Haiyan rebuilding to take five years

The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has soared past 5600 and continues to rise. Source: AAP

REBUILDING areas devastated by a super typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines will take up to five years and cost more than two billion dollars, officials said.

The comments came as the death toll from Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the country, continued to rise.

On Saturday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 5,632 people had been confirmed dead while 1,759 were still missing following the category five storm earlier this month.

"The total rehabilitation will take three to five years, depending on the pace of our support system and the projects we implement," Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the NDRRMC, said.

He told reporters that President Benigno Aquino did not want to merely repair the damage but wants the new structures to be better than those that were standing before the storm.

"Our president wants the rehabilitation to be 'build-back better communities," so they can withstand future storms," del Rosario said.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said: "We are looking at over a hundred billion pesos ($A2.42 billion) of reconstruction, from livelihood, commerce, social services," as well as infrastructure and power facilities.

That figure does not include the huge amounts already spent on immediate relief for the millions of people who were injured or left without food, water or shelter.

About 15 to 20 billion pesos will go to providing shelter with some 60,000 to 80,000 families to be re-settled in two to three years, said Singson.

This will include the people whose homes were destroyed by the storm as well as those who will have to move out of a recently-declared 40-metre "no-build zone" from the coastline, Singson added.

The zone is intended to prevent a repetition of the large number of deaths that occurred after Haiyan brought massive storm surges that flattened seaside communities.

A spokeswoman for the local UN office, Orla Fagan, told a news conference on Friday that donors had forked out $US164 million ($A180.41 million) so far.

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No Aussies caught in helicopter pub crash

IT appears that no Australians were in a Glasgow pub when a police helicopter crashed into the roof on Friday night killing at least one person.

There were more than 100 revellers in the Clutha pub when the incident occurred and the death toll is expected to rise.

Thirty-two people had been taken by ambulance to three Glasgow hospitals. Rescuers are still searching through the ruins of the pub.

"We are not aware of any Australians involved," a spokeswoman for the Australian High Commission in London said on Saturday morning.

"We remain in contact with the Scottish authorities."

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond called it a "black day" for Scotland as he sent his condolences to the bereaved on Saturday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said UK authorities had not advised it of any Australians affected "at this stage".

"The rescue operation is still underway," a spokeswoman told AAP in a statement.

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New test may help with Bladder cancer

A SIMPLE urine test may be able to distinguish between aggressive and low-grade bladder cancers, allowing doctors to tailor personalised treatments, say scientists.

Researchers measured levels of a protein shed by bladder tumours in 600 patients. They found that higher amounts of the protein, EpCAM, in the urine were associated with more aggressive cancers.

Study author Dr Douglas Ward, from the University of Birmingham, said: "This protein could be used to help doctors to decide what the best course of investigation or treatment for the patients is, and may prevent unnecessary delays.

"We've known for some time that the protein EpCAM is released from some tumour cells but it wasn't clear whether it would be useful as a way to decide the best investigation and treatment for patients suspected of having bladder cancer. We are now planning further studies to test the benefits of urine biomarker testing to patients and the NHS."

Each year around 10,300 bladder cancers are diagnosed in the UK and 5,000 people die from the disease.

In many cases, the tumours are superficial and do not pose a significant risk to life. Invasive cancers that spread into the surrounding muscles of the bladder are less common but can be fatal.

Martin Ledwick, head information nurse at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: "This research has shed new light on a protein that we've known for some time is linked to certain types of cancer. Developing a urine test to work out how aggressive or advanced a patient's tumour is could replace the need for more invasive and costlier tests used by doctors at the moment."

The research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

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Plane crash in Alaska, four dead

A PLANE crash near the remote western Alaska village of Saint Marys has killed four of the 10 people aboard, including a baby boy, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said.

The pilot and three passengers died in the Friday night crash, spokeswoman Megan Peters said on Saturday.

Peters had no immediate word on the six survivors' condition.

The single-engine, turboprop Cessna 208 was a Hageland Aviation flight from Bethel to Mountain Village and Saint Marys, said Kathy Roser, a spokeswoman for Era Alaska airline.

The wreckage was found about six kilometres east of Saint Marys.

An emergency locator beacon signal helped pinpoint the crash site, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson said.

There was no immediate word on what might have caused the crash. The NTSB plans to send two investigators to the scene Saturday.

The temperature in the area Friday night was about minus eight degrees Celsius.

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French tax protests rumble on

THOUSANDS of trucks blocked highways and roads across France in ongoing protests over an environmental tax that continue to smoulder, despite the government putting the levy on ice.

The Interior Ministry said around 2200 trucks were taking part in the protest over the proposed tax on trucks of over 3.5 tonnes - slightly more than the last protest by transporters two weeks ago. A transport union put the figure at 4500 trucks.

