NSW bushfire crisis refuses to let up

The RFS Commissioner became emotional as he spoke of the firefighter pilot who was killed in NSW. Source: AAP

A FIREFIGHTING pilot has become the second fatality of the NSW bushfire crisis as the biggest blaze in the state edged closer to homes.

The 43-year-old pilot was killed when his fixed wing waterbomber crashed in rugged country on the south coast on Thursday morning as he fought a blaze near Ulladulla.

Fires prevented rescue crews retrieving his body from the difficult terrain.

A day after lauding the great work of firefighters who averted the greatest threat of the week-long crisis on Wednesday, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons became emotional as he spoke of tragedy.

"We've suffered a huge tragedy on one of our firegrounds today," said Mr Fitzsimmons, who lost his own father fighting a fire 13 years ago.

"It's a tragedy for the fire fighting community but first and foremost it's a tragedy for this man's family.

"He's a husband with young children and we're all acutely aware that there's a family suffering today because their dad didn't come home."

Mr Fitzsimmons said the father of three, who was a contractor for the RFS, was doing extraordinary work and "making a real difference to his community."

"It's a sober reminder just how dangerous fire fighting can be."

Some 60 bushfires continued to burn across NSW and tiny bush communities on the fringes of the Blue Mountains spent much of the day on emergency notice as the massive State Mine Fire flared up.

The State Mine Fire has burned through nearly 50,000 hectares since it was sparked during an army explosives training operation near Lithgow last week.

Waterbombing operations in the area have helped crews gain the upper hand and the fire was downgraded back to watch and act early on Thursday evening.

Mr Fitzsimmons said the tiny communities of Mount Irvine and Mount Wilson had been forced to shelter in place because fire had blocked major access roads, while residents from Berambing and Mount Tomah were able to flee east towards Bilpin.

The Department of Defence apologised on Thursday for starting the State Mine Fire, which has already destroyed three homes.

Acting Chief of Defence, Air Marshall Mark Binskin, said a small fire that started during a routine training exercise at Marrangaroo on October 16 was responsible for the blaze.

"I do apologise, because it has been identified that this fire was the start of this mine fire," he told reporters at RFS headquarters in Sydney on Thursday.

Defence has launched its own investigation into the incident.

Defence personnel acted quickly after an explosion sparked a small blaze but were hampered by the live ordnance around them.

"This was not deliberately starting a fire, this was an accident as part of a training activity on a day there wasn't a fire ban," Air Marshall Binskin told reporters.

He said Defence was "not shying from our responsibilities" but stopped short of offering compensation to those affected by the bushfire.

An RFS spokesman has warned there will be little respite for communities who have been on edge for over a week and for the 1400 firefighters still on the job.

He told reporters late on Thursday that high fire danger weather was likely to linger for at least the next three or four days.

He conceded any residents who are asked to leave their homes yet again may become "frustrated" but he's urged people in bushfire areas to continue to heed official warnings, saying the danger remains real.

Governor General Quentin Bryce will tour bushfire hit parts of the mountains on Friday.

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Mackenzie backs BHP's green credentials

Andrew Mackenzie has defended BHP's environmental credentials in the face of criticism. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton boss Andrew Mackenzie has defended the resource giant's environmental credentials in the face of criticism from a former chairman of the Australian Coal Association.

Ian Dunlop, now an environmental campaigner, is standing for election to the company's board claiming BHP doesn't understand the threat posed by dangerous climate change.

"Climate change is relevant to us all," Mr Mackenzie said on Thursday at the company's AGM in London.

"As a significant user of energy, we are working to drive down our greenhouse gas intensity and we are seeing results.

"Our current emissions are below our 2006 baseline despite the substantial growth of our business since then."

Mr Mackenzie, addressing his first AGM as chief executive after replacing Marius Kloppers earlier this year, insisted "we are environmentally responsible".

BHP is Melbourne-based, but is listed in both Australia and London. The Australian AGM will be held in November in Perth.

The company is urging shareholder's to vote against Mr Dunlop's bid.

Chairman Jac Nasser on Thursday told the AGM that BHP looked out at least five years when planning for board succession.

"We are confident that our board renewal process ensures that we have the right blend of skills, experience and perspectives critical to the effective oversight of BHP Billiton on behalf of shareholders," Mr Nasser said.

BHP's net profit plunged by 30 per cent in the 2012/13 financial year to $US10.9 billion ($A12.03 billion).

Weaker commodity prices were the main cause and the company is slashing costs and capital expenditure in response.

However, Mr Nasser said in London that BHP continues to expected the Chinese economy to grow at more than seven per cent next year.

"China, and other emerging economies, will be the major drivers of economic growth in the long term which could deliver up to a 75 per cent increase in demand for some commodities over the next 15 years."

The chairman said the company was "confident" of continued recovery in the United States while conditions in Europe "remain challenging".

Mr Mackenzie said while the 2012/13 financial year was challenging "we are already seeing signs of recovery in the global economy".

"Our focus on productivity is extracting more value from existing operations," the chief executive said.

Mr Mackenzie said that in terms of write-downs there had been a prolonged period of low levels of profitability and price in both nickel and aluminium "and that has had to be recognised in the value of the assets".

The BHP boss said he'd need a crystal ball to say if there'd by any future write-downs in those sectors.

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Don't play politics with RBA, Wong says

The opposition has accused Treasurer Joe Hockey of playing politics with the Reserve Bank. Source: AAP

THE opposition has accused Treasurer Joe Hockey of playing politics with the Reserve Bank of Australia, while a former RBA board member says the treasurer's predecessor, Wayne Swan, is guilty of economic vandalism.

