China cattle imports boost NT confidence

A billion-dollar live export deal with China will help restore confidence in NT cattle farmers. Source: AAP

A BILLION-DOLLAR live cattle export deal with China will help restore confidence in Northern Territory cattle farmers after several lean years.

THE federal government is believed to have all but signed a live export deal to sell one million Australian cattle worth up to $1 billion to meet China's growing demand for beef.

It comes as the major trading partners edge closer toward a free-trade agreement after almost 10 years of talks.NT Cattlemens Association CEO Tracey Hayes says farmers are cautiously optimistic about the beef deal."There's a level of confidence growing among northern producers, and that's been missing for a while," she told AAP on Friday.Many were still struggling to recover since 2011's blanket ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia."It's really great for producers to start to have an increase in farm gate returns so they can invest back in their businesses and pay back some debt - all those things that really lend itself to a healthy community," Ms Hayes said.She said the million-head figure is based on the potential demand in China, but "we're not positioned currently to supply that amount of cattle in addition to the existing cattle we've got".It's as yet unclear what kind of cattle China will be looking for, whether it's feeder, slaughter-weight or dairy cattle, and it is too soon to say how many could be exported from the territory.Regardless, "it's going to be very good for the NT", Ms Hayes said.China buys Australian dairy and beef breeder cows, and took more than 78,000 head of dairy cattle and 15,000 beef cattle last financial year.Meanwhile, Vietnam has been a solid market for NT cattle in the last year, and Cambodia is an emerging market, which is vital for diversification for Australian producers, Ms Hayes said.Shares in beef exporters Australian Agricultural Company and Elders surged on Friday after reports that the live cattle deal was pending.AACo shares rose 12 cents, or 8.39 per cent, to $1.55.Elders shares added two cents, or 11.43 per cent, to 19.5 cents."Any opening of the trade relationship is certainly very positive, especially if it comes with reduced tariffs," Morgans analyst Belinda Moore said.

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Five charged after violent home invasion

A GROUP accused of a violent home invasion and kidnapping are set to face court in mid-December.

THE four men and one woman were charged this week over their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a 21-year-old man at a house in Hornsby, in Sydney's north, in late August.

Detectives on Wednesday arrested three men aged 19, 27 and 32, and charged them with assault and kidnapping offences.The 19-year-old was also charged with possessing a prohibited drug.All three were refused bail to appear at Central Local Court on December 18.A 21-year-old Pennant Hills man was also arrested and charged with kidnapping and was granted conditional bail to reappear December 18.A 51-year-old Asquith woman was also charged with hindering a police investigation.She was granted conditional bail to appear at North Sydney Local Court on November 26.

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Fire bans remain in place in SA

SOUTH Australia has made it through a scorching day without serious bushfire damage, but fire bans will remain in place in several districts.

TOTAL fire bans were in place across most of the state on Friday, with catastrophic warnings declared in the mid northwest pastoral and west coast districts.

The temperature reached 43.7C in the west coast town of Ceduna and peaked at 36.2C in Adelaide, slightly lower than the 39C forecast.Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Matt Collopy says while the state escaped major fire damage, extreme weather remains a concern."We're seeing a bit of lightning activity, so we do have a severe weather warning for parts of the west coast and the northwest pastoral (districts)," he told ABC radio on Friday."We're concerned about wind gusts out of thunderstorms in those areas."Severe fire danger has been declared in the northwest pastoral, northeast pastoral and Flinders districts on Saturday.A 24-hour total fire ban will come into effect in those districts from midnight on Friday, the Country Fire Service says.

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Pilbara tug boat engineers to stop work

A SHIPPING company that services the iron ore sector in Western Australia's Pilbara says union plans to strike will hurt the national economy.

TEEKAY Shipping says the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) has given notice that its members intend to stop work for four hours from 6am on Wednesday.

It comes after 17 months of negotiations over tug boat engineers' wages between the company, AIMPE, the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA)."Teekay is surprised and disappointed," the company said in a statement."It will have an impact not just on Teekay and its customers, but also on the Australian economy."Teekay said the annual base salary for a tug boat engineer at Port Hedland was already about $220,000 for about 182 days' work.

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US employers add 214,000 jobs in October

THREE days after voters registered their sourness about the US economy, the government says employers added a solid 214,000 jobs in October, extending the healthiest pace of hiring in eight years.

