State Of Origin tops 2.4 million viewers

More than 2.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Wednesday's State of Origin opener. Source: AAP

NSW'S State Of Origin victory over Queensland was watched by more than 2.4 million viewers, with about half of the audience living in Sydney.

Game one of the series filled the first three spots on OzTAM's overnight ratings because the Nine Network breaks down the coverage into three segments.

The match (2.487 million) was number one in the ratings followed by the pre-match coverage (1.714 million) and the post-game segment (1.348 million) was third.

Of the 2.487 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Blues win at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, 1.288 million lived in Sydney.

There were 747,000 viewers in Brisbane, 426,000 in Melbourne and 86,000 in Adelaide. The game was not screened in Perth.

It was a solid ratings figure for State Of Origin, but well short of the record.

Nine says Game Three in 2012, watched by 2.626 million viewers, was the biggest audience ever for a State of Origin match since official ratings began.

State Of Origin's dominance in the ratings took its toll on a few shows.

Network Ten's reality cooking series MasterChef and its quality drama Offspring were shunted out of the top 10.

MasterChef was 11th with 779,000 viewers and Offspring was a spot further back with 766,000 viewers.

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Cash to Vic athletes to Commonwealth Games

The Victorian government has granted $450,000 to help athletes travel to the Glasgow Games. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S Commonwealth Games team has received a $450,000 boost from the Victorian government to help them to travel to Scotland for the Games.

Premier Denis Napthine and Sports Minister Damian Drum announced the grant on Thursday, with the money going to the Victorian Commonwealth Games Association to assist Victorian athletes with travel costs.

"We expect that Victoria will once again punch above its weight. We expect that while we are only 25 per cent of the Australian population, over 30 per cent of the selected teams will be Victorians," Dr Napthine said.

"That's a great tribute to the skill of Victoria and also our grassroots sports, our VIS (Victorian Institute of Sport), and our coaches and our sports system.

"We wish all the athletes well, and our $450,000 will help our athletes as they go for gold in Glasgow."

The Commonwealth Games begins in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 23.

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Buffett's older sister called in to help

Warren Buffett's older sister is helping to ensure the billionaire's fortune goes to just causes. Source: AAP

WHEN Warren Buffett announced in 2006 that he would give away his billions, he was flooded with individual requests for help that still flow in today.

Instead of tossing the letters aside, Buffett packages them up and sends them to his big sister Doris. With the help of seven women, her Sunshine Lady Foundation scrutinises each request to find people who have come upon bad luck through no fault of their own.

"She just believes that a lot of people got short straws in life, and she wants to help them," Warren Buffett said.

It's rare for philanthropists to respond to individual requests, said Northeastern University professor Rebecca Riccio, who teaches philanthropy and interviewed the siblings last year. Buffett, 83, and his 86-year-old sister worked out the unusual arrangement because neither wanted to disregard the requests, but Buffett also wanted to focus on running Berkshire Hathaway.

"I think Warren and Doris do not have it in them to ignore those letters," Riccio said.

Warren Buffett sent his sister $5 million initially to cover the cost of responding to his letters and promised more money if she needed it. The siblings didn't want to say exactly how much Doris has given to the letter writers so far.

Many of the requests are simple: A man who needed a new glass eye. The grandmother who wanted a tombstone for the three children she lost. A disabled woman who needed a car to visit her daughter and grandchildren.

"These are decent people who just didn't have the breaks somebody else did," Doris Buffett said.

She said her drive to help people developed during the Great Depression, when she saw people struggling with such basic needs as hunger and shelter. That desire grew as she faced her own disappointments, including four divorces and the loss of a $12 million fortune in the stock market crash of 1987.

Doris Buffett started the Sunshine Lady Foundation in 1996 after inheriting money. Through it, she has also given away $150 million of her own money, focusing primarily on larger programs such as scholarships for domestic violence victims, college education for prison inmates and efforts to help people with mental illnesses.

Riccio says Doris Buffett's personal connections to recipients and her willingness to provide so many small gifts sets her apart.

"She cares about people, not about the prestige or the perception of her as a philanthropist," Riccio said.

Doris Buffett focuses her foundation's main giving on the communities where she lives: Fredericksburg, Virginia; Wilmington and Beaufort, North Carolina, and Rockport, Maine. But she doesn't confine her gifts to those places.

Steven Lewicki spent 15 years in prison for a string of bank robberies, but during that time earned his associate's degree thanks to a college program inside Maine State Prison funded by Doris Buffett's foundation.

