Crime novelist Elmore Leonard dies at 87

ELMORE Leonard, a former adman who later in life became one of America's foremost crime writers, has died. He was 87.

His researcher, Gregg Sutter, says Elmore passed away on Tuesday morning from complications from a stroke.

Leonard's books were populated by pathetic schemers, clever con men and casual killers. And many of the novels - notably Out of Sight, Get Shorty and Be Cool - were made into films. Critics adored his simple, direct language.

More recently, he served as executive producer of the FX drama, Justified, which featured as its centerpiece US Marshal Raylan Givens, a recurring Leonard character.

Earlier in his career, the man known to friends as "Dutch" wrote Western novels and stories, but his major commercial success didn't come until the 1980s.

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UK man sold fake bomb detectors

A BRITISH businessman convicted of making and exporting fake bomb detectors has been jailed for seven years.

Gary Bolton sold the homemade plastic devices to international clients for up to 10,000 pounds ($A17,300) each, claiming they could detect explosives, drugs, tobacco and ivory.

But prosecutors say the devices, which were sold to countries including Mexico and Thailand, were nothing more than boxes with handles and antennae.

Bolton, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday. He had denied two counts of fraud, but was convicted by a jury last month.

In a separate trial in May, another British businessman, James McCormick, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for selling fake bomb detectors based on a golf ball finder to countries including Iraq.

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UK goat-sex man banned from farms

A MAN has been banned from all farms where animals are kept after admitting having sexual intercourse with a goat.

Robert Newman, 23, will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty at North West Wiltshire Magistrates' Court in Chippenham to a charge of having sex with a living animal contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Newman, of Potterne Road, Devizes, Wiltshire, had originally denied the offence which took place in April this year at Devizes and was due to stand trial but later pleaded guilty.

He is due to be sentenced on September 12 after a pre-sentence report has been prepared.

In the meantime Newman was released on conditional bail and must obey a curfew between 7pm and 7am. He is also not allowed to enter any land where farm animals are kept.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment on summary conviction.

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Smugglers try to overwhelm PNG boat plan

PEOPLE smugglers are trying to overwhelm Australia's hardline asylum seeker settlement deal with Papua New Guinea, Immigration Minister Tony Burke says.

"In the last few days, some of the smuggling operations have tried to put together a bit of a surge and to see if they can overwhelm the current system," Mr Burke told ABC television on Tuesday.

More than 500 asylum seekers aboard four boats have arrived since Sunday.

The latest boat to arrive in Australian waters capsized north of Christmas Island on Tuesday. Up to five people are believed to have drowned.

Mr Burke insists the number of people arriving by boat has been falling since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unveiled his tough regional resettlement plan on July 19.

He says Australia and PNG stand ready to build more facilities on PNG's Manus Island if needed.

Meanwhile, Mr Burke said Australia's processing centre on Nauru was almost ready to receive family groups but that it wasn't ready for unaccompanied minors.

"Family groups will be going to Nauru very soon," he said.

"Unaccompanied minors will be going when I'm confident that they will be safe, that the facilities are in place (and) the accommodation and services are in place that meet the obligations that I'd expect."

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Nine charged in UK hacking probe

A SENIOR Sun journalist, a former Daily Mirror journalist, a police officer and a prison officer are among nine people to be charged as part of an ongoing probe into British media wrongdoing.

Graham Dudman, former managing editor of The Sun; John Troup, a former journalist at The Sun; Greig Box Turnbull, a former journalist at the Daily Mirror; Marc Alexander, formerly a prison officer at HMP Holloway in London; and Darren Jennings, an officer with Wiltshire Police, are to be charged under Operation Elveden.

Sun journalist Vince Soodin; Alan Ostler, who was formerly an assistant technical instructor at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire; Grant Pizzey, a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh in south east London; and his partner Desra Reilly, will also be charged, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Tuesday.

All nine will appear before London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 5.

The CPS said it is alleged that, between September 5 and 27, 2002, Dudman requested the authorisation of payments of 3000 to one or more police officers in exchange for information relating to investigations.

It is also claimed that between June 2002 and December 2007, he authorised payments to public officials relating to the health of a patient at Broadmoor, details of an incident at a hospital and details of an incident relating to army combat.