Mr Hockey this week announced a one-off $8.8 billion grant to the RBA to buffer it against what he said was an volatile economic environment.

The treasurer described it as a necessary measure that should have been taken by the former Labor government, which instead withdrew "extraordinary" dividends from the RBA and weakened its position.

That sparked an angry response from former finance minister Penny Wong on Thursday, who accused Mr Hockey of playing politics with the RBA.

The central bank should be above politics, she said.

"It really demonstrates that Joe hasn't quite made the transition from opposition to being the treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia," Senator Wong told Sky News.

"The suggestion that he made that this was because, that Labor somehow had been asked for this, or that Labor had somehow done something wrong in relation to the RBA isn't correct.

Warwick McKibbin, whose 10 year tenure on the RBA board was not extended by Mr Swan in July 2011, later told ABC's 730 on Thursday that the year his term expired the RBA had made a large loss due to the high Australian dollar.

The following year there was a small profit of over a billion dollars, he said.

"The treasurer was requested not to extract that from the balance sheet of the bank," he said.

"He ignored that request and took half a billion dollars so that he could reach the budget surplus in 2012/13.

"That to me is economic vandalism."

Mr Swan, who was judged by Euromoney magazine in 2011 as the world's greatest Treasurer, told 730 he was not surprised by Mr McKibbin's criticism after not reappointing him to the RBA board.

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Permira snaps up UK's Dr Martens

BRITISH boot brand Dr Martens has been snapped up by private equity firm Permira in a STG300 million ($A507.14 million) deal, ending more than 50 years of family ownership.

It means the boots - footwear of choice for generations of skinheads, punks and students - will join a stable of brands which also includes Hugo Boss and New Look.

The Northamptonshire-based Griggs family, who have been making shoes since 1901, will retain control of around 20 per cent of the business.

Dr Martens employs 700 people worldwide, including 350 in the UK, and its products are sold in 63 countries.

The deal, expected to complete in January, will see Permira take control of parent company R Griggs.

Chief executive David Suddens says the brand's authenticity and the millions of customers who have used "Docs" as a symbol of self-expression for over half a century are what makes Dr Martens unique.

"The Permira funds respect that heritage and want to support the management team in nurturing it," Suddens said.

Cheryl Potter, partner and head of the consumer sector team at Permira, says Dr Martens is an iconic brand with a passionate fan base of followers.

Dr Martens has enjoyed a revival in fortunes in recent years as a new generation of stars such as Miley Cyrus, Emma Watson and Agyness Deyn took up the "bovver boots" whose popularity - once espoused by the likes of The Who's Pete Townshend - had been on the wane.

The deal follows reports of the Griggs family looking to exit the business after more than five decades running the brand that last year made STG15.3 million pre-tax profits on revenues of STG110 million, following an abortive sale attempt last year.

Permira is thought likely to try to expand Dr Martens' online and store presence into new international markets.

The Griggs family started producing the Dr Martens boots in 1960 after the development of a revolutionary new air-cushioned sole by the Germans Klaus Martens and Herbert Funck.

It still pays an annual fee to the families of the two men.

Production was moved to Asia, but the original Northamptonshire factory was reopened in 2007 to produce vintage styles.

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Roma family removals probe in Ireland

IRELAND'S police watchdog will review the cases of two Roma families having children removed from their homes amid claims they could not prove their identity.

Two reports have been ordered on the controversial action by gardai and health officials after a seven-year-old girl was taken from her south Dublin home for 48 hours and a two year-old boy from his home in Athlone in the Midlands overnight.

Both children were subsequently proven to be members of the families with the girl returned home after DNA tests.

The police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission, said it has not received any complaints but has demanded copies of a report by the Commissioner Martin Callinan.

"We have requested this in order to inform ourselves fully of the circumstances of events so that we can take an appropriate position," a spokesman for the Ombudsman said.

Separately, the Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan will investigate why the children were removed from their families.

She will be furnished with two reports - from Mr Callinan and the Health Service Executive (HSE) - in two weeks time.

Both youngsters have blonde hair and blue eyes while their parents have darker complexions and hair, which is not out of the ordinary in the Roma community.

Amnesty International threw its weight behind calls from one of the families for an independent inquiry.

Colm O'Gorman, spokesman for the organisation in Ireland, said responses to reported child protection concerns needed to be proportionate and non-discriminatory.

"If it is found that the authorities' actions were discriminatory, steps must taken to ensure this is not repeated. There must be a public apology to the Roma families for the wrongdoing.

"The eyes of the world are now on Ireland, and the Government must show institutional discrimination will not be tolerated."

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Spain's unemployment rate falls

THE number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 72,800 to 5.9 million in the third quarter, pushing the unemployment rate down to 25.98 per cent.

The drop in the number of jobless people in the third quarter, compared to the same period in recent years, was the sharpest since 2005, the National Statistics Institute reported in its Labour Force Survey on Thursday.

Employment rose by 39,500 to 16.82 million in the July-September period, marking the first rise in the third quarter of a year since 2010, with the labour force participation rate hitting 59.59 per cent, the Labor Force Survey said.

The unemployment rate for men in the second quarter was 25.50 per cent, while the jobless rate for women was 26.55 per cent.

The youth unemployment rate - calculated for those younger than 25 - was 54.39 per cent in the third quarter, down 1.75 percentage points.

The number of households with all members of the labour force unemployed fell by 13,400 in the July-September period, but it still stands at a high 1.8 million, the report said.