When he was freed, Lewicki finished his bachelor's degree at the University of Maine at Augusta and got a job with a group that advocates for prisoners.

"I feel an obligation to Doris," Lewicki said. "I feel an obligation to honour her philanthropy and her integrity and her guidance and all of that."

Doris Buffett's main goal is to provide one-time aid and, whenever possible, connect people with other forms of help. But she knows there are limits to what she can do.

"I can't change somebody's life, but I can make it possible for them to do so," she said.

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Experienced drivers' test struggle

MOST experienced motorists might struggle to pass the driving test if they had to take it now, according to a survey.

A total of 50 experienced drivers took a test in an experiment organised by car insurance company Direct Line, with more than three quarters of them failing.

Those who failed recorded an average of three serious or dangerous faults, with one participant committing 10 major faults.

Just one major fault, or more than 15 minor faults, can fail a candidate. In the mock test, the experienced drivers who failed committed an average of 16 minor faults, with one driver recording as many as 42.

One motorist drove at 65km/h in a 50km/h zone, and another failed to see the kerb when doing a three-point turn. One driver even failed to spot a pedestrian by not properly checking his blind spot, forcing the pedestrian to move back onto the footpath.

The vast majority of drivers were awarded minor faults for a lack of concentration behind the wheel and a lack of control over the vehicle, most commonly using the wrong gear and failing to check their mirrors. One driver received 14 minor points for misuse of gears.

Direct Line said complacent driving and a lack of concentration at the wheel could be caused by an over-reliance on in-car driving aids, such as parking sensors or blind spot monitors.

Further research by Direct Line among 4000 UK adults revealed that 68 per cent of UK drivers rely on driving aids behind the wheel, with almost half (48 per cent) of motorists stating that they use a sat nav.

Direct Line's motor director Rob Miles said: "While drivers gain experience with age, it's easy to pick up bad habits that could be potentially dangerous and put other road users at risk.

"Driving aids are becoming increasingly common, and when used correctly, can result in a safer, more-comfortable driving experience.

"However, it's important that drivers don't rely too heavily on these aids, as it can be to the detriment of both their overall ability and concentration on the road ahead."

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Bush-Blair talks disclosure agreed

AN agreement has been reached over disclosing sensitive documents detailing discussions between Tony Blair and George Bush.

Sir Jeremy Heywood, the UK Government's most senior civil servant, who was principal private secretary to Blair in 10 Downing Street in the run-up to the war, has agreed the principles of handing over information, which includes 25 notes from former the UK prime minister to the former US president and more than 130 records of conversations between the two.

Sir John Chilcot's inquiry completed public hearings in 2011, but publication of its report is understood to have been held back by negotiations over the publication of private communications.

Officials said a timing has still not been set for the date of publication.

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Ukrainian journo arrested in Pitt attack

A MAN arrested after rushing up and touching Brad Pitt on a Hollywood red carpet is a Ukrainian journalist with a history of getting too close to celebrities.

Los Angeles Police officer Sally Madera identified the suspect as Vitalii Sediuk who was jailed on suspicion of misdemeanour battery on Wednesday before the premiere of the movie "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theatre.

After touching Pitt, Sediuk was wrestled away by security guards and led off in handcuffs.

Pitt kept greeting fans and walked into the theatre.

In February, the 25-year-old Sediuk was cited for trespassing after grabbing the microphone before Adele accepted an award at the Grammys. and last year, Will Smith slapped Sediuk after he tried to kiss him on a red carpet.

Sediuk is being held in lieu of $US20,000 ($A21,600) bail.

A man was jailed on suspicion of battery after rushing up and touching Brad Pitt on the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the movie "Maleficent," witnesses and police said, though Pitt was apparently unhurt and soon resumed signing autographs.

Witnesses saw the man from the fan area jump over a barrier onto the red carpet at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and rush at Pitt, touching him briefly before security guards wrestled him back across the barrier.

Pitt kept greeting fans and walked into the theatre.

Pitt's longtime partner Angelina Jolie stars in "Maleficent," Disney's new live action spin on its animated classic "Sleeping Beauty."

Before the incident, Jolie told The Associated Press that the El Capitan is like a local theatre for herself, Pitt and their kids, who usually don't attend her premieres but did on Wednesday night.

"Well, oddly, we usually go to the El Capitan, that's where we take the kids. That's the closest theatre to us," Jolie said.

"This is the first time they were able to come to mommy's premiere."

The man got to Pitt despite security that was heavy for a movie premiere, with guards keeping a large gap between the stars and the crowd.