Tens of thousands of small business owners and workers have demonstrated over the tax in the past month, calling it the last straw after a string of punishing tax increases, particularly on business.

Further protests were planned later on Saturday in Brittany, where the revolt was started in October by a group of farmers and food producers known as the Bonnets Rouges (Red Caps).

To defuse tensions the government has suspended the implementation of the tax, which had been due to come into effect in 2014.

Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said on Friday it would not take effect until at least 2015.

The OTRE transport union and Brittany's Bonnet Rouges are demanding that the tax be scrapped altogether.

The protests are seen as the expression of deep frustration with the Socialist government's economic policy.

Faced with a bloated budget deficit, the government's response has mainly been to raise taxes, avoiding the deep spending cuts seen elsewhere in Europe.

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Tibetan campaigner arrives in Dharmsala

A 42-YEAR-OLD Tibetan has arrived at the headquarters of the government-in-exile in India after cycling through Europe and Asia in a campaign protesting China's heavy-handed rule in the Himalayan region.

Scores of people lined the streets of northern Indian town of Dharmsala on Saturday waving Tibetan flags and ceremonial silk scarves as they greeted Rinpo Yak.

He reached India cycling through Nepal.

Beginning in March, he moved through 14 European countries before flying to Japan for the Asian leg. His journey has covered over 8000 kilometres.

He lives in the US and he has spread his message across 40 states since 2000.

He's due to meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama soon.

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Syrian troops retake rebel-held town

THE Syrian army has retaken a mainly Christian town near the capital Damascus, a week after Islamist rebels seized it.

The army regained full control of Deir Attiyeh in the Damascus countryside "after eliminating the last dens of terrorists there", the state-run news agency SANA reported on Thursday.

The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the seizure.

Deir Attiyeh, with a population of about 25,000 people, is situated on a strategic route linking Damascus to Homs in central Syria.

The area was captured by al-Qaeda-linked groups of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Al-Nusra Front last week, reported the Britain-based Observatory.

Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have claimed advances into rebel-held areas near Damascus in recent months.

Further north, at least six people were killed and more than 35 wounded when a surface-to-surface missile fell overnight in the city of al-Raqqa, according to the Observatory.

The Syrian Co-ordination Committees, a group of activists reporting violence on the ground, said a Scud missile had landed in a market in the jihadist-controlled city, leaving at least 40 people dead and 220 injured.

There was no official comment.

Syria's crisis started in March 2011 with pro-democracy protests, which soon developed into a devastating war after al-Assad's regime attempted to quell the demonstrations.

The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

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Russian court releases Aussie activist

Jailed Australian activist Colin Russell is set to appeal his detention in Russia on Friday. Source: AAP

GREENPEACE activist Colin Russell has been released on bail from a Russian jail.

The Australian was the last of the Arctic 30 being held in detention in St Petersburg, Russia, after his fellow activists were released in the past week.

A Russian court on Thursday released Mr Russell, with Greenpeace tweeting: "Excellent news! Colin Russell from Australia is granted bail."

Mr Russell's wife Christine, who departed Australia for Russia this week, said this was wonderful news.

"My daughter and I are one step closer to being in the arms of my darling Col. I am so relieved that my beautiful, peaceful man will soon be out of detention," she said in a statement released by Greenpeace.

Mr Russell, from Tasmania, was the radio operator aboard the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise. He and the other 29 activists were detained in September following a protest against Russian oil drilling in the Arctic Sea.

He was the last to be released on bail after 71 days in detention.

Like those already released, Mr Russell will have to post bail of two million roubles ($A66,190).

Greenpeace International will put up the bail with the expectation that Mr Russell will be released by the weekend.

However, he and the others still face charges of hooliganism, downgraded from the initial charges of piracy.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said this was an enormous relief.

"We will not rest until Col and the rest of the crew no longer face these ridiculous charges for what was a peaceful attempt to hang a banner off an oil platform," he said in a statement.

"The crew was there to raise awareness of the risk of spills to the pristine Arctic and for this they should be congratulated, not punished."

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government welcomed the decision to grant Mr Russell bail and looked forward to his early release from detention.

"Australian officials are seeking urgent clarification of the bail conditions that will apply to Mr Russell," he said.

"The government will continue to urge that Russian authorities extend due legal process to Mr Russell during the remainder of the investigation period."

The spokesman said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop would continue to monitor developments in the case.

If necessary, she will follow up her recent representations to her Russian counterparts.

Officials from the Australian Embassy in Moscow are continuing to provide consular support to Mr Russell and are planning to visit him as soon as practical, he said.

