launch schedules, analysts focus on the seasonally adjusted sales pace.

March is expected to be the fifth consecutive month with a sales pace over 15 million and Edmunds upped its forecast for 2013 to 15.5 million vehicles.

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N. Korea crisis already gone too far: Ban

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says tensions have already soared too high on the Korean peninsula and has warned Pyongyang against making nuclear threats.

"I am deeply troubled.... The current crisis has already gone too far," Ban said at a press conference in Andorra.

"Nuclear threats are not a game... things must begin to calm down.

"There is no need for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to be on a collision course with the international community," he said after Pyongyang announced it would restart a nuclear reactor to feed its atomic weapons program.

The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since the North's February nuclear test, which followed a long-range rocket launch in December.

Ban said he feared an escalation in the crisis.

"I'm convinced that nobody intends to attack the DPRK because of a disagreement about its political system or foreign policy. However I'm afraid that others will respond firmly to any direct military provocation," Ban said.

"Dialogue and negotiations are the only way to resolve the current crisis."

Ban said he was "deeply concerned" about the wider effects of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"Peace and stability in and around the Korean Peninsula has very important regional and even global implications," he said.

"I urge again the authorities of the DPRK to fully abide by the relevant Security Council resolutions and refrain from making further provocative measures," Ban said.

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Six dead in new blast at China mine

A NEW explosion in a Chinese coal mine has killed six people and left 11 missing, three days after a blast killed 28 workers at the same mine, state media says.

The blasts occurred at the Babao mine operated by the state group Tonghua Mining in Baishan prefecture in the northeastern province of Jilin.

An official at the Babao mine office confirmed to AFP that the two blasts occurred in the same mine. But he did not respond when asked why the mine had remained open after the first accident.

China's mines are among the world's deadliest because of lax regulation, corruption and poor operating procedures.

Authorities in the nation, the world's largest coal consumer, announced last year they would close more than 600 small coal mines that are considered more dangerous than larger pits.

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US stocks lower after last week's records

US stocks have opened mostly lower after the record-setting sprint by leading indices before the Easter long weekend.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed on Thursday at a new all-time high, dropped 5.34 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 14,573.20.

The broad-based S&P 500, which also notched a record performance on Thursday, slipped 0.88, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,568.31.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index put on a scant 0.04 (zero per cent) at 3,267.56.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said trading would likely take its cue from data releases on manufacturing and construction.

"The second quarter, which begins today, is set to begin on a relatively flat note," O'Hare said.

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Queen attends Easter service

MEMBERS of the royal family have been led by the Queen at the traditional Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle.

A crowd of well-wishers gathered outside St George's Chapel to see the royals as they arrived for the service on a cold morning.

The Queen, who was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, wore a long pink coat and matching hat accessorised by a flower.

Princess Eugenie wore a cream dress and hat with a black coat, while her sister, Princess Beatrice, wore a turquoise dress and coat, with a yellow hat. Their father, the Duke of York, was also at the service.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrived with their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor. Sophie wore a blue suit and a peacock feather hat.

The Queen was presented with posies of flowers by children as she left the chapel.

Five-year-old twins Holly and Poppy Alden were chosen as their father, Ben, sings in the chapel's choir.

"I said 'happy Easter Your Majesty' and did a curtsey," Poppy said.

Her mother, Francesca, added: "It's something special for us and for the children. It will be a memory that they'll keep."

Daniel Phillips, seven, travelled to Windsor from Cornwall with his brother and their parents.

"I gave her my flowers and she said 'thank you very much'. I was nervous because she's the Queen," he said.

William Denman, four, from Newport, said he was "excited" about giving flowers to the monarch.

The Queen and Prince Philip smiled towards the crowd of well-wishers as they left by car.

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15 dead in Nigerian Easter military raid

SOLDIERS have raided a suspected hideout for Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria's largest city of Kano, sparking a clash that left 15 people dead, the military says.

The military claimed those killed included 14 Islamists and one soldier, while alleging the extremists were planning an Easter day attack in the city.

Residents reported hearing gunfire and explosions early on Sunday as soldiers battled the Islamists.

"In the raid, 14 terrorists were killed and their commander was arrested," Army Brigadier-General Ilyasu Abba told reporters.

"We lost one soldier in the encounter and one other was badly injured."