Email messages left for representatives for Pitt and Disney were not immediately returned.

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UK deputy PM facing Lib Dem calls to quit

THE leadership of British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been questioned by some of his own MPs as Liberal Democrat candidates joined voices urging him to quit over dismal election results.

The Deputy Prime Minister has insisted he is staying despite the party losing more than 250 councillors in local elections and anticipating another rout when European election results emerge later.

Southport MP John Pugh suggested that a dozen of his Commons colleagues had expressed doubts to him over whether Clegg should continue at the head of the party.

An internal "post-mortem" of the poor night at the polls - in which the party was almost or entirely wiped out in some former strongholds - "has to include a truly open, mature and balanced look at our whole strategy, including the leadership issue", the Southport MP told the Sunday Times.

"Although I admire enormously Nick's bravery, it does not follow that because the captain should go down with the ship that the ship has to go down with the captain."

Fellow Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders, who represents Torbay, said: "The problem is the messenger, very few people say it's the message."

Clegg has conceded that the strongly pro-EU party could lose all 11 of its MEPS when results are declared later on Sunday and even the most optimistic polls suggest only a handful will survive.

As the scale of the losses became clear, Clegg said he would "absolutely not" resign, and insisted the Lib Dems were still succeeding where they focused on their achievements in coalition.

He blamed a wider "anti-politics mood" but his party has suffered in opinion polls, with ratings at consistently low levels since joining the Conservative-led coalition.

Two would-be MPs are among more than 600 people who have signed up to the online LibDems4Change campaign which has published an open letter calling on Clegg to step down.

Jackie Porter, who is set to fight the Conservative-held target seat of Winchester in next May's general election, said the party was "not going forward with a clear strategy".

The county councillor said the party's achievements were overshadowed because Clegg "allowed himself to be portrayed as just another pea out of the same pod" as Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband.

To win back support, the party needed to demonstrate it was different, she said.

If Clegg refuses to quit, a leadership contest would be triggered if 75 local party associations formally demanded one, or if a majority of the parliamentary party approved a no-confidence motion.

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Taliban frees 24 Afghan hostages

TALIBAN militants have released 24 hostages who were seized in northeastern Afghanistan last week, an official says.

Taliban fighters captured Yamgan, a remote mountainous district in Badakhshan province on Wednesday, and took 40 policemen hostage.

Police recaptured the area on Friday.

"Tribal elders negotiated with Taliban and freed 24 hostages, most of who are policemen, but held three senior ranked officials," said Nawid Frotan, the governor spokesman for Badakhshan province.

Earlier, Fazluddin Ayyar, the provincial police chief said that 15 policemen were freed in Friday's operation.

Frotan said that the three senior ranked officials were a district police chief, a district prison chief and a member of the secret service.

The Taliban have launched their spring offensive, targeting Afghan and NATO troops, and government employees.

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Belgians vote, brace for new stalemate

Belgians have begun casting their vote for a new national parliament. Source: AAP

BELGIANS are casting their vote Sunday for a new national parliament, amid fears that a fresh political stalemate may be in the making for the fissured country.

The last federal elections in 2010 left Belgium without a government for a world-record 541 days, because of a rift between the Dutch-speaking Flanders region and French-speaking Wallonia.

"The formation of a government could prove difficult after the elections this time too," Julie Cantalou of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom liberal think tank predicted, pointing to expectations that the nationalist N-VA party will emerge victorious.

The conservative party - the largest in Flanders - would like to eventually see Belgium break up along its linguistic lines.

It came in first nationally during the 2010 elections, but was then locked out from the government negotiations after its hardline leader, Bart De Wever, outright rejected proposed reforms.

In the end, Socialist leader Elio Di Rupo managed to form a six-party coalition government that did not include the N-VA.

Whether the Flemish nationalists could be shut out of new coalition talks is questionable, analysts say. The Socialists - the largest party in Wallonia - may have to end up sitting at the negotiating table with the diametrically opposed N-VA.

"With around a third of Flemish votes, the N-VA is an almost indispensable interlocutor for coalition talks," Cantalou noted.

A renewed stalemate could come at an economic cost for Belgium.

During the 2010-11 political crisis, for instance, the country saw the interest rates on its debt rise to challenging levels.

A new deadlock or a quarrelling coalition could be "a significant barrier to resolving Belgium's deteriorating competitiveness," Michael Pearce of the Capital Economics research group warned.

The national elections will also be the first real test for Belgium's King Philippe, who took over the throne from his father last July.

