Iraq probes attack on ancient site

IRAQ'S minister of tourism and antiquities says the government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in northwestern Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group.

ADEL Shirshab said on Saturday there were concerns the militants were removing artefacts from the UNESCO world heritage site, located 110km southwest of the city of Mosul, and that they were about to demolish the site.

The group has already looted artifacts from Nimrud, another ancient archaeological site, on Friday and bulldozed it in a move UNESCO deemed "a war crime".Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, told AP that the militants had begun carrying away artefacts from Hatra as early as Thursday and on Saturday began to demolish the site.

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WWII-era bomb dredged up near Thai village

EXPLOSIVE experts have removed a World War II-era bomb near a Thai village after residents found the device in a river.

VILLAGERS in the hamlet of Lang Suan in Chumphon province were dredging the river near a rail route between Bangkok and southern Thailand on Friday when they found the unexploded 450kg bomb.

"The villagers immediately notified us and we co-ordinated with the army to bring in relevant explosive experts," an officer at Chumphon Central Police said.The bomb was disarmed and taken away to be studied.Thailand, an Axis ally, was bombed by Allied forces during the war as the Japanese army used overland rail routes to supply its Burma and Malaya campaigns.

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Free Anwar, Malaysian protesters chant

THOUSANDS of people have joined a march in the Malaysian capital calling for the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

THE protesters, mostly wearing black, marched through the main business district of Kuala Lumpur, chanting "Reformasi" (Reforms) and "Free Anwar" as security forces monitored the scene.

A police official estimated a crowd of between 3000 and 4000 people, while organisers said protester numbers reached more than 10,000."I am very proud to be a Malaysian and to see so many people joining this rally," said Nurul Izzah, the son of Anwar and a member of parliament."This rally is not just about Anwar. This is the people expressing their disgust against the government."The protesters believe that Anwar's conviction on the charge of sodomising his former aide was politically motivated, aimed at intimidating and silencing the opposition.Anwar, 67, is currently serving a five-year jail sentence in a prison just outside the capital, after the federal court last month upheld a sodomy conviction against him.

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Iraqi gunmen 'kidnap 31 criminal suspects'

GUNMEN dressed in black have abducted 31 Shi'ite men from their homes in eastern Baghdad in an attack police say targeted suspected criminals.

SEPARATE attacks in the capital killed six people, authorities said.

The kidnappings happened early on Saturday morning as gunmen stormed houses in the Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City, kidnapping the men, two police officials said.They said they suspected the kidnapped men were involved in prostitution and criminal activities.Some Shi'ite militias have been involved in attacks against suspected prostitutes and stores that sell alcohol as a part of their campaign to impose Islamic laws.Meanwhile, police and hospital officials said three mortar shells landed on houses in Baghdad's southern suburb of Arab Jabour, killing four people and wounding nine.A bomb blast near an outdoor market in northern Baghdad also killed two people and wounded seven, they said.

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At least 33 dead in Nigerian blasts

THREE bombings have rocked separate targets in northeast Nigeria's largest city of Maiduguri, killing at least 33 people, witnesses and a local official say.

THE first attack by a female suicide bomber late on Saturday morning killed 18 people at the Baga fish market, and another 15 were killed about an hour later at the Monday Market, said fisherman's union boss Abubakar Gamandi, in an account supported by other witnesses and a health worker.

Borno state Justice Commissioner Kaka Shehu confirmed those two blasts and said a third bombing hit the busy Borno Express bus station just after 1pm.

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Dame Marie a Mardi Gras chief

Former NSW governor Dame Marie Bashir will be honoured at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Source: AAP

THERE is nothin' like a dame.

FORMER NSW governor Dame Marie Bashir and her husband Sir Nicholas Shehadie will be honoured as chiefs at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday night.

The distinguished couple will travel along the parade route in an open-top convertible in recognition of their work to combat homophobia."They have given the community so much over the years, so I think it's a great opportunity for Sydney to come out and applaud them," Mardi Gras chief executive Michael Rolik said."They were part of the historic signing of the anti-homophobia inclusion framework across all sporting codes late last year."It's important because if you have role models giving the right kind of messages to children that are growing up and affected by bullying, then that affects attitudes."More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the 37th annual celebration, with 150 floats and more than 10,000 performers marching, skating, riding and partying their way along Oxford Street.Returning to perform in the parade for the first time in 16 years is pop singer Dannii Minogue, who will join a line-up that includes Nick Jonas, Jessica Mauboy and Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears.Eight hundred officers as well as sniffer dogs will be tasked with enforcing alcohol and drug bans along the parade route and in Hyde Park."Unless they are in a licensed premises, they are in an alcohol-free zone," Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke said.But it's not all work for the cops, with police providing their largest marching contingent in the parade's history."I think we got the loudest cheer last year," Mr Clarke said."We're going to claim it, in any case."