The Bank of Spain said in its latest economic bulletin Wednesday that the country climbed out of recession in the third quarter, growing 0.10 per cent from the previous three-month period to end a streak of nine consecutive quarters of contraction.

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Carr wishes Kelly could have his seat

BOB Carr has used his last stand as a senator to endorse vanquished Labor MP Mike Kelly for his job.

The former NSW Labor premier was parachuted into the Senate and the plum jet-setting role of foreign minister 18 months ago by then prime minister Julia Gillard.

He has quit just six weeks after actually winning his seat in the election that dumped Labor into opposition.

"I was very high spirited about taking this job but my enthusiasm probably got ahead of a more calculated approach," he said on Wednesday.

He told the ABC he would "love" to stay but didn't want to "hog" the job.

He said replacing a new senator was quite cheap, and it would be good for Labor to give Tanya Plibersek a shot at being shadow foreign affairs minister.

Senator Carr made his final speech as a politician to the United Nations Association of Australia in Canberra, where he endorsed Labor MP Mike Kelly for his vacated seat.

Dr Kelly says if he wins Labor's preselection for the senate spot next week, he'd only occupy the upper house benches for three years and try to win back at the next election his recently lost lower house seat of Eden-Monaro.

Dr Kelly's pitch for the job includes six years of ministerial experience, expertise in defence and security policy, and regional representation.

Other likely candidates are Deborah O'Neill, who lost the central coast seat of Gosford on September 7, and Senator Carr's former staffer Graeme Wedderburn.

At the UN function, Senator Carr called Dr Kelly, who was there, his esteemed parliamentary colleague.

"I wish I could hand my Senate seat over to you," Senator Carr said in opening his speech.

He lamented that Dr Kelly was no longer in the parliament to carry on the fight for aid spending and the UN's work.

"He's someone who's been involved in the frontline of peace building and peace keeping around the world," Senator Carr said.

"I hope his talents can be edged back into that parliament as soon as possible."

Senator Carr lashed out at the coalition's plans for refocusing aid programs.

"I don't like this idea that our aid program ought to follow trade," he told the UN Day function.

"Because there's no trade interest involved in the Solomons - we sell virtually nothing to them, they sell virtually nothing to us.

"It would be a very sad thing if we end up saying to the Solomons you have to push out to 2025 the goal of getting rid of malaria because we're going to cut back on this."

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Liberals seek Senate voting system change

A PARLIAMENTARY committee will seek public input on the federal election as the Liberal party urges Labor to support an overhaul of the Senate voting system.

Liberal federal director Brian Loughnane has called for parliament's joint standing committee on electoral matters to launch a broad review of the 2013 election.

"It has become increasingly clear in recent elections that parts of our electoral system are not functioning as they should," Mr Loughnane told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

"There are some warning signs which should give concern and which should be honestly examined."

He said there was "confusion" for voters with 529 candidates nominated for 40 Senate vacancies, including 110 in NSW and 97 in Victoria.

Preference deals between micro parties - put together by a new breed of electoral "entrepreneurs" - had distorted the Senate result, Mr Loughnane said.

Party insiders believe the Liberal Democrats' 9.5 per cent vote in the NSW senate - a far cry from the 2.3 per cent achieved in 2010 - was due to voter confusion about the name and the party's first-place position on the ballot paper.

The laws governing enrolment and voter identification, which currently has a lower requirement than signing up to a DVD library, should also be examined, he said.

Mr Loughnane also wants the parliamentary committee to look at advertising spending, having estimated billionaire Clive Palmer was outspending the Labor party towards the end of the campaign.

"The fact that somebody can lob in and spend $15-$20 million has an impact," he said.

Palmer United Party federal leader Clive Palmer urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to discipline Mr Loughnane for suggesting the Liberals collude with Labor to counter the minor parties in the Senate.

"This is just an attack on democracy and highlights how the major parties want Australia to be run by a duopoly dictatorship," he said in a statement.

He said Australians showed their disappointment with the major parties at the election, which is why his party did so well in its election debut.

Mr Palmer also denied claims that his party had spent more than the ALP during the final week of the election campaign.

Special minister for State Michael Ronaldson says he will ask the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to inquire into the conduct of the 2013 federal election.

"Members of the community are entitled and encouraged to make a submission to the Committee," he said in a statement.

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Environment Dept to slash 150 jobs

THE Environment Department will slash 150 jobs before Christmas and more may go as part of the Abbott government's plan to shed 12,000 public sector jobs.

Staff were sent a notice on Wednesday telling them that as a result of the department's immediate budgetary pressures it was preparing to run a voluntary redundancy round of about 150 positions over the next two months.

Department Secretary Gordon de Brouwer said they faced existing savings measures as a consequence of the former Labor government's efficiency dividend including savings in relation to staff in the budget, reduced program funding and the termination of some specific spending associated with program cuts.

"The department will also need to find separate savings in the future, as part of our contribution to the upcoming additional APS-wide 12,000 person reduction in staffing," he said.

"We may also face further savings in the 2014-15 Budget as a result of the commission of audit."

He announced a review that would "inform" the commission of audit of the department's core objectives and any activities that could be wound back or axed.

In the meantime recruiting would be placed on hold, he said.

CPSU director Beth Vincent-Pietsch said the staff were upset and shocked at the cuts that were announced a day after the "bombshell announcement" around the commission of audit.

"All they can see ahead is a very uncertain future where cuts will be a factor of life," she said in a statement.

"The question that needs to be asked is following the cuts whether the department can continue to do its important work such as enforcing environmental protection legislation and patrolling our national parks."