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Rio approves $400m for iron ore expansion

Rio Tinto has allocated $400 million to increase its iron ore production to 360 million tonnes. Source: AAP

MINING giant Rio Tinto will spend $400 million to expand its Pilbara iron ore production capacity to 360 million tonnes per annum.

Mine production capacity will increase by more than 60 million tonnes a year between 2014 and 2017.

The rapid expansion is expected to be achieved through boosted production at existing mines, productivity gains and the development of the Silvergrass mine.

"The majority of the low-cost growth will be delivered in the next two years with mine production of more than 330 million tonnes in 2015," Rio said in a statement.

Rio plans to reach a run-rate capacity of 290 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by the end of the first half of 2014 after completing the first phase of its expanded port rail and mine operations.

The second phase of expansion of the port, rail and power infrastructure to get to 360 mtpa is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015.

Rio recently said it was confident of hitting its 2013 iron ore production target of 265 million tonnes.

But Rio has deferred an investment decision on Silvergrass until the third quarter of 2014, and a decision on the proposed Koodaideri mine has been deferred until 2016.

It comes after Rio targeted a reduction of $US5 billion ($A5.49 billion) in its overall operating cost cuts by the end of 2014.

Chief executive Sam Walsh said the expansion of the company's Pilbara operations represented the most attractive investment opportunity in the sector.

"It's in line with my commitment to be totally focussed on only allocating capital to opportunities that will generate the best returns to shareholders," Mr Walsh said in a statement.

The expansion would be delivered at an estimated capital cost of more than $3 billion below previous expectations, he said.

Analysts were expecting $US5 billion to be allocated on an iron ore expansion to achieve 360 million tonnes a year.

The expansion is subject to government and joint venture approvals.

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Nigella's PA spent $86,000 monthly on card

TV chef Nigella Lawson has been described as a 'habitual criminal' in a London court. Source: AAP

MILLIONAIRE art dealer Charles Saatchi's accountant has told a London court he did not tell his boss and his ex-wife, Nigella Lawson, his suspicions that their personal assistants were spending thousands of pounds of their money as he did not want to bother them with "trivial matters".

Rahul Gajjar said he first became aware that Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo were using credit cards loaned to them by the celebrity couple on themselves at the beginning of last year.

While Francesca's average monthly spend was STG48,000 ($A86,564) and Elisabetta's was STG28,000, the other personal assistants employed by Saatchi spent a maximum of STG8000.

Asked by prosecutor Jane Carpenter why he did not go to Saatchi and Lawson with his suspicions straight away, Gajjar said: "It was on the back burner. We were dealing with more corporate matters - more serious corporate matters - and Mr Saatchi and Miss Lawson normally didn't have time for what we thought were trivial matters."

On Wednesday, jurors at Isleworth Crown Court in west London heard the sisters were alleged to have spent the money on luxury goods and lived the "high life" as "portrayed in glossy magazines".

Gajjar said both defendants had been given credit cards in Saatchi's Conarco Partnership account with Coutt's bank to buy items for the household.

While 35-year-old Francesca's credit limit was STG25,000 in June 2008, it went up to STG50,000 in February 2010 and rose to STG100,000 in June 2011.

Gajjar said he had been employed as finance director of Saatchi Gallery Group, part of Conarco Partnership, since June 2002.

He told jurors the couple, who went through a high-profile divorce earlier this year, had a number of personal assistants who worked "flexible" hours for them.

Asked what their roles were, he told the court: "It could be personal matters, looking after the home. It could be some work-related matters very close to Charles and Nigella."

Saatchi and the TV chef broke up after pictures were published in a newspaper showing him holding his wife of 10 years by the throat.

The court previously heard that Saatchi alleges that Lawson was so high on drugs that she was unaware of what she had or had not permitted the sisters to spend money on.

The Grillos deny the charge against them.

It is alleged that between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012, they committed fraud, abusing their positions as PAs by using a company credit card for personal gain.

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Britain scales back loan program

THE Bank of England has scaled back a loan program meant to spur economic recovery, amid fears that cheap mortgages could inflate a housing bubble.

The Fund for Lending program was launched in June last year by the bank together with the Treasury to help homes and businesses emerge from the crisis.

But starting in January, the plan, which offers cheap finance to banks to encourage lending, will only be available to small- and medium-sized businesses.

House prices have gathered momentum since the plan was announced, with average prices rising 6.8 per cent in the year to October.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says that acting now reduces the likelihood of larger interventions later.

While he didn't see any immediate threat, he says the "concern is where this could go".

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Deposit outflows from Cypriot banks slow

Over for Nigella's US dream?

TV chef Nigella Lawson's drug claims could not have come at a worse time for the star who recently signed up to a US cooking show for $300,000 an episode.

Most awesome plane photos ever

THIS collection of snaps from the skies has been put together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a group of aviation photographers.