THE Labour Department also says that 31,000 more jobs were added in August and September than it had previously estimated. The revised figures show that employers have added at least 200,000 jobs for nine straight months, the longest such stretch since 1995.

The burst of hiring lowered the unemployment rate to 5.8 per cent from 5.9 per cent. That is the lowest rate since July 2008.Economic growth has accelerated this year and hiring has been robust. Yet despite the data, the economy was voters' top concern in Tuesday's elections. That suggests the improvement hasn't yet been felt by many Americans.

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Zoe's bill to remain a conscience issue

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to allow unborn babies to be treated as "persons" in NSW court judgments appears set for defeat.

THE private member's bill has been stalled in the state's upper house for a year, having failed to secure a majority of votes, and is due to lapse by the end of November.

The case of unborn baby Mia, who died in a crash last year, has renewed calls for the bill dubbed Zoe's law to be brought back before parliament again.Former attorney-general Greg Smith used his valedictory speech to parliament earlier this week to call for justice for Mia and her family.Premier Mike Baird personally supports the plan and has vowed to push parliament to hold a conscience vote.There have been calls for Mr Baird to adopt Zoe's bill as a government measure and force MPs to vote along party lines to ensure its passage.But the premier insists the bill must remain a conscience issue."I've got deep sympathy to (Mia's) family and that's my personal belief," he said."But individuals need to bring their own views to this debate.Mia's mother Jacqueline Sparks has urged state parliament to back Zoe's law after a six-year sentence was handed to Marco Paulo Silvestri in October for the crash that led to her daughter's death.Under the bill someone could be charged with harming a fetus that is either 20 weeks old or 400 grams by allowing it to be treated as a living person.But the bill could not have changed the amount of jail time handed to Silvestri.Opponents of the bill say it risks restricting the reproductive rights of women.Zoe's bill was named in honour of the unborn child of Brodie Donegan, who was hit by a drug-affected driver on Christmas Day in 2009.Zoe was stillborn.

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Leases to help Qld jobless rate: Nicholls

THE Queensland treasurer has defended the state's worsening jobless rate, saying the government's plan to lease state assets will help improve it.

BUREAU of Statistics figures show the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate reached seven per cent in October - up from 6.3 per cent the previous month - making it the highest in the country.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said that despite recent volatility in ABS data, more than 44,000 jobs had been created in Queensland since the 2012 state election."We also know that Queensland's economy is expected to grow at six per cent next year, which means thousands of new jobs and new income for Queenslanders," he said.Mr Nicholls said the Newman government's plan to use the proceeds from leasing state assets to reduce state debt and invest in infrastructure would also help create more than 33,000 jobs.Shadow treasurer Curtis Pitt described the figures as sobering."This is difficult for people in Queensland and the Newman government is not doing what they said they were going to do," he told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday."So much for things getting back on track."

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Charges expected in Vic toddler's death

Charges may soon be laid over the bashing death of Victorian toddler Daniel Thomas, in 2003. Source: AAP

CHARGES may soon be laid in the case of toddler Daniel Thomas who, according to Victoria's coroner, was killed by his baby sitter as his mother failed to intervene.

HOMICIDE detectives have completed their investigation into Daniel's 2003 death, which was the subject of a coronial inquest earlier this year.

Victoria Police have confirmed their fresh investigation into the child's death is now complete, and a file has been handed to the Office of Public Prosecutions.The Seven Network reported on Thursday a murder charge may soon be laid against Daniel's baby sitter Mandy Martyn.His mother Donna Thomas may also soon be charged with reckless conduct endangering life."Homicide Squad detectives have submitted a brief of evidence to the OPP for opinion in relation to their investigation into the death of Daniel Thomas," Victoria Police said in a statement."Detectives will await the advice from the OPP and as such we are not in a position to comment any further."In July, Victoria's coroner found two-year-old Daniel died in a Myrtleford home, in late 2003, from abuse suffered at the hands of Ms Martyn, his baby sitter.The abuse over six weeks included the toddler being tied to his bed, locked in a cupboard, gagging and beatings, and his head being held under water.The coroner also found Ms Thomas contributed to Daniel's death by failing to protect her son.Daniel was reported missing and his body not found until 2008.The women have denied involvement.DANIEL THOMAS' SHORT LIFE AND BRUTAL DEATH:* September, 2003: Daniel and his mother Donna Thomas move into Mandy Martyn's Myrtleford home. Ms Thomas withdraws Daniel from child care centre. Staff report him as healthy and normal at the time* October, 2003: Ms Martyn tells police Daniel is missing* March 18, 2008: A dog finds Daniel's remains under the Myrtleford house in which Ms Thomas used to live* December, 2013: Coronial inquest hears Ms Martyn tortured him* July, 2014: Coroner finds Ms Martyn caused Daniel's death and Ms Thomas failed to protect him* November, 2014: Homicide police hand the results of a fresh investigation to the Office of Public Prosecutions.