Greens environment spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters said slashing environment advisers, with many more jobs likely to be lost, will leave the environment further exposed to threats, and communities even more under-prepared to respond to extreme weather events.

"When Tony Abbott brings his slashing machine through the public service it will be the Greens who will stand up in the Senate to stop him," she said in a statement.

Comment was being sought from Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

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Robber artist wins richest Aust art prize

A PAINTER jailed for holding up a convenience store has won Australia's richest art prize.

Nigel Milsom was awarded the $150,000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize for his work, Uncle Paddy, in Sydney on Wednesday.

As Milsom is serving a prison sentence for holding up a Sydney convenience store, the prize was collected on his behalf by Kerry Crowley, of the Yuill Crowley Gallery in Sydney which represents Milsom.

She said he would be "thrilled" at news of the win.

Judge David Thomas says his fellow judge Ben Quilty knows Milsom and describes him as a sweet, gentle person.

Thomas, a leading figure in the Australian art scene, says he didn't mind awarding such a handsome sum to an inmate, given the supreme quality of Milsom's work and the positive effect the prize could have on his life.

"Even someone who has gotten into some state of punishment for whatever he did could come good," he says.

"So that's how I reconciled myself with Milsom getting that money."

Milsom's Uncle Paddy portrait features cubist-like brush strokes in his subject's face, which soften in his shirt.

"He has an extraordinary refined technique, the brushwork, so smooth, so delicate," Thomas says.

He says even more than the technique he admired the imagery in the portrait.

"It's a very old-fashioned Australian face," Thomas says.

As part of entering the prize, artists had to provide a description of their work.

In his statement, Milsom wrote that his portrait was of his grandfather's friend Paddy, who used to have beers at a NSW leagues club every Saturday night.

Paddy was one of the few non-family members to attend Milsom's grandfather's funeral.

"I knew that Paddy's Saturday nights would never be the same," Milsom said.

"There is a quiet sadness about Paddy that seems to stem from the realisation that death will be visiting him soon too.

"When I painted his portrait I got a sense that he has learnt to sit with this feeling of sadness which has given him a greater strength and wisdom."

Photographer and filmmaker John Janson-Moore took out the $50,000 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize for his work Nyirripi Girl With Finger.

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Caterpillar 3Q earnings tumble 44 per cent

CATERPILLAR says its third-quarter earnings plunged 44 per cent, and the construction equipment maker cut its 2013 forecast again, partly because of weaker mining equipment sales.

The Peoria, Illinois, company says it earned $US946 million ($A976.72 million), or $US1.45 per share, in the quarter that ended September 30. That compares with earnings of $US1.7 billion, or $US2.54 per share, in last year's quarter.

Revenue tumbled 18 per cent to $US13.42 billion.

Caterpillar Inc. now expects 2013 earnings of about $US5.50 per share, down $US1 from its previous forecast. It also dropped revenue expectation to about $US55 billion from $US56 billion to $US58 billion. The company also lowered its earnings and revenue expectations when it reported second-quarter results in July.

Caterpillar shares fell almost 4 per cent in premarket trading.

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Grampians tops list of worst smoking areas

GRAMPIANS in regional Victoria has the highest smoking rate in Australia, with 28 per cent of adults lighting up at least once a day, according to new data.

Adults in Sydney's north shore and beaches have the cleanest lungs, with only six per cent smoking daily, according to a National Health Performance authority report released on Thursday.

The local-level analysis is produced at the request the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which is aiming to reduce the national smoking rate to 10 per cent by 2018.

It is intended to help local communities in defining their healthcare needs, says authority CEO Dr Diane Watson.

It provides data on smoking in the Medicare local areas established in 2011 to promote decision making and service provision at community level.

The overall rate was 16 per cent in 2011-12, when the data was gathered, with only four local areas achieving 10 per cent or better.

These are Sydney's north shore and beaches, inner east Melbourne, Bayside in Victoria and inner west Sydney.

The Medicare areas with the highest rates are Grampians, Goldfields-midwest in Western Australia, far north Queensland and Northern Territory.

Of the 2.7 million who smoke, those in poorer, remote areas are far more likely to light up than people in wealthier metropolitan suburbs in NSW and Victoria.

People in Australian Capital Territory are least likely to smoke at 13 per cent, followed by NSW (14 per cent), Victoria and South Australia (16 per cent), Queensland and Western Australia (18 per cent), Tasmania (21 per cent) and the Northern Territory (24 per cent).

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Midsection of plane recovered in Laos

INVESTIGATORS in Laos say they have retrieved the midsection of a Lao Airlines passenger plane that crashed into the Mekong River a week ago, killing all 49 people on board, including six Australians.

The turboprop plane crashed last Wednesday during a heavy storm as it approached Pakse Airport in southern Laos.

Lao aviation official Yakua Lopangkao said on Tuesday that searchers used a crane to lift the middle of the fuselage from the river but believe the flight recorder is still underwater.

He said the body of another victim was also recovered on Tuesday.

Officials say 44 bodies have been found.

Strong currents and deep, muddy water have hampered the search.

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US employers add 148,000 jobs

THE US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began October 1.

Still, hiring was strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that the rate fell to 7.2 per cent, down from 7.3 per cent in August and nearly a five-year low.

The economy has added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 182,000 from April through June.

Revisions to the previous two months were mixed. Employers added 193,000 jobs in August, better than the initial estimate of 169,000. But they added just 89,000 in July, the fewest in more than a year and below the previously reported 104,000.

Stock futures rose after the report was released. The weaker job figures make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will maintain its level of bond purchases when it meets next month. The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and boost borrowing and spending.