Weeping for killer Gittany

"YOU'RE wrong" screamed Rachelle Louise as Simon Gittany was yesterday declared guilty of Lisa Harnum's murder.

Detective shows naked Jill photo

UPDATE: THE homicide detective at centre of furore over photo of Jill Meagher's body has come close to tears but maintained he'd done "nothing wrong".

Justice Lucy McCallum's verdict

SIMON Gittany was today found guilty of the murder of Lisa Harnum after he threw her off the 15th storey balcony of their apartment, read Justice Lucy McCallum's full verdict here.

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Nigella Lawson called 'habitual criminal'

TV cook Nigella Lawson was described as a "habitual criminal" in a London court on Wednesday.

Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo are due to go on trial accused of using a company credit card to buy themselves designer handbags and flights while working as personal assistants to Lawson and Charles Saatchi.

But lawyers for the defendants argued today that the case should not go ahead due to the "manipulation of the court process" by the TV cook and the millionaire art dealer, who had a high-profile divorce earlier this year.

On Tuesday, Isleworth Crown Court in west London heard that Saatchi alleges that Lawson was so high on drugs that she was unaware of what she had or had not permitted the sisters to spend money on.

After hearing submissions from Anthony Metzer QC, defending Elisabetta Grillo, 41, and Karina Arden, defending Francesca, 35, Judge Robin Johnson ruled that the trial should go ahead.

"I consider, with the right rulings and the ability to monitor the process of the court during the process of the trial, a fair trial can be achieved and therefore I have refused this application," he said.

Earlier Mr Metzer argued that the case should be dropped as Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson were at "loggerheads" and the alleged drug use damaged the TV cook's "credibility as an honest witness".

He told the court: "The defendants' case is that Nigella Lawson lied to her ex-husband about her drug use and about the expenditure that was incurred by the defendants, both expressly and implicitly, because she was fearful of Mr Saatchi's reaction if he knew about the extent of the expenditure and drug use.

"There was a culture of secrecy within Nigella Lawson's marriage."

He argued that the defendants will not receive a fair trial "as there has been a manipulation of the court process by the two main prosecution witnesses in this case".

He said that if it did go ahead, "it's a convenient forum for Mr Saatchi and Miss Lawson to rehearse disputed issues between them ... in the criminal courts where, of course, the possibility of libel is not possible".

"If Mr Saatchi is telling the truth, then Miss Lawson is a habitual criminal."

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UK man spared jail for Venables tweet

A UK man who tweeted images purporting to be of James Bulger's killer Jon Venables as an adult has been given a 14-month suspended prison sentence.

The term was handed down at London's High Court for a flagrant contempt of court on the part of 27-year-old security guard James Baines.

Baines, who is from Liverpool and close to the Bulger family, will also have to pay STG3000 ($A5,360) in costs.

He admitted disobeying a January 2001 injunction binding on the whole world that prohibits the publication of any information purporting to identify the appearance, whereabouts, movements or new identities of Venables or Robert Thompson, who were convicted of the two-year-old's murder in November 1993.

It was made on the basis that the pair would face an acute risk of serious physical harm or death upon their release.

The case was referred by Attorney General Dominic Grieve after Baines put images purporting to identify Venables as an adult on his Twitter profile on February 14 this year - the 20th anniversary of the crime.

One image showed Venables in a school photograph as a child while below and alongside were different images of an adult male.

They were accompanied by the tweet: "Its on bbc news about the jon venables pic on twitter saying its been removed eerrm no it hasn't."

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Indigenous smoking falls but still high

SMOKING rates among indigenous people have fallen by 10 per cent in a decade, but are still far higher than the rest of the community.

New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 41 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 or over smoked each day in 2012-13.

That's a significant decrease from 51 per cent in 2002.

But the smoking rate in the rest of the community was 20.4 per cent of men and 16.3 per cent of women in 2011-12.

Close the Gap co-chairs Mick Gooda and Kirstie Parker said the figures show measures to improve the health of indigenous people could work, but sustained long-term commitment was needed.

"The decline in smoking is good news but health outcomes for our communities will continue to reflect the long-term damage caused by the high level of smoking. And it will take time for the closing the gap initiatives to be reflected in health data," Mr Gooda said in a statement.

Ms Parker said improving the health of indigenous people had to remain a national priority.

"Our people are significantly more likely than other Australians to experience major health problems such as heart or circulatory disease (twice as likely), diabetes (three times more likely), and almost one-third of participants reporting psychological distress," she said.

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Man attempts to lure girl in Wollongong

POLICE are appealing for information after an unknown man attempted to lure a 13-year-old girl into his car in Wollongong.