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Amended protest law passes Tas upper house

THE Tasmanian government has watered down its controversial anti-protest laws to pass the state's upper house.

DESIGNED by the Liberal government to shield workers from radical protesters in industries including forestry and mining, the proposed law in its original form included mandatory minimum jail sentences of three months for repeat offenders.

But in amendments passed by the Legislative Council on Thursday, the government agreed to scrap the mandatory sentencing which had sparked widespread outrage among human rights advocates including the United Nations.While mandatory sentencing has been removed, the new agreement lifts the maximum possible jail sentence for the offence from two to four years, handing discretion to the courts.There are also fines of up to $10,000 for individuals."It was disappointing that the Legislative Council narrowly voted to remove mandatory sentences," Resources Minister Paul Harriss said of Thursday's outcome.The Liberal government won power in March vowing to revive Tasmania's traditional industries and let workers get on with their jobs without the fear of interruption."Tasmania will now have the strongest legislation in the country to protect the rights of workers to lawfully earn a living, while ensuring the right to free speech and legitimate protest have been protected," Mr Harriss said.Labor's Michelle O'Byrne said the backdown on mandatory sentencing was an embarrassment for the government."It's worth pointing out that to save face, the Liberals introduced their own amendments to remove mandatory penalties," she said.The bill now returns to the lower house where the government has the numbers for it to pass parliament.

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Fannie Mae posts $3.9b profit in 3Q

MORTGAGE giant Fannie Mae is reporting net income of $US3.9 billion ($A4.22 billion) for the July through September period.

IT was the 11th straight profitable quarter for the government-controlled company. But the third-quarter profit was down 55 per cent from $US8.7 billion a year earlier.

Earnings for Fannie and its smaller sibling Freddie Mac can fluctuate widely due to changes in interest rates and home prices.Washington-based Fannie also said on Thursday it will pay a dividend of $US4 billion to the US Treasury next month. With its previous payments totaling $US134.5 billion, Fannie has more than fully repaid the $US116 billion it received from taxpayers.The government rescued Fannie and Freddie in September 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

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Ellis murder suspects arrive in Bali

ONE of the two men arrested this week over the murder of Australian Robert Ellis in Bali is accused of slashing the businessman's throat.

POLICE allege Mr Ellis's wife, Noor, ordered both Yohanes Sairokodu, 24, and Urbanus Ghoghi, 24, to kill him.

The pair was arrested in Sumba, an island east of Bali, on Tuesday, after a violent clash with police.The men were hiding in jungle, and fought back with poison arrows and machetes before police shot them both in the legs.The prisoners arrived in Bali on Thursday afternoon, handcuffed and heads bowed.Chief of the Bali provincial police violent crime unit Pande Sugiarta said the men had been under observation for almost five days before the dramatic arrest on Tuesday."Based on preliminary statements, both got orders from Noor Ellis," he said."During the execution, Urbanus was the one who cut the victim's neck and Yohanes was the one who held the victim's leg."Police allege Mr Ellis, 60, was killed in the kitchen of his Sanur villa before his body was wrapped in plastic and dumped in a ditch.They are weighing charges that can carry the death penalty for Ms Noor, who remains in custody accused of arranging the murder.Also in custody are her two maids, accused of abetting the crime, and the boyfriend of one of the maids, to whom Ms Noor paid Rp150 million ($14,220).Her lawyer does not dispute the payment was made, but says Ms Noor only wanted the man known as Aril to "solve her problems" - which centred on the couple's finances and relationship - and not to harm him.Two more suspects remain at large, but police say they know their whereabouts and it's only a matter of time before they are arrested.