It is further alleged that Dudman, now editorial director of Newsroom 360 at News UK, approved a payment requested by Troup for information relating to the death of a prison inmate.

The CPS said Dudman should be charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, one reflecting conspiracy with Troup, who should also be charged as a co-conspirator.

So far more than 30 people have been charged in the media wrongdoing scandal, including journalists, police officers and former newspaper executives.

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Six killed in attacks in northern Iraq

SIX people have been killed in attacks in Iraq, as gunmen defy massive government operations to stem the violence.

Security forces have mounted some of the biggest operations targeting militants since the 2011 withdrawal of American troops, but analysts and diplomats say Iraq is not tackling the root causes of the unrest.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has nevertheless vowed to press on with the campaign to combat the country's worst bloodshed since 2008, with more than 3500 people killed since the start of this year.

Monday's attacks were concentrated in Mosul, a predominantly Sunni Arab city in northern Iraq that has long been one of the country's most violent areas.

Three workers in a carpentry shop were shot dead by militants, while two policemen were gunned down in a pre-dawn attack on a checkpoint.

Gunmen also killed a man from the small Kurdish sect known as Shabak outside his house in Mosul.

The 30,000-strong Shabak community is present in 35 villages in Nineveh province near the border with Turkey, with many members wanting to join the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

The Shabak people speak a distinct language and largely follow a faith that is a blend of Shi'ite Islam and local beliefs.

Violence has markedly increased in 2013.

Analysts and diplomats link the upsurge of attack to anger among Sunni Arabs over their alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the Shi'ite-led authorities, which they say has given Sunni militant groups more room to recruit and carry out attacks.

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Indian teenager killed in kite-flying row

BUS-ted! Driver texts on freeway

A BUS driver who was filmed repeatedly sending text messages while driving at 100km/h on the freeway has been stood down. SEE THE VIDEO

Lawyers to test PNG solution

A LEGAL challenge to the plan to send asylum seekers to Manus Island was launched, less than a month after it was announced.

The beach arrives in western Sydney

BLACKTOWN ADVOCATE: The beach has arrived in western Sydney, albeit in the form of a giant pile of sand dumped on the Wet'n'Wild site at Prospect.

Our sitting habit 'bad as smoking'

YOUR comfy chair is taking on a sinister new role as it moves up the rankings of public health's Most Wanted list, with some experts declaring sitting "the new smoking".

The silent pain of 'forgotten' cancers

FOURTEEN forgotten cancers are responsible for one in three cancer deaths and concern is mounting that their survival rates aren't improving.

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Coalition won't privatise the ABC: Hockey

AN Abbott-led government won't privatise the ABC but might cut funding "if there's waste", Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says.

"The ABC is not for sale ... I can guarantee that," he told ABC television's Q&A program on Monday.

"Believe it or not, we love our ABC."

But he warned: "If there's waste, we will cut it."

Treasurer Chris Bowen said the public broadcaster had a "fair bit to worry about" when it came to possible funding cuts under a coalition government.

AAP ev/goc/ CANBERRA, Aug 20 AAP - An Abbott-led government won't privatise the ABC but might cut funding "if there's waste", Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey says.

"The ABC is not for sale ... I can guarantee that," he told ABC television's Q&A program on Monday.

"Believe it or not, we love our ABC."

But he warned: "If there's waste, we will cut it."

Treasurer Chris Bowen said the public broadcaster had a "fair bit to worry about" when it came to possible funding cuts under a coalition government.

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I don't believe in austerity cuts: Hockey

SHADOW Treasurer Joe Hockey insists he doesn't believe in austerity-style cuts but admits the coalition is looking at "all other areas" outside of defence, health and medical research for savings.

Mr Hockey made the comments on Monday in an hour-long debate with Treasurer Chris Bowen.

"If you don't have any sense of prudence, then you are not going to get the budget back into surplus," he told ABC television's Q&A program.

"I don't believe in austerity, as it's defined, but I believe in being respectful and careful of other people's money."

Mr Hockey was asked what areas of spending the coalition was not prepared to cut.

"We've got to build defence spending over time and we've quarantined that, and health and medical research is incredibly important, and we've guaranteed that," he said.

But "all other areas" would be looked at for possible cuts, Mr Hockey added.

"There will be restructuring, of course there will be - there has to be," he said.