Police say a green older-model sedan with light-blue number plates pulled up beside the girl at 4pm on Wednesday when she was walking on Pioneer Road in Bellambi.

When the girl declined the offer of a lift, police say the driver reached towards her and she ran away.

Officers want to speak with a man they describe as being aged 30-40, with olive skin, a large build, and a flat nose.

Police say the man was unshaven, wearing sunglasses and a black cap with a red logo on the front on Wednesday.

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US jobless claims drop as lay-offs slow

THE number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, a sign that workers are in less danger of being laid off.

The Labor Department says the less volatile four-week average fell 7,500 to 331,750. Both the weekly jobless claims and the average have returned to pre-recession levels.

Weekly unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. They have fallen in six of the past seven weeks.

As layoffs have dwindled, hiring has picked up.

Employers added 204,000 jobs last month, indicating that companies were undeterred by the 16-day government shutdown. Private businesses added 212,000 new positions, the most since February.

The economy has added an average of 202,000 jobs a month from August through October, up from 146,000 in May through July.

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UK detectives quiz 'slavery victims'

THREE women allegedly held as slaves in London are to be formally interviewed by police for the first time.

Officers have had indirect contact with the trio, who it is claimed were effectively brainwashed into remaining in a political collective for more than three decades, but have had to wait until trauma experts gave them the go-ahead to take their accounts in person.

Commander Steve Rodhouse police did not yet fully understand the "nature of the allegations".

"We are moving to a point where we will be able to interview the victims and our plan is actually to do so today," Rodhouse said on Wednesday.

He said there may have been "many and varied offences" against the women, who were allegedly held captive at various addresses in London, but that their ordeal may not be defined as modern day slavery.

"We need to maintain an open mind on what this particular incident is before we jump to those conclusions and labels," Rodhouse said.

"The crucial issue for us is that, on the basis of the information that we've had indirectly from victims, clearly criminal offences have been committed. What we need to do now is to understand that in much more detail."

A total of 47 officers are now working on the inquiry, launched after one of the women - a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a 69-year-old Malaysian - contacted staff from the Freedom Charity last month, and eventually left the house in Brixton, south London, where they said they were being held.

Police agreed to wait until last week to arrest the suspected captors, said to be Maoist activists Aravindan Balakrishnan and his wife, Chanda Pattni.

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Chinese company calls Palmer "obstructive"

A HONG-KONG based company locked in a bitter legal dispute with mining boss turned federal MP Clive Palmer says the case will be closely watched by other Chinese investors.

But Mr Palmer, the member for the Queensland seat of Fairfax, has told ABC's Four Corners program that Australia will continue to attract Chinese investment "because it's best for them".

Mr Palmer's mining company Mineralogy was paid $415 million by a Chinese state-owned enterprise for rights to mine iron ore in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

It's believed to be China's largest ever investment in Australia, but the project has been delayed and has cost the company CITIC Pacific billions.

Mineralogy is in a legal fight with CITIC over future royalties, with Mr Palmer claiming the Chinese firm owes him $700 million.

In a statement obtained by Four Corners, CITIC Pacific president Zhang Jijing said Mr Palmer's "obstructive legal behaviour" is unhelpful and could be delaying a resolution to the legal stoush.

Mr Zhang also said other investors with an eye on Australia would be watching.

"It's our view that Mr Palmer's behaviour and Mineralogy's litigious approach will be closely examined by the wider business community," Mr Jijing said in a statement to the ABC.

"As part of due diligence, naturally we would expect prospective Chinese investors in Mr Palmer's other interests to take a close look at our experiences."

Mr Palmer said Chinese investors weren't in Australia for a "free handout" and "we don't want to be frightened about them".

"They invest because it's best for them, they don't invest for charity," Mr Palmer told Four Corners.

"They're here because it's in their interest."

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Syria peace conference set for January 22

SYRIA'S government and opposition will on January 22 sit down at the negotiating table for the first time since the country's civil war erupted in 2011.

In a statement announcing the date on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the warring sides would finally meet for the long-elusive Geneva II peace negotiations which repeatedly have been postponed.

"The conflict in Syria has raged for too long. It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused," he said.

Ban hailed efforts by the United States and Russia, and UN and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi to pave the way for the conference.

"We will go to Geneva with a mission of hope. The Geneva conference is the vehicle for a peaceful transition that fulfils the legitimate aspirations of all the Syrian people for freedom and dignity, and which guarantees safety and protection to all communities in Syria," he said.

The announcement came as Brahimi held closed-door meeting in Geneva with senior US and Russian officials to pin down details for the conference.

"The purpose is to finalise all the preparations and agree on details for Geneva II," Brahimi's spokeswoman Khawla Mattar told AFP.

The international community has struggled to broker talks between the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels battling him since a bloody March 2011 crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests.