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Top prosecutor moves to block ICAC probe

SENIOR Crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen has launched an urgent court action to prevent the corruption watchdog from investigating claims she perverted the course of justice.

MS Cunneen, who has stood aside as NSW deputy senior crown prosecutor, is challenging the ICAC's power to launch an inquiry into her conduct.

She stepped down last week after the watchdog announced it was investigating claims she and her son Stephen Wyllie advised Mr Wyllie's girlfriend, Sophia Tilley, to pretend to have chest pains to avoid a blood alcohol test at a car crash scene.Ms Tilley allegedly took the advice.Ms Cunneen denies what she's described as the "malicious" allegations made to the watchdog.Her barrister Arthur Moses SC will on Wednesday argue that the allegations are beyond the ICAC's jurisdiction.The legal challenge was launched in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday and is due to be heard again on Wednesday.The court challenge comes after former Supreme Court judge David Levine, QC, who is now the Inspector of the ICAC, reportedly asked the commission to justify its inquiry into Ms Cunneen.Mr Levine's audit requires ICAC to hand over material related to the investigation.Former Queensland Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Commissioner Alan MacSporran QC will preside over the three-day public inquiry starting on November 10, should Ms Cunneen's legal challenge be unsuccessful.A prosecutor since 1990, Ms Cunneen rose to prominence for her work in putting away pedophile Robert "Dolly" Dunn and several gang rapists, including Bilal Skaf.She was appointed senior counsel in 2007 and was later elected by her peers as one of the 21 members of the Bar Council of NSW.Former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell picked her to head a special commission of inquiry into claims of police interference in police investigations into alleged pedophile priests in the NSW Hunter.She handed down her findings on May 30, the day before Ms Tilley was involved in the crash.Ms Cunneen thanked her supporters outside court on Tuesday."I do want to take the opportunity to thank everyone on behalf of my son Stephen and his partner Sophia for all of their heartfelt support and love, which has been so wonderful at this difficult time," she said.

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Pirate Bay founder nabbed at Thai border

ONE of the founders of popular file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been arrested under an Interpol warrant as he was crossing into Thailand from Laos.

HANS Fredrik Lennart Neij, who uses the alias TiAMO, was detained on Monday by Thai immigration police at a checkpoint in Thailand's Nong Khai province, about 500 kilometres northeast of Bangkok.

Neij, along with other Pirate Bay co-founders, was convicted of aiding copyright infringement by a court in Sweden in 2009. He fled the country after being released on bail.Regional Immigration Police Commissioner Major General Chartchai Eimsaeng said a US-based movie association had hired a Thai lawyer to search for Neij, and his photo had been given to immigration police in Nong Khai.The US movie and music industries have for years pursued strong legal action against sites such as The Pirate Bay, which they say aid the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, depriving its makers of the profits due them."It might have been a coincidence, but he was wearing the same grey T-shirt that was in the photo. The immigration police officer who spotted him in the car recognised him, so he pulled his car over," Chartchai said on Tuesday.Chartchai said the 36-year-old Swede had lived in Laos since 2012 and travelled nearly 30 times to Thailand, where he has a house on the resort island of Phuket and 5 million baht ($A165,539) in a savings account. Neij's wife was in the car with him. He was being sent to Bangkok later on Tuesday and was expected to be returned to Sweden, the police officer said.Neij is the second Pirate Bay founder to be arrested in Southeast Asia after a Swedish court in 2009 gave him and three Pirate Bay associates one-year sentences for copyright violation. They also were ordered to pay 46 million kronor ($A7.03 million) in damages to the entertainment industry. Their appeals were denied by Sweden's high court.Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, who used the alias "Anakata" on the internet, was arrested in Cambodia in 2012 and sent back to Sweden after an international arrest warrant was issued against him.Svartholm Warg served his sentence for copyright infringement while also facing a hacking charge in Denmark.A Danish court on Friday sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison after he was found guilty of hacking into a private company handling sensitive information for Danish authorities.

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Qld man charged with stabbing murder

A man will face court over the stabbing murder of a 41-year-old man in far north Queensland. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged with the stabbing murder of a man in far north Queensland.

THE two men became involved in an altercation on a road about 45km south of Coen, near what's known by locals as the "Yarrabin turn off".