The monarch will play a role by tasking leading politicians to form a government or appointing mediators.

The vote takes place under the pall of a deadly shooting on Saturday at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in which three people were killed by an unknown individual who fired a gun into the building before fleeing the scene. The motives were initially unclear.

Belgians will also be casting ballots on Sunday for the country's regional legislatures and for a new European Parliament.

The last polls close at 4pm (1400 GMT), with results expected in the evening.

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Car bomb kills at least 10 in Syria

A CAR bomb has struck a pro-government neighbourhood in the central Syrian city of Homs, killing at least 10 people, setting cars on fire and sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky, activists and a government official say.

The blast in the Zahra district, which is predominantly inhabited by Alawites and Christians, sent tremors through Homs, where rebels and the government have struck two ceasefire deals this month that have restored at least a semblance of peace to the shattered city.

The provincial governor, Talal Barazzi, said the attack targeted such reconciliation efforts in Homs.

An official in the Homs governor's office said 10 people were killed in the explosion on Sunday and more than 40 were wounded.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

The director of the opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group, Rami Abdurrahman, put the death toll at 12.

He also said more than 40 were wounded.

Differing death tolls are common in the immediate aftermath of attacks in Syria.

Syrian state television blamed the bombing on "terrorists".

The station broadcast footage that showed cars on fire and people trying to push other vehicles away from the blast site.

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China 'offers leniency' to bomb suspects

AUTHORITIES have called for anyone involved in terrorist activities in China's restive northwest to turn themselves in and promised leniency following a bombing that killed dozens of people.

The announcement followed a security crackdown launched over the weekend in response to Thursday's attack at a morning street market, which killed at least 43 people and wounded dozens.

The official Xinhua News Agency said an anti-terrorism campaign in the northwest Xinjiang region would target religious extremist groups, underground gun workshops and "terrorist training camps," and that "terrorists and extremists will be hunted down and punished".

Police have revealed the names of five people blamed for the attack and said they were part of a "terrorist gang".

Based on their names, all the suspects appeared to be Uighurs, the region's most populous Muslim minority.

Police said that four of the assailants were killed in the bombing and that the fifth was captured on Thursday night.

In Sunday's announcement, public security officials in Xinjiang said people involved in a range of designated terrorist activities would receive mitigated punishments if they turn themselves in within 30 days, Xinhua reported.

The announcement also said those who surrender and offer information about other suspects or criminal activities "will be given minor punishment or exempted from punishment".

The bombing in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, left the region's residents on edge and raised fears that organised extremism was on the rise.

Ismail Tiliwaldi, a former governor of Xinjiang, said in an editorial posted on a website sponsored by regional authorities that the attackers "vainly attempted to attract attention through a large-scale bloody incident and maliciously sow ethnic estrangement and cause hatred and opposition to achieve their criminal plot of separating the country," according to Xinhua.

In far-off Beijing, police announced they were canceling vacations for officers and would step up patrols at train stations, schools, hospitals and markets.

A measure under which passengers at stations in central Beijing are required to undergo security checks will be extended to three additional stations, the city government said.

Thursday's violence was the deadliest single attack in Xinjiang's recent history, and the latest of several that have targeted civilians, in contrast to a past pattern of targeting police and officials.

It was the highest death toll since several days of rioting in Urumqi in 2009 between Uighurs and members of China's dominant Han ethnic group left nearly 200 people dead.

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Gunmen kill 6 police officers in Pakistan

GUNMEN have stormed a tribal police post in southwestern Pakistan, killing six police officers and wounding three, authorities say.

The attack took place in Wadh area of Baluchistan province's Khuzdar district, where insurgents have launched previous attacks, said Baroz Khan, a senior government official.

Officers manning the post returned fire and pushed the gunmen back toward nearby mountains, Khan said. Reinforcements from the paramilitary Frontier Corps later reached the post, some 300 kilometres south of Quetta, the provincial capital, he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion immediately fell on Baluch nationalist groups who have claimed responsibility for such attacks in the past.

For over a decade, Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-intensity insurgency by some nationalist groups demanding autonomy or a greater share from mineral and gas resources being extracted from the impoverished province. It is also believed to be home to many Afghan Taliban members.

Residents say a crackdown has sparked disappearances in Baluchistan blamed on security forces. They say the disappearances swelled in the mid-2000s, when Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government cracked down on insurgents there.

Two years ago, the Voice for Baluch Missing Persons organisation handed the United Nations a list of 12,000 names they said belonged to people missing in the conflict.

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