Mr Hockey reiterated that the coalition had committed to matching the federal government's spending on its Better Schools Plan for the next four years.

Mr Bowen said returning to surplus was an important goal "but shouldn't be your first obligation".

"Your first priority should be to keep the economy strong, add jobs and growth," he said.

Achieving a surplus "tomorrow or next year" could be done, but it would mean cutting services or increasing taxes.

"It can be done but it would be the wrong thing for the economy," the treasurer said.

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Coalition won't increase GST: Hockey

SHADOW Treasurer Joe Hockey says any changes to the GST would have to be taken to an election.

"People have to have the right to vote on something as contentious as that," he told ABC television's Q&A program on Monday.

"We want to have a proper process so the community can come along and understand the need for tax change and then vote on it, so that there's no left field promises before the election and something very different after."

But he insists an Abbott government won't change the tax.

"Increasing the GST increases the cost of living," Mr Hockey said.

"We're not going to do that."

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Hostage drama forces Merkel to scrap rally

A MAN claiming to be carrying a gun is holding hostages in the town hall of a German city where Chancellor Angela Merkel had been due to give a campaign rally later in the day.

While the Merkel event was cancelled, police negotiated with the hostage-taker, who after five hours freed one of the three captives, a deputy mayor of the town of Ingolstadt north of Munich.

The hostage-taker was believed to be a 24-year-old man who had been stalking a female town hall employee, and who had been committed to a psychiatric institution.

He was carrying a real or imitation handgun, police said.

The perpetrator had previously been barred from the town hall premises, said the Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann. Mayor Alfred Lehmann said the man had a history of violent assault and intimidation.

The man took hostage deputy mayor Sepp Misslbeck, who was later freed, as well as Misslbeck's secretary - thought to be the victim of his stalking - and the city government's complaints manager, local media reported.

Police declined to speak about the hostage-taker's motives or demands.

A police tactical response unit arrived shortly after the hostage drama started about 9am and stood by, while some 200 officers cordoned off the town centre.

Merkel had been due to speak at a rally of her conservative party outside the town hall ahead of September 22 elections, along with political ally, Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, who is also running for re-election next month.

The hostage drama was not thought to be related to the political event, said a police spokesman, as Merkel's conservative party and its Bavarian sister party cancelled Monday's appearance.

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Greece says privatisations go on, despite

GREECE will stick to its programme of privatisations, a key part of bailout conditions, despite the sacking of the head of the privatisation fund, a government official says.

Rescue conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund and European Union require Greece to de-nationalise parts of its economy to raise funds and increase efficiency.

"The programme of privatisation is not affected, it will continue as planned," a source at the Greek ministry of finance who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP on Monday.

Later on Monday, the privatisation fund launched an invitation for investors to show interest in buying 100 per cent of Rosco, the sole provider of rolling stock maintenance services in Greece.

Last year, the former state railway company OSE was split in two -- the Train Operating Company (Trainose) and the Rolling Stock Maintenance (Rosco,) -- to facilitate privatisation.

On Sunday, Finance Minister Yannis Strournaras dismissed Stelios Stavridis, the president of Taiped, which oversees privatisations.

This came after it emerged in Greek newspapers that Stavridis had travelled on board the plane of Dimitris Meilissanidis, a businessman who was part of the consortium which last week bought Opap, a state gaming group, for 652 million euros ($A951.81 million).

Stavridis said he "had nothing to hide" and denied that there had been any "favouritism".

The privatisation program has run into long delays and has been cut back, and was a point of friction in recent tough negotiations resulting in approval for the next slice of rescue loans for the country.

Athens is under pressure from creditors to speed-up its privatisation plans, which it recently revised to 1.6 million euros from an initial target of 2.6 million ($3.4 million) earlier this year.

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Katter launches campaign at Qld pub

FEDERAL MP Bob Katter says he's always loved power and would be happy to be the Kingmaker at this year's federal election.

The member for Kennedy and Katter's Australian Party leader launched his campaign at a pub in far north Queensland on Sunday where country music singer and KAP Senate hopeful James Blundell entertained supporters.

Mr Katter told a crowd of about 50 that the election wasn't a two-party race like national media had led Australians to believe.

"I don't want people to think we can't win because we can," he told the group of mainly older farmers and graziers.