The jobs report was delayed because of the shutdown, which may have further depressed economic growth and hiring. Temporary layoffs of federal workers and private government contractors will probably lower October's job gains. But that's likely a temporary decline.

Many economists say they won't have a clear read on hiring and unemployment until the November jobs report is released, in early December.

High unemployment has discouraged many Americans from looking for work. The percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low in September.

There were some positive aspects in the latest jobs report. Several higher-paying industries added jobs at a healthy pace. Construction firms gained 20,000 positions. Government boosted payrolls by 22,000. Transportation and warehousing gained 23,400 jobs.

And average hourly pay ticked up three cents to $US24.09. In the past year, hourly pay has increased 2.1 per cent, ahead of the 1.5 per cent inflation rate.

The deceleration in job growth was a key reason the Fed decided in September to hold off on slowing its $US85-billion-a-month ($A88-billion-a-month) in bond purchases. The lack of clean data could lead the Fed to push off any decision on the bond purchases until 2014.

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Aung San Suu Kyi collects rights prize

FREEDOM of thought is yet to become the birthright of every Myanmar citizen, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said as she collected a European Union democracy prize awarded 23 years ago when she was under house arrest.

The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been handed out annually by the European Parliament since 1988.

"Freedom of thought is essential to human progress," Suu Kyi said on Tuesday during a ceremony at the legislature's plenary in the French city of Strasbourg.

"Our people are just beginning to learn that freedom of thought is possible."

"We need still to make a lot more progress before we can say we are where Professor Sakharov would have wished us to be ... a place where freedom of thought was the birthright of every single citizen of our country," she added.

Suu Kyi got caught up in Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy protests when she returned to care for her ailing mother after years of living and studying abroad.

She became a leader of the pro-democracy movement and spent a total of 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010, while the country was ruled by a military junta.

"I made a choice, I made it out of my own free will, this is why I've never thought of it as a hardship or a sacrifice," Suu Kyi told journalists after the European Parliament ceremony.

"It's certainly been worth it, because I think our movement gave our people hope," she added. "Of course hope is not enough, ... but the very fact that we have been able to make our people understand that they can improve their own lives has been worth it."

Today, Suu Kyi is a member of parliament after the 2010 elections brought to power reform-minded President Thein Sein. She has expressed hopes of becoming Myanmar's next president, although this would require constitutional changes ahead of the 2015 elections.

The Nobel laureate is a "great symbol of freedom and democracy," European Parliament President Martin Schulz said before handing Suu Kyi the 1990 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.

Suu Kyi is on a two-week tour of Europe that will also include stops in Britain and Italy.

Her main message is about the need for the EU to push more strongly for changes to the Myanmar constitution, which she says is hampering a full democratisation of the country.

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China defends record at UN rights inquiry

CHINA has defended its human rights record to the UN, insisting it has undertaken sweeping reforms as Tibetan activists say more must be done to hold Beijing to account.

China's special envoy Wu Hailong told the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday that his country had lived up to a pledge made in 2009 when China was last under scrutiny by the watchdog.

"The Chinese government made a solemn commitment when China undergoes the next review, the world will see a China with a more prosperous economy, improved democracy and the rule of law, a more harmonious society and people living in greater happiness," Wu said.

In 2009, the council had urged China to make more efforts in areas including poverty reduction, judicial reforms and ethnic minority rights.

"Four years have passed, and I want to tell you that the above recommendations either have been implemented or are being carried out, and our commitment has been basically fulfilled," Wu said.

All 193 UN member states are meant to undergo reviews of their rights record every four years.

In the run-up to Tuesday's review, human rights campaigners raised the alarm about the disappearance of Chinese activist Cao Shunli, who had been due to attend the session.

In a statement Monday, the European Union's top diplomat Catherine Ashton had urged Beijing to clarify what had happened to Cao, and to do nothing to hamper the participation of campaigners at the UN Human Rights Council.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said China must demonstrate its commitment by ending a crackdown on human rights activists, including harassment, arbitrary arrest and torture, as well as stop muzzling the media and halt abuses against its Tibetan and Uighur minorities.

About 120 people have set themselves on fire in Tibet and neighbouring areas since 2009, most of them dying.

"China is good about signing human rights treaties but terrible about putting them into practice," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.

"The Human Rights Council review provides UN members the occasion to look at whether those commitments are being implemented - or instead violated."

At the review, diplomats from dozens of countries quizzed Wu and members of his delegation about the steps Beijing had taken.

While acknowledging China's efforts, Western delegations in particular urged Beijing to further reduce the number of crimes that carry the death penalty and at least to introduce a moratorium on capital punishment.

Before Tuesday's session, Tibetan activists hammered their message home.

At dawn, four protesters from the groups Students for a Free Tibet and the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe climbed scaffolding on the UN building in Geneva, currently under renovation, before jumping down to the middle of the facade using climbing ropes.

They unfurled a massive banner reading: "China Fails Human Rights, UN stand up for Tibet", and shouted: "Free Tibet!"

UN security acted swiftly to cut down the banner and arrest the protesters, but also to grab journalists' press accreditation and usher them away from the scene.

"The protest went really great," Pema Yoko, deputy director of Students for a Free Tibet, told AFP.

It was important to draw attention to Tibet's plight, she insisted, stressing that "we expect China to blatantly lie about their rights record in Tibet."

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US employers add 148,000 jobs

THE US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began October 1.

Still, hiring was strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that the rate fell to 7.2 per cent, down from 7.3 per cent in August and nearly a five-year low.

The economy has added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 182,000 from April through June.