The increasingly sectarian civil war had claimed more than 120,000 lives, driven more than two million people from the country and left millions more within Syria reliant on international aid to survive.

The so-called Geneva II conference is meant as a follow-up to one held in June 2012, where world powers issued a call for a Syrian transition government.

But Syria's warring sides failed to agree on whether Assad or his inner circle could play a role in the process, and amid spiralling fighting plans for Geneva II have repeatedly been put on hold.

Russia, Assad's key world-power ally, has been pressing the Syrian government to co-operate on the conference. The United States, Britain and France have been working on the fractured Syrian opposition.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition has agreed to attend a peace conference.

But its authority is threatened by Islamist and other militant groups which have warned that anyone taking part in talks will be deemed a traitor.

The coalition has also demanded that Assad stand down, while the government, in turn, has insisted that the president's future cannot be a matter for discussion.

Ban said the goal was "full implementation" of the 2012 document, "including the establishment, based on mutual consent, of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities".

He said he expected all Syria players to come to Geneva with a "clear understanding" of that aim, and a "serious intention" to end the war.

Iran is also a key supporter of Assad, and Russia has sought to have Tehran involved in any peace talks, raising hackles in the West and in Saudi Arabia, a key opposition supporter.

But hopes of new headway were raised after world powers on Sunday reached a landmark deal with Iran to rein in the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear program, after almost five days of intensive talks in Geneva.

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More spy revelations could be on way

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott could be constrained in responding to Indonesia over spying claims because of concerns there could be more damaging revelations still to be revealed, it's been suggested.

Josh Frydenberg, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, said the Guardian newspaper had stated that just one per cent of the information from US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was in the public arena.

Similarly, the head of the United States National Security Agency, where Snowden worked, suggested as many as 200,000 files could have gone missing, he said.

"This could be a very slow burn. Today it could be Indonesia," Mr Frydenberg told the ABC's Q and A program.

"I would be astounded if, with only one per cent of that information out there, if there will not be more damaging revelations for Australia and its allies in due course. I don't know."

Mr Frydenberg said as Snowden was now in Russia, the intelligence files he took could now be in the possession of the Russians.

"This may be part of a bigger play out there," he said.

A week ago, the Guardian Australia and ABC reported that Australian intelligence had monitored the mobile phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and other leaders.

These revelations outraged Indonesia which suspended all co-operation with Australia in terms of strategic partnerships, including in combating people smuggling, intelligence gathering and anti-terrorism efforts and halted some joint defence activities.

Mr Frydenberg said it was a longstanding tradition of both sides of politics not to comment on on intelligence matters and Mr Abbott had adopted exactly the right approach in expressing regret but not an apology.

Former US assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell said this was the very beginning of a whole string of revelations.

"So you just don't know what to expect so you have to be very careful how you handle this," he said.

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Detained activist in "lonely" position

AN Australian activist left in a Russian jail is in a "lonely and unenviable position" with no logical reason behind his detainment, the head of Greenpeace Australia says.

Tasmanian man Colin Russell became the final Greenpeace campaigner to remain in St Petersburg detention after the 29th detainee from the Arctic 30, English man Phil Ball, was released on Monday.

The pair was among 30 activists on board a Greenpeace vessel in September protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic Sea.

Mr Russell, a radio operator, is the only crew member to have been refused bail as the group face pending charges of hooliganism.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive officer David Ritter said there was no logical reason why he should be detained while others were allowed bail.

"I know Colin's family, his friends, the other members of the Arctic 30 and their millions of supporters around the world are hoping this worrying anomaly is remedied and he can head home," Mr Ritter said in a statement.

"There is nothing Colin did that deserves this absurd charge of hooliganism, carrying a seven year jail sentence."

Mr Ritter echoed a call from Mr Russell's wife Christine for intervention from Prime Minister Tony Abbott to support the Mr Russell's release.

Fellow Greenpeace activist and Australian resident Alexandra Harris has also been granted bail but Mr Russell's detention occupies her mind.

"Alex did say to me she can't properly relax and enjoy her freedom 'until Colin joins us. But we know he's strong and will be okay," her father Cliff Harris told ABC Radio from his UK home on Monday.

Ms Harris's bail conditions prevent her from leaving Russia, where she is staying in a hotel in St Petersburg.

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Tiananmen leader denied in bid to return

THE second most wanted student leader from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests has been turned back from Hong Kong in his latest attempt to surrender to Chinese authorities and return home.

It was the fourth such attempt by Wu'er Kaixi, who said his lack of success so far was the result of the "absurd" actions by the Chinese government.

Wu'er, who has lived in exile for more than two decades, is stuck in a situation where he's both wanted for arrest and, like many other dissidents who have fled, prevented from returning to China.