He described his campaign as a "guerrilla outfit" and said his supporters are a "huge army on the march".

Mr Katter said many had referred to KAP as holding the balance of power if there was a hung parliament following the September 7 election.

"I'm a person who has always loved power," he told AAP after the event.

"I'd love to have that power."

He has "very little interest" when it comes to party preferences as the Liberal National Party and Labor are similar, he says.

"I wouldn't care if the Billy Billibong Party is the government of Australia."

If there is a hung parliament he plans to present each party with a 20-point KAP wishlist.

"(I will say) if you give me these things then I'll give you the prime ministership of Australia and if you don't then I won't and if you double cross me when you get in there you'll be thrown out on your head."

Mr Katter told KAP supporters as they ate a BBQ dinner that the party stood for boosting manufacturing, agriculture and ensuring jobs remained in Australia.

Local man and former dairy farmer John Fry said he'd voted for Mr Katter for the past two decades because he understood issues affecting those in rural areas.

"A lot of people down south don't know what's even going on in the north," the 87-year-old told AAP.

"We need more local manufacturing because everything is going overseas."

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Syrian army kills jihadist emir

FIERCE fighting is raging in Latakia province on Syria's coastline, as the army pushes an advance and killed a jihadist leader, a monitoring group says.

The regime deployed massive reinforcements to fight rebels in Latakia, which has strategic and symbolic significance because it is the ancestral home of President Bashar al-Assad's clan.

Rebels positioned in remote enclaves of Latakia's mountains launched the "battle for the liberation of the Syrian coast" about two weeks ago.

Poorly equipped local fighters allied themselves with the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), despite a history of poor relations.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army sent "massive reinforcements" to Latakia to fight the rebels and "bombed rebel areas heavily".

State television said the army has reclaimed rebel positions in the province, including Kharata, Janzuriyeh, Baluta, Baruda and Hambushiyeh.

But according to Abdel Rahman, "the army has only been able to secure the outskirts of some villages. The battles are ongoing and they are fierce".

"Scores of foreign (jihadist) fighters are being killed in the Latakia fighting," he told AFP.

Among them was a Libyan emir or local leader of ISIS, said the Observatory.

"Confirmed reports emerged of the killing of a Libyan ISIS emir while fighting in Jamusiyeh village," said the Britain-based monitoring group.

Elsewhere, the Syrian air force struck several rebel positions across the country, it added.

Among its targets were the Jabal al-Arbaeen area of the northwestern province of Idlib, Daraya and Zabadani near Damascus, and Deir Ezzor city in the east of Syria and a rebel area nearby.

Syria's war has killed more than 100,000 people in 29 months, according to the United Nations.

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Call for action as young adults get fatter

MORE young adults are getting fat than other age groups, according to a study that has tracked 11,000 Australians for 12 years.

But the AusDiab study shows Australians in general are failing to make the lifestyle changes necessary to beat obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

And women are putting on more centimetres than men.

Radical action similar to the anti-smoking drive is needed, says joint chief investigator Professor Jonathan Shaw of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

"The health and wellbeing of a whole generation of young Australians is being compromised by a lifestyle rich in energy-dense foods and low on physical activity," he says.

The study shows people aged 25 to 34 have gained more weight and waist circumference during the 12 years than other age groups and about 270 people aged over 25 develop type 2 diabetes every day.

"We have a big problem. If we want to be serious about it we have to recognise it is not something that can be solved only through telling individuals what they need to do," Prof Shaw says.

"It's complicated, but we need to find ways to make healthy food options the cheap options."

Possible approaches include taxation of junk food and subsidies of healthy food, he says.

The study shows that living in the most socially disadvantaged areas doubles the risk of diabetes.

"Education and income are major determinants of health," says Baker IDI Associate Professor Anna Peeters.

"The AusDiab data highlights the extent to which a person's environment makes a contribution to their wellbeing."

She says disadvantaged areas generally have higher concentrations of junk food outlets and fewer recreational opportunities.

The study shows obese people aged 60 and over are about twice as likely than their peers to have cognitive impairment and physical disability.

"One of the biggest contradictions is that people are living longer but they're being diagnosed with more disease. So their quality of life is being compromised," says Prof Shaw.

"As a community, we need to be prepared to take some tough decisions.