Revisions to the previous two months were mixed. Employers added 193,000 jobs in August, better than the initial estimate of 169,000. But they added just 89,000 in July, the fewest in more than a year and below the previously reported 104,000.

Stock futures rose after the report was released. The weaker job figures make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will maintain its level of bond purchases when it meets next month. The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and boost borrowing and spending.

The jobs report was delayed because of the shutdown, which may have further depressed economic growth and hiring. Temporary layoffs of federal workers and private government contractors will probably lower October's job gains. But that's likely a temporary decline.

Many economists say they won't have a clear read on hiring and unemployment until the November jobs report is released, in early December.

High unemployment has discouraged many Americans from looking for work. The percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low in September.

There were some positive aspects in the latest jobs report. Several higher-paying industries added jobs at a healthy pace. Construction firms gained 20,000 positions. Government boosted payrolls by 22,000. Transportation and warehousing gained 23,400 jobs.

And average hourly pay ticked up three cents to $US24.09. In the past year, hourly pay has increased 2.1 per cent, ahead of the 1.5 per cent inflation rate.

The deceleration in job growth was a key reason the Fed decided in September to hold off on slowing its $US85-billion-a-month ($A88-billion-a-month) in bond purchases. The lack of clean data could lead the Fed to push off any decision on the bond purchases until 2014.

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Girl taken from gypsy family in Ireland

A BLONDE-HAIRED, blue-eyed seven-year-old girl has been put into care after being taken from a Roma family in Ireland.

A member of the public raised concerns about the child living with the gypsy family in a house in a south Dublin suburb.

No arrests have been made and there is no allegation of abduction against the family.

The youngster was put into the care of the Health Service Executive on Monday afternoon when the family were unable to prove her identity conclusively.

The couple have told police that the girl, who they said was born in a Dublin hospital in April 2006, is their daughter.

They have several other children who have not been taken into care.

The youngster is said to be physically well and is due to be interviewed by specialist officers.

Unlike the case where a girl, known as Maria, was found in a gypsy settlement near Farsala in central Greece, DNA tests have yet to confirm that the couple she was found with are not her parents.

The only similarity is that the girl taken into care is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child and had a different appearance from that of the couple she was living with.

In the Greek case, a DNA test on Maria proved she was not related to Christos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, and the couple have been held on charges of abduction and document fraud.

Irish police are trying to establish the identity of the girl taken into care in Dublin and have contacted Europol and Interpol about missing children while investigations continue in Ireland.

It is understood that they may seek to take DNA samples from the parents and the child to fully determine whether they are her biological parents.

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US marathon runner sets knitting record

A US graphic design professor has knitted his way into the record books while running the Kansas City Marathon.

The Kansas City Star reports that David Babcock, from the University of Central Missouri, finished the marathon in five hours and 48 minutes.

Knitting experts measured the scarf he created along the route at just more than four metres.

The Guinness scarf-knitting-while-running-a-marathon record was previously held by Susie Hewer, who runs to raise money for Alzheimer's disease research.

She knitted a two metre scarf at the London Marathon in April.

Like Hewer, the 41-year-old Babcock hopes that people will donate to the Alzheimer's Association.

Babcock began running and knitting as separate activities about three years ago. He decided to combine them to keep things interesting.

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Victorian fire trucks set for upgrades

MORE Victorian fire trucks are being upgraded to protect crews from unexpected burnovers.

Seventy-four CFA upgraded trucks will be ready for this fire season, with equipment such as fire protective curtains and panels, water-spraying systems and an improved intercom service.

Another 130 tankers will be refitted by June 2014, the government said on Tuesday. The vehicles will still be used this summer.

It will bring the number of upgraded CFA tankers to 1048.

"While we hope fire crews across Victoria are never trapped in their tanker during a burnover, we want to ensure volunteers on the front line are better equipped to safely take shelter in CFA trucks," Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells said.

The program only applies to trucks built before 2006 as later models already have crew protection systems installed.

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Aust stocks lag behind US

DESPITE the relative strength of the economy, Australia's top stocks have lagged behind their US counterparts over the past five years, research shows.

A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows Australia's top 200 companies have delivered an average total shareholder return - which includes dividends and gains in the value of the stock - of 3.3 per cent in the past five years.

By contrast, the top 500 companies in the US delivered an average return of 6.9 per cent.

Australian companies have performed better in the past two years, with an average return of 7.2 per cent, but still lagged behind their US counterpart, which achieved an average return of 12 per cent.

That's despite the Australian economy performing significantly better than the US since the start of the global financial crisis.

But with economic growth expect to slow due to waning mining investment, BCG corporate development leader for Australia Nick Glenning said local companies will find it even harder to deliver solid gains to investors.

"Many companies will need to rethink their strategies and find new ways to achieve growth. Without fresh approaches to their growth dilemma, management will come under increasing pressure and demand for change from investors," he said.

But the report found a number of Australian companies had performed well ahead of the pack over the past decade.

The strongest performer was REA group - owner of websites including realestate.com.au, which has delivered an average return of 61 per cent a year.

Other strong performers included engineering firm Monadelphous and oil and gas services provider Mermaid Marine, both with an average annual return of 39 per cent, and vaccine maker CSL, with an average return of 34 per cent.

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Tellabs agrees to be sold for $US891m

COMMUNICATIONS equipment maker Tellabs has agreed to be acquired for $US891 million ($A924 million) by investment firm Marlin Equity Partners.