There was however no independent confirmation of those details. Casualty information from Nigeria's military has often been unreliable, with the army under pressure to show progress in the fight against Boko Haram.

The military claimed to have recovered weapons, including a car loaded with explosives, which Abba said was "primed for attack against Easter here in Kano".

The hideout, which comprised two attached flats, was destroyed by a bulldozer on the orders of Abba, as with previous hideouts.

Nigeria has in the past seen major attacks on Christian holidays blamed on Boko Haram.

A bombing in the northern city of Kaduna on Easter last year killed 41 people.

Violence linked to Boko Haram's insurgency has left some 3000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

The group's deadliest attack yet occurred in Kano in January 2012, when co-ordinated bombings and shootings killed at least 185 people.

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Calm returns to Kenya after election riots

KENYAN police have maintained tight security as calm returned after a court ruling upholding Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential election win sparked anger among his rival's supporters, leading to riots that left two people dead.

Outgoing prime minister Raila Odinga had challenged the result of the March 4 poll hoping for a rerun, but while he begrudgingly accepted the Supreme Court's decision on Saturday, youths in his strongholds were enraged.

Riots broke out immediately after the ruling, leaving two dead in the city of Kisumu, said Joseph Ole Tito, police chief for the western Nyanza region.

The six judges of Kenya's top court dashed Odinga's last hopes of victory by unanimously ruling that the March 4 election had been fair and credible and that Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto had been "validly elected".

The ruling paves the way for Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first president and one of Africa's richest men, to be sworn in as head of state on April 9.

Odinga, who argued that the ballot had been marred by widespread irregularities, said he accepted the court's ruling and wished his rival well.

"The court has now spoken," Odinga said, adding that while he might not agree with all its decisions his faith in the constitution "remains supreme".

The announcement of his defeat in the last elections in 2007, when he ran against outgoing president Mwai Kibaki, led to Kenya's worst violence since independence, with more than 1100 dead and several hundred thousand forced to flee their homes.

The United States, Britain, France and the European Commission all congratulated Kenyatta on his victory.

Kenyatta and Ruto both face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague accused of crimes against humanity over their alleged role in planning the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

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Increase bowel screening: Cancer Council

THE national bowel cancer screening program (NBCSP) is working and its full implementation should be speeded up, says the chief executive of Cancer Council Australia.

A fully implemented program could save up to 500 lives a year, Professor Ian Olver says in an article in the April 1 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Bowel cancer kills about 80 Australians a week but it can be treated successfully if detected in its early stages.

Prof Olver's article, co-written with colleague Paul Grogan, says screening could save the lives of up to 40 per cent of victims aged older than 50.

The article says early positive results from the program should provide encouragement to the government to "actively promote it to eligible population groups to boost interim participation".

An accompanying research report by Stephen Cole of Repatriation General Hospital and Professor Graeme Young of Flinders University confirms the program is effective and aids early detection.

The program is being expanded in 2013 to include people turning 60. Those turning 70 will be included from 2015.

The Department of Health and Ageing website says that when fully implemented the program will offer people aged from 50 to 74 free screening every two years.

"The expansion of the program means that more than 12,000 suspected or confirmed cancers will be detected each year and between 300 and 500 lives saved annually.

"People eligible to participate in the program will receive an invitation through the mail to complete a simple test in the privacy of their own home and mail it to a pathology laboratory for analysis."

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Crean would fight super shift: report

SIMON Crean has reportedly pledged to oppose any move by the federal government to tax earnings on superannuation accounts.

The Australian reports the Labor backbencher has called on his government to explicitly rule out changes that would retrospectively tax earnings generated by super accounts.

Mr Crean said doing so would be "tantamount to taxing people's retirement surpluses to fund our surplus".

He would not comment on whether he was prepared to cross the floor on the issue if necessary.

The government has been accused of engaging in class warfare over retirement savings, with the opposition warning Labor is planning a "sneak attack" on super funds in the May budget.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson on Sunday said his party had no plans to lift taxes on the superannuation of ordinary Australians but that super savings of the "fabulously wealthy" should be debated.

"People who are fabulously wealthy gaining effectively an advantage by putting their money into superannuation and being taxed at 15 per cent, where the everyday Australian may be facing a tax of 30 per cent, I think does enliven a debate," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"We are not seeking to impose new taxes on the superannuation accounts of ordinary Australians.

"But there is a legitimate debate about the very top end."

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