A 41-year-old Bamaga man suffered stab wounds and was taken to Coen for treatment, where he was pronounced dead.A 45-year-old Umagico man will face Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday on one count of murder.

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'Kurdish kids from Kobane tortured by IS'

THE Islamic State militant group tortured Kurdish children from the Syrian city of Kobane whom it held hostage for several months, Human Rights Watch says.

FOUR of the 153 children gave the New York-based rights group detailed accounts of being beaten, held in poor conditions, and forced to watch videos of beheadings and attacks carried out by the extremist group.

The children, aged 14 to 16, were among 250 Kurdish teenagers abducted on May 29 as they travelled home to Kobane after sitting middle school exams in the provincial capital, Aleppo.The jihadist group released all the girls within a few hours, but held 153 boys at a school in Manbij, a town 55 kilometres southwest of Kobane.Groups of them were released between June and October, with the last 25 reportedly being freed on Wednesday.Islamic State guards used an electric cable to beat children on the hands, back, and soles of their feet, especially when they misbehaved, one 15-year-old told HRW."One child who muttered 'Oh Mother!' when he was caught in another group's room was strung up, suspended with his hands tied behind his back, one foot tied to his hands, and told he should call on God, not his mother," another boy revealed.According to the four children interviewed by HRW, guards at the Manbij school beat children who tried to escape, did poorly in compulsory religious lessons, or did anything else perceived by their captors as misconduct.They added that children with relatives in the Kurdish People's Protection Units militia were treated especially badly."The four boys said they got no explanation for their release beyond that they had finished their religious training. They were given 150 Syrian pounds [1 dollar], a DVD with religious material, and let go," the watchdog said on Tuesday.Fred Abrahams, special adviser for children's rights at HRW, said that governments should swiftly implement UN Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing support for the jihadist group."To stem IS abuses, governments need to tackle its fundraising and recruitment," Abrahams said.In neighbouring Iraq, Kurdish news site Rudaw, quoting a government official, reported on Monday that the Kurdistan regional government had paid $US1.5 million ($A1.62 million) to buy the freedom of 234 members of the Yazidi minority held by the extremists.

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Smartphones act as keys to US hotel rooms

THE US hotel chain Starwood, with more than 1000 establishments around the world, has become the first to enable access to its rooms using smartphones without guests having to visit the hotel's reception.

CLIENTS will have to download the hotel's application on their iPhones or Android-based mobile phones to make reservations.

They would then be allotted their room number 24 hours before arrival and their rooms will unlock as the bluetooth-enabled mobile device is brought close to the door, the company said on Monday.Apple's iWatch, which is scheduled for release in 2015, can also be used for this purpose.From Wednesday onwards, 10 Starwood hotels - Aloft Beijing, Aloft Cancun, Aloft Cupertino, Aloft Harlem, W Doha, W Hollywood, W Hong Kong, W New York-Downtown, W Singapore and Element Times Square - will have this new technology available for their guests.The hotel chain plans to incorporate this new mechanism in 30,000 doors at 150 of its Aloft, W and Element hotels around the world early next year."Not only does SPG Keyless alleviate a perennial pain point for travellers, but it also transforms the first interaction with our guests from one that is transactional to something more personal," Starwood president Frits van Paasschen said in a statement."This is just the beginning, because through mobiles we have the opportunity to marry high tech and high touch to transform the hotel experience in many exciting ways," he added.

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Turkey migrant boat sinking kills 24

A BOAT carrying suspected migrants from Afghanistan and Syria has sunk just north of the Bosphorus Strait off the coast of Istanbul, leaving at least 24 people dead.

A FURTHER 12 were believed to be missing, while seven were rescued, Turkish authorities said on Monday.

Coast guard vessels, divers and passing fishing boats were scanning the waters for more survivors. Twelve children were believed to be among those on board, the coast guard said in a statement.It was unclear what caused the vessel to sink or where it had set sail from.Colonel Sakir Cicek, of the Turkish military's general staff command in the capital Ankara, said the people on board were believed to be from Afghanistan and Syria.Emrecan Kolcu, one of the fishermen involved in the search and rescue operation, said he headed to the area when another fisherman radioed that he had seen a body in the sea."We saw dead bodies," Kolcu said. "It was not possible not to see them anyway; everywhere was full of dead bodies. They had life vests on them."The Istanbul governorship office said the boat had issued a distress call early on Monday morning about five kilometres north of the Bosphorus Strait in the Black Sea.