Wu'er confirmed in a text message that he was being sent back home to Taiwan.

He had tried to turn himself in to authorities in Hong Kong as his flight from Taipei, Taiwan, transited through the semiautonomous Chinese city on Monday on the way to Bangkok.

He wanted officials in Hong Kong to extradite him to mainland China.

Wu'er was accompanied by Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Albert Ho, who also assisted Edward Snowden as the National Security Agency contractor tried to clarify his legal situation while hiding out in Hong Kong in June.

Wu'er said in a blog post that he wants to go back to China to see his ailing parents and other family members, whom he hasn't seen since he fled into exile 24 years ago.

His parents have also been denied permission to visit him.

"What I'm doing today is a result of the Chinese government's absurd act of ordering my arrest, while at the same time refusing to allow me to return," he wrote.

He added that he wants to be reunited with his relatives "even if the reunion would have to take place behind a glass wall".

In 2009, he was denied entry to Macau, which, like nearby Hong Kong, is a specially administered Chinese region.

Last year, he tried to turn himself into the Chinese Embassy in Washington. In 2010, he was arrested when he tried to enter the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

Wu'er rose to fame as a pajama-clad hunger striker haranguing then-Chinese Premier Li Peng during a televised meeting during the Tiananmen protests in Beijing.

He was named No. 2 on the Chinese government's list of 21 wanted student leaders after the military crushed the protests, killing at least hundreds.

He has lived in exile in the United States and the self-ruled island of Taiwan since fleeing China.

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Report warns of fishing in NSW sanctuaries

MORE than six months after the NSW government opened up marine sanctuaries to recreational fishing, a new report is warning the pastime can have as much damage as its commercial counterparts.

The Centre for Policy Development report by former World Bank economist Caroline Hoisington, released on Tuesday, said the state's six marine parks were already delivering economic benefits to local communities, bringing an estimated $2.4 million to places like Jervis Bay.

Meanwhile, in the Solitary Islands off Coffs Harbour there are "preliminary indications" that certain fish, such as red morwong, were appearing in greater numbers in sanctuary zones.

"European studies have shown that for each year a fully protected zone is in place, the number and/or size of commercially targeted fish within the park, compared to immediately adjacent areas, increased by around eight per cent," the report states.

Sanctuary zones are areas within marine parks where fishing has traditionally been off-limits.

But in March the government announced it would be granting an amnesty, allowing line fishing from ocean beaches and headlands in these zones.

The centre's report warns, however, that recreational fishing can have a "significant effect on fish stocks".

For some species, such as the bluespotted flathead, recreational catch is estimated to be well above that of its commercial counterparts.

Ms Hoisington's report argues that parks need to be at least 15 years old before they could be properly tested.

With the oldest NSW marine parks barely 11 years and the youngest only six, it was too early to judge.

"Let's hope that we will collectively give marine protected areas enough time to develop and to show the benefits they can bring," the report states.

It comes after Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan warned against the "winding back" of protections for sanctuaries in a report released last week.

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Extend domestic violence leave: ACTU

THE national union peak body wants special leave for domestic violence victims to be included as a minimum workplace award entitlement from next year.

To coincide with White Ribbon Day, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said unions will support a special resolution on the issue at an ACTU executive meeting on Tuesday.

He said 1.2 million workers already have access to domestic violence leave but it should be extended to cover more people.

"Victims of domestic violence are often vulnerable, traumatised and left with little support," he said.

"The last thing they need is to risk losing their jobs."

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Yemen court delays elopement case verdict

A YEMENI court has postponed a verdict in the case of a Saudi woman accused of eloping with her Yemeni boyfriend, as the couple's supporters demonstrated outside.

Prosecutors say they need time to see if 22-year-old Huda Abdullah Ali can be registered as a refugee with the UN, which would allow her to remain in the country and marry.

She has become a cause celebre with some youth in Yemen, a traditional society not normally associated with public demonstrations in the name of romance.

Prosecutors say her boyfriend, 25-year-old Arafat Mohammed Taher al-Qadi, told investigators Ali's father rejected his marriage proposal, and the two were forced to elope.

Ali is charged with illegally entering Yemen while al-Qadi is accused of helping her.

"My only demand is to grant Huda humanitarian refugee status so that I can marry her," al-Qadi said as police led him outside the court.

He thanked the people who have come out in his support.

The Yemen Organisation for Defending Human Rights, HOOD, said earlier they have provided the court with all necessary documents for Ali to be registered as a refugee.

HOOD's lawyer Abdul-Raqeeb al-Qadi said the Interior Ministry was still refusing to let the UN's refugee agency see Ali, who is in detention.