"It's not impossible. Look at what we've achieved with gun control, smoking and water restrictions."

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Hand transplant man doing well 2 years on

IT has taken months of gruelling rehabilitation and daily doses of strong drugs, but Australia's only double hand transplant recipient is doing well after two years.

"I have full feeling," says Peter Walsh, 67, a plumber from regional Victoria.

"They did a great job. It's excellent," says the world's oldest hand-transplant recipient.

His life is a far cry from the dependency he was facing in 2006, when doctors amputated both hands and both legs after a bacterial infection.

He has artificial legs and surgeons have fashioned a semi-functional thumb on his left hand. He received the new right hand in 2011 and several months later managed to write a thank you letter to the family of his donor.

"My wife, Margaret, does not have to put me to bed anymore. I'm quite independent now. Give me time and I can do most things," says Mr Walsh, who is one of 51 hand recipients in modern medicine and the only one in the southern hemisphere.

It is early in the process, but Mr Walsh's doctors are pleased, according to a case study in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Not mentioning Mr Walsh by name, they say he has made impressive functional gains in dressing, eating, writing and attending to personal hygiene.

According to the journal, the transplant team led by Dr Karen Dwyer and Professor Wayne Morrison at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, stirred controversy because of Mr Walsh's age.

But in an interview with AAP, Dr Dwyer says physical and psychological health are the major factors.

"He was pretty healthy with a good heart and good lungs.

"Hand transplants are risky, but I think Peter would agree any complications that may arise are probably worth the improved quality of life."

Dr Dwyer says the patient's psychological state is a major factor.

"This is something that is very visible to you and the outside world. It is different from a heart or a kidney."

She says Mr Walsh's commitment to his medication and rehabilitation are major factors in the success so far.

"People have lost their hand because they did not take to their medication."

She says the surgery is very intricate, but the main issue is the suitability of patient.

"It is not something that is put on and works the next day."

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CBA tops business satisfaction ratings

THE Commonwealth Bank has pulled ahead of its big bank rivals when it comes to business customer satisfaction, while ANZ continues to languish at the back of the pack.

CBA scored an average customer satisfaction rating of 7.5 out of 10 among business customers in July, the highest level ever achieved by the bank.

According to the monthly DBM Consultants' Business Financial Services Monitor (BFSM), Westpac followed CBA with an average rating of 7.4, while Nab scored 7.1 and ANZ remained in bottom place at 7.0 out of 10.

CBA ranked highest among both micro businesses and large companies, and tied with Westpac for satisfaction among on medium sized businesses.

DBM director Maria Claridad said the big four had a combined average satisfaction rating of 7.3 in July, their highest ever rating.

"I think this very high level of satisfaction with the banks is a combination of improved customer service to businesses across the board, combined with the halo effect of interest rates falling regularly towards a 53-year low," she said.

The BFSM tracks customer service ratings among the big four banks on a monthly basis through interviews with 20,000 businesses annually.

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McCain wants Egypt aid cut after killings

US politicians are calling for military aid to be cut after Egypt's security forces killed hundreds of supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in a four-day "massacre".

US Senator John McCain, who called for suspending the $US1.3 billion ($A1.4 billion) in annual aid to the military after it overthrew Morsi in early July, said Washington risked losing credibility if it continued to turn a blind eye to the bloody crackdown.

"They have orchestrated a massacre," he said, after the four-day death toll from mass shootings and street clashes climbed to more than 750 people.

"We have no credibility. We do have influence, but when you don't use that influence, then you do not have that influence," McCain, a Republican hawk and frequent critic of Obama's foreign policy, told CNN's State of the Union.

McCain suggested Washington could pressure Egypt's generals by cutting off aid, spare parts for US-made military equipment and backing for an International Monetary Fund loan to relieve the country's devastated economy.

"For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stand for," he said.

Senator Rand Paul, a rising star in the Republican Party, also called for cutting off aid, saying on Fox News Sunday: "I don't think we are buying any love of the Egyptian people when they see an American tank on the street."

Obama last week cancelled joint military exercises but has yet to suspend aid to Egypt, a key Middle East ally and one of just two Arab countries to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.

The administration has refused to call Morsi's overthrow a "coup", which would require it to cut off aid, saying it hoped to steer the country toward a democratic transition.

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