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Brandis fronts Muslim community over raids

ATTORNEY-GENERAL George Brandis has revealed 71 young Australians have fought in northern Iraq and Syria while 73 people have had their passports cancelled to prevent them from joining the conflict.

THE attorney-general fronted ABC TV's Q&A program on Monday where he took questions from the Muslim community and others concerned about recent terror laws and raids and the implication for civil liberties.

Mr Brandis told an audience in Bankstown more than 15 Australians had been killed in the conflict in northern Iraq and Syria where the Islamic State have been waging war.Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner and national manager for counter terrorism Neil Gaughan also joined the audience and became the subject of questions regarding the Sydney terror raids in September.He denied media reports a sword seized from a home during the raids was plastic and warned more raids would come."It was a legitimate sword that was seized...it was a weapon," he said.The AFP officer said he refused to apologise for the raids because law enforcement groups had information to suggest a terrorist attack was imminent."What we'll see now is more raids like we saw in Sydney because the environment has changed," he said.He refused to comment on whether there were current preparations for raids.The officer also rejected claims the raids were "overkill", saying future operations could yield similar results with only one or two arrests.He denied the terror laws were used only for Muslims, saying a Caucasian Christian had been prosecuted in Brisbane for trying to fight in West Papua, Indonesia.Audience members included prominent Muslim community leader Imam Mohamad Abdalla and Lydia Shelley of the Muslim Legal Network.

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Ban Ki-moon may vie for S Korea presidency

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon could be a presidential candidate in his native South Korea in the next elections, a representative from the country's main opposition party says.

KWON Roh-kap, an adviser to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, NPAD, said that confidants close to Ban had discussed the possibility of his candidature in the presidential elections scheduled for December 2017.

The UN leader, who will end his term with the international organisation at the end of 2016, would join NPAD and participate in the elections if he wanted, according to the Yonhap news agency, citing Kwon.South Korea's current president, Park Geun-hye, completes her five-year tenure in early 2018 and is not eligible to run for re-election under South Korean law.According to polls, Harvard graduate Ban, 70, is highly respected and popular among South Koreans.Ban served as the country's foreign minister in the government of Roh Moo-hyun, a highly progressive leader who was in office from 2003 to 2008.Both the presidents who succeeded Roh (Lee Myung-bak and current president Park) are conservative politicians of the Saenuri Party which has enjoyed support in a society increasingly divided between leftists and rightists.Experts believe that having an internationally renowned figure such as Ban could give the progressives the opportunity to regain power in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

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Qld bus driver attacked by passenger

A BUS driver in southeast Queensland has been left with head injuries after being attacked by a passenger.

HE was driving in Logan City on Monday evening when a passenger threw a bottle at him and punched him in the head several times.

The attacker fled when other passengers went to help the driver, who was taken to hospital with head injuries.

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Ban Ki-Moon mistakes Austria for Australia

PERHAPS it was nerves before being serenaded by crossdressing Eurovision singer Conchita Wurst, but UN chief Ban Ki-moon fell into the trap of confusing Austria with Australia during a visit to Vienna.

"I thank in particular (Austrian) President (Heinz) Fischer and the government of Australia," Ban told reporters at a UN conference of developing landlocked countries hosted by the Austrian capital.

He later corrected himself and apologised in the news conference, saying: "There are no kangaroos in Austria. Sometimes this happens, I hope you understand."Later, Wurst raised the roof for Ban and several hundred UN staff, belting out Cher's Believe and Rise Like a Phoenix, the song the bearded drag queen sang to win the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year.Wurst has used her Eurovision fame to promote a message of tolerance, with performances in front of the European Parliament and at LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) events around Europe.Ban paid tribute to her efforts, saying: "I will continue to fight against transphobia and homophobia. I will stand strong for equality. I hope more of you join our global Free and Equal campaign."This week's UN conference of landlocked developing countries brings together 32 nations with a combined population of 450 million people looking at improving transportation networks and access to markets.Among those present was Robert Mugabe, the 90-year-old president of Zimbabwe, and Bolivian President Evo Morales. Neither attended Wurst's performance.

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