The deal announced on Monday calls for Marlin to buy all of Tellabs shares for $US2.45 each. The stock had closed at $US2.35 on Friday, and rose 12 cents, or 5.1 per cent, to $US2.47 in premarket trading

A tender offer is expected to begin by November 1. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter. It requires at least half of Tellabs' outstanding shares to be tendered.

Tellabs chairman Vince Tobkin said the board decided to sell after looking at its options and after contacting more than 30 potential buyers. Tellabs is based in Naperville, Illinois.

Marlin Equity Partners partner Nick Kaiser said plans include making "significant investments in research and development" at Tellabs.

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Man's body found under Anzac Bridge

A MAN'S body has been found under the Anzac Bridge in Sydney.

A crime scene has been established on Quarry Master Drive after police were called on Monday night.

Detectives from Sydney City Local Area Command are interested in speaking with anyone who may have been driving, or walking, on the Anzac Bridge between 10pm and 10.15pm on Monday, and saw anything suspicious.

Anyone with information should contact Sydney City Police Station on 8265 6499, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

No other information was available.

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Vic coroner wants better train warnings

A VICTORIAN coroner who investigated the deaths of 11 people in the Kerang rail crash has called for more technologically advanced road signals to warn drivers of approaching trains.

A semi-trailer smashed into a V-Line train at a level-crossing near Kerang in June 2007, killing 11 people and injuring another eight.

Coroner Jane Hendtlass says rail and road authorities needed to improve signage and warning sounds to drivers approaching level crossings.

She called for research into technology capable of alerting drivers who would not otherwise notice an approaching train.

Julie McMonnies, who lost husband Geoff and 17-year-old daughter Rose in the crash, said she was left unsatisfied by the findings.

"There's nothing controversial here," she said.

"We haven't had any answers and we've had no one accept responsibility for 11 deaths and injured."

Truck driver Christian Scholl was charged with 11 counts of culpable driving over the deaths but acquitted by a Supreme Court jury in 2009.

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Chopper brags about four murders

CAREER criminal Mark Chopper Read has confessed murdering four people, including missing Queensland bikie boss Sidney Michael Collins, in the last interview before his own death.

His first kill, he claimed, was as a teenager.

Read made the admissions in the tell-all session screened on Sunday night by 60 minutes but recorded 16 days before he died, aged 58, following a battle with liver cancer.

He claimed responsibility for two cold case murders, those of Collins in 2002 and union heavy Desmond Costello in 1971.

Outlaws Motorcycle Club boss Collins, who has been missing since 2002, was previously shot by Chopper in the stomach.

He said he later killed him when they caught up after one of his life-after-crime stage shows in Casino in northern NSW, and buried him near a football oval.

Chopper said his first murder at age 17 involved shooting Costello outside a Collingwood pub.

He recalled dragging the body of the Melbourne painter and docker with the help of an accomplice to the hotel's keg cellar. Police, though, never uncovered his involvement.

The notorious standover man also disclosed that he got away with killing pedophile and murderer Reginald Isaacs in Pentridge Jail in 1974, with authorities believing Isaacs committed suicide.

Chopper claimed he beat the man repeatedly before hanging him in his cell with his bed sheets.

Read said his third killing was that of Siam Ozerkam, aka "Sammy the Turk", in 1987 outside the Bowjangles nightclub in St Kilda, Melbourne.

He said he told police it was a case of self-defence, and was acquitted, with a jury finding him not-guilty.

Read, who spent 23 years behind bars, previously boasted killing over a dozen people but was never found guilty of murder.

Despite the trail of death, Read told presenter Tara Brown he felt no remorse.

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NAB lags in business customer satisfaction

NATIONAL Australia Bank has dropped to the bottom of the pack for satisfaction levels among business customers.

A monthly survey of satisfaction among the big four's business clients shows NAB stuck alone in last place, despite being Australia's largest business lender.

NAB had an average satisfaction rating of 7.0 in September, while Commonwealth came out on top with a rating of 7.6, according to the DBM Consultants' Business Financial Services Monitor (BFSM).

Westpac was ranked second with a rating of 7.5.

ANZ, which was previously tied with NAB, moved up to third after recording its highest ever rating in the four year history of the survey - 7.2.

DBM Consultants Director Maria Claridad said ANZ had been improving its satisfaction rating during the past few months.

The bank had experienced the biggest improvement in the micro-business category, thanks in part to its new focus on start-up businesses, she said.

"ANZ's pledge to focus on start-up businesses, which was announced in April, may be helping them continue the improvements that they started to see in July of last year," she said.

The BFSM is based on interviews with 20,000 businesses a year.

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Poll conclusion lifts all states: CommSec

WESTERN Australia remains the top performer but the fortunes of all the states and territories are expected to improve, following the election of a new federal government.

Commonwealth Securities' quarterly State of States report says there's been no slippage in WA's number one ranking and the ACT continues to hold the second spot.

But there is now little separating the Northern Territory, Queensland, NSW and Victoria, before a gap to South Australia and a further gap to Tasmania, which lags on all economic criteria.

Each quarter CommSec uses eight key indicators to rank the states and territories - economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.

But CommSec chief economist Craig James says all economies should lift now that the uncertainty of the federal election is finally out of the way.

"While a slowdown in mining investment will affect some regions, this will be offset by a lift in residential building," he says in the report released on Monday.

"NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and ACT are expected to benefit most from a lift in home building."

In the latest assessment, WA leads the way on retail trade, is second strongest on economic growth, business investment, construction work done, housing finance and population growth, and finished third on unemployment and fourth on dwelling starts.

The ACT's main strengths are in housing and population growth, while the NT finished first in economic growth and construction work done.