The couple's supporters outside the court chanted, "The sit-in continues until the pair are wed."

A group who had been bussed in from the city of Taiz to the south carried banners reading, "Taiz supporters respond to the call of love."

The court has postponed its verdict until December 1.

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Treasurers to discuss online shopping tax

MOVES to slap GST on overseas online shopping purchases worth less than $1000 will be on the agenda when Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey meets his state and territory counterparts this week.

The treasurers will meet in Canberra on Wednesday from 8.30am (AEST) for the Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations, the first since the change of government.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hockey said the meeting will focus on economic growth and ways to increase productivity.

The $1000 threshold at which the GST is collected on goods and services purchased from abroad will be on the agenda.

The treasurers will consider potential options on collecting the GST on online transactions if the threshold was to be lowered.

Australian businesses argue that while online shopping from foreign outlets may comprise a small component of the overall retail sector, it's a fast-growing trend being supported by an effectively GST-free status on less expensive items.

The previous Labor government argued that significant reforms were needed within the tax system to handle the job otherwise the cost of collecting the tax would outstrip the revenue collected.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said his state had been pushing for reform on the low-value threshold on GST for online overseas purchases for a long time.

"It is about time we had a genuine discussion on the issues that matter and it's clear that under the new federal government this is what we are going to see," he told AAP.

The treasurers are also expected to discuss infrastructure partnerships and the economic and fiscal outlook.

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Vatican puts St Peter's bones on display

THE Vatican has for the first time publicly unveiled a handful of disputed bone fragments said by some to belong to the first pope, St Peter.

The eight or so pieces of bone sat nestled like rings in a jewel box inside a big bronze display case on the side of the altar during a mass commemorating the end of the Vatican's "Year of Faith".

The "Year of Faith" is a Benedict XVI initiative which began on October 11, 2012 to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vatican II Council, which approved key Catholic Church reforms.

Pope Francis prayed before the fragments, blessing them with incense, at the start of Sunday's service.

No pontiff has ever definitively declared the fragments to belong to the Apostle Peter, but Pope Paul VI in 1968 said fragments found in the necropolis under St Peter's Basilica were "identified in a way that we can consider convincing".

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ACT house shatters Christmas lights record

CANBERRA'S Richards family have turned on more than half a million Christmas lights, reclaiming a Guinness world record they first held in 2011.

Their 331,038-bulb effort was eclipsed a year later when 346,283 lights were powered up at a home in the hamlet of LaGrangeville, New York.

But on Sunday, they took back the title in style.

David Richards says he and his wife Janean and their three kids installed the 502,165 multicoloured streamers, icicles, candy canes, reindeer and other candescent decorations - some more exotic, some less - to raise funds for SIDS & Kids ACT.

"The charity is very close to our heart. We lost a child and SIDS looked after us many years ago," he said on Sunday.

Setting up the lights takes enormous effort and time but Mr Richards had a lot of help this time from family and friends, and when the power comes on and the tent-like streams of lights under a massive tree are revealed it is spectacular.

He says his six-year-old daughter Madelyn thinks everyone has a world record house with lights on it, and his other two kids, Caitlin, 10, and Aidan, 13, just enjoy it "a bit like me".

"I have always loved Christmas. Having the Christmas lights with the community coming in and sharing it is a time when you get to know people you probably should know better, I guess."

But SIDS and Kids is the main reason he does the time-consuming task, to raise money for the work they do.

"It was very important for us," he said.

"Anyone who has been through that sort of loss will probably tell you the worst thing that can happen to you is losing a young child."

People can visit the lights after dark from Nov 30 to December 26 at 3 Tennyson Crescent, Forrest. Entry is via a gold coin donation.

The Richards' last effort raised $78,000 and helped pay for two part time counsellors.

This time, though, they hope to break $100,000.

Trudy Taylor from SIDS and Kids ACT said they get 20 per cent of their funding from the ACT government and donations support the rest of the work they do with people who have lost a child aged six and under for a range of reasons.

About 150 young children die in the region, which includes parts of NSW and Victoria, each year.

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Greenpeace to continue oil rig demos

GREENPEACE will continue to stage oil rig protests despite having 30 activists taken prisoner by the Russian authorities, one of the Britons freed from detention says.

Frank Hewetson says, that despite his ordeal, the organisation's method of scaling oil rigs in the Arctic would happen again.

But he says he can't for certain say they will return to Russia

He said he had 23 years of experience and was "pretty good" at carrying out direct forms of action.

He said it had to be done safely, with the right equipment and training.

"I think it will happen again for sure," Hewetson said.

"I'm just not going to comment about whether it will happen in Russia, I just don't have the mental head space to make that sort of decision at the moment.

"But I personally want to go back to part of the Arctic."

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