There is still little separating the nation's three largest Queensland, NSW, and Victoria.

Queensland is strongest on business investment, NSW is strongest on unemployment, and Victoria is second on unemployment and third strongest on housing finance.

South Australia is middle ranking on construction work and fifth on housing finance, but is sixth or seventh on every other indicator.

Tasmania remains locked at the bottom of the economic performance table, lagging all other economies on all of the eight indicators.

However, Mr James said firm wages growth and improved housing affordability on the island state is being reflected in a lift in retail spending.

"If this leads to increased employment then there will be potential for stronger economic momentum in coming months," he said.

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Australia 'must do better in Antarctica'

AUSTRALIA is in danger of having to mothball research projects in Antarctica because of its shrinking budget, a new study warns.

The Australian Strategic Police Institute (ASPI) paper says Australia claims 42 per cent of Antarctica, an area the size of all Australia less Queensland, with an overall budget of just $169 million in 2013-14.

That was an eight per cent reduction on the previous year.

"A continued downward trajectory in budget allocations might well lead to closure or mothballing of stations, reduced scientific gains and a diminished standing in Antarctic affairs, it says.

Australian researchers can't visit much of the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) because of shortage of equipment such as ski-equipped aircraft.

The air link from Australia to Antarctica is unreliable even in mid-summer while the icebreaker Aurora Australis is approaching end of life.

The paper says the politics of Antarctica are starting to heat up.

One UK analyst Professor Klaus Dodds has warned of looming crises over sovereignty claims, commercial fishing, tourism, the rise of China and mineral exploitation.

ASPI said if that was to be believed, Australia could see a breakdown of the Antarctic Treaty, our territorial claim disputed, rampant illegal fishing, irreparable environmental damage and a rush for oil, gas and minerals.

"When it comes to our interest in Antarctica, Australia had better use it or we risk losing it in what will be a more competitive strategic world in coming decades," it says.

"The credibility of our claims will erode in lockstep with the erosion of our capacity to service our research stations by sea and air."

On the plus side, the new coalition government has promised it will develop a 20-year strategic plan to address how Australia can remain, engaged, active and visible.

ASPI said Australia should be an Antarctic leader not a follower.

"If we're fair dinkum about pursuing Antarctic interests, we need to be active in Antarctica. But our present capability means we can't match what others are doing in our territory, let alone lead," it said.

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HIV rises as men admit unprotected sex

HIV diagnoses are rising at a record rate as an increasing number of gay Australians admit having unprotected casual sex, according to two major reports.

An annual surveillance report says 1253 people were diagnosed in 2012 and around 30,000 infected people know they have the virus.

But the 10 to 25 per cent of infected people who do not know their status is a challenge, says lead author, Associate Professor David Wilson of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

"We need to focus on getting people diagnosed and initiating therapy to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmission," says Prof Wilson, whose report will be presented at the Australasian HIV and AIDS Conference in Darwin on Monday.

Another report to be presented at the conference shows close to 40 per cent of gay men admit having unprotected casual sex at least once in 2012.

"We're at the highest level recorded in our surveys of gay and bisexual men," says lead author Associate Professor John de Wit, director of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH).

The biggest increase is among those aged under 25, who are less likely to have been exposed to HIV-prevention campaigns.

He says about 10 per cent of gay men are HIV-positive and many do not know their status.

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-positive people being treated with antiretroviral therapy, according to his report.

And the treatment is working, with 93 per cent of patients having an undetectable viral load, compared with 74 per cent in 2003.

"But the prevention benefits of treatment are being offset by increases in risk-taking since treatment became available," he says.

"I would not call it complacency. People know it is serious. But they take risks in the heat of the moment."

The report shows an increasing number of gay men are prepared to disclose their status to casual partners, but many do not know their status and this is unlikely to be as effective as consistent condom use.

Treatment levels could be as low as 50 per cent, says Robert Mitchell, president of the National Association of People with HIV Australia.

"Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date."

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Sexual disease soars among young people

THE sexually transmitted disease chlamydia is rampant among young Australians, with an expert estimating close to half a million new infections in 2012.

"It's skyrocketing," says Associate Professor David Wilson, who on Monday will present the latest statistics at an Australasian sexual health conference in Darwin.

The conference follows an AIDS event, which will hear about a record 1253 new HIV diagnoses in the year.

There were 82,000 chlamydia diagnoses reported. But Prof Wilson believes this could be as little as one-sixth of the real number, with hundreds of thousands of cases undiagnosed.

He should know. As a program head of surveillance at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, he is responsible for compiling national statistics for sexually transmitted diseases.

Part of the problem with chlamydia is it seldom has symptoms and people don't take it seriously.

But it can cause serious complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to chronic pain and infertility.

The infection can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics. But re-infection takes place unless both partners are treated.

Prof Wilson says it is important that anyone who tests positive is open and honest with present and past sexual partners.

He says all sexually active young people should have themselves tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea once a year and at the start of any new relationship.

Urban gay men and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people are at particular risk of gonorrhoea, which is at its highest level in 10 years.

Another disease on Prof Wilson's radar is viral hepatitis, with 6702 new cases of the B strain in 2012 and 10,114 of the C strain.

Although there is an effective treatment, it is heavy going for patients and Prof Wilson says people are becoming critically ill and dying because they are waiting for an improved method they know is on the way.

The good news, he says, is a dramatic fall in genital warts cases since 2007, when the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer was introduced for schoolgirls.

"Since the program started the infection rate among girls has dropped from 12 per cent to around 1.5 per cent and the prevalence among boys has also fallen."

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