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Hockey urges use of cheap money

Treasurer Joe Hockey has urged businesses to use record low borrowing rates to charge the economy. Source: AAP

TREASURER Joe Hockey has urged businesses to use record low borrowing rates to turbo-charge the economy.

MR Hockey on Friday conducted a media blitz a day after releasing the five-yearly Intergenerational Report.

The report warned of lower incomes, tax hikes, higher government debt and massive budget deficits for the next four decades unless action is taken to improve productivity, workforce participation and economic growth.The treasurer told a business lunch in Brisbane many challenges would be thrown at the Australian economy in coming years, including falling commodity prices, lower terms of trade, recessions in Europe, war and terrorism.But a "consistent" policy course and innovative businesses making the most of low interest rates and ramp up investment would help the country withstand the shocks and generate jobs."There's a lot of money out there and it's looking for returns," Mr Hockey said."Interest rates are at record lows, they're probably going to be at record lows for a long time."So I say: `Have a go'."The cash rate is at 2.25 per cent but expected to fall even further.Mr Hockey earlier said tax, superannuation and workplace changes would be needed to drive economic growth and balance the federal budget.One of the key pressures outlined in the report is the ageing of the population, which will put pressure on government revenue and spending, especially on health."Should superannuation laws be changed so they can accommodate our needs as we go in and out of the workforce, and change careers?" Mr Hockey said."These are the sorts of questions we need to have answered."Mr Hockey said the government would not change tax rates for super in this term, but "broader" thinking was needed ahead of the next election.Attitudes also had to change about employing older people, which could be helped by changes to the tax system and pay rates.The report projects a drop in immigration as a percentage of the total population - a view in line with the treasurer's own thoughts."Immigration is a rather lazy way to try to grow your economy," Mr Hockey said."What we've got to do is increase our output per hour."Mr Hockey challenged the Senate to pass the remainder of the 2014/15 budget."If everything went through the Senate we would actually start living within our means," he said.He said the government's small business package to be released before the budget would include incentives to start up businesses, innovate and reward employees."The question for all of us is how big are our dreams."

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Bali Nine pair could be in limbo for weeks

The families of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan plan to visit the men on Indonesia's death island. Source: AAP

AFTER rushing Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan to the penal island of Nusakambangan, Indonesian officials are now unable to confirm whether the Australians will be executed this month.

BARRISTER Julian McMahon and other lawyers took the ferry from Cilacap to "Indonesia's Alcatraz" on Friday morning with Australia's consul-general to Bali, Majell Hind.

They were swarmed by waiting media when they returned, but didn't comment about the Bali Nine pair, or negotiations for access for their families, who are also in Cilacap to visit their brothers and sons.It's understood the men are being treated well, and they are in good spirits and looking forward to seeing their families on Monday.They must be given at least 72 hours' notice of the executions, which means they can't be held this week.Spokesman for the Attorney-General, Tony Spontana, could not confirm the men would face the firing squad this month."I can't confirm yet," he said.After planning for weeks to execute 10 prisoners at once and keep them on Nusakambangan for as little time as possible, Attorney-General HM Prasetyo now won't say how many will go to the firing squad or when.His stance on the legal appeals pending for some of the prisoners has softened, after weeks of arguing their clemency rejection was the end of the road, legally.Mr Spontana on Friday said: "We want to respect the ongoing legal process."He added they were willing to wait for the second opinion on the mental health of Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian on death row who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.Mr Spontana said Nusakambangan authorities would follow regulations, meaning the Sydney families must wait for Monday and Wednesday to visit, with no special arrangements until they entered the isolation period immediately before their execution.Earlier on Friday, a small number of anti-drugs protesters burnt an effigy of a drug offender at the port, calling for the attorney-general to immediately order the executions.The group called Granat also rejected foreign nations' "intervention" on behalf of their citizens and Australia's prisoner swap proposal.Protester Slamet Mulyadi, holding a sign that said "go to hell criminal drugs", said it was Indonesia's right to execute felons."This is my country, this is an independent country, we must save my generation," he told reporters.Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday lashed Bali police for posing with the condemned men in photos that turned up in Indonesian media, calling them "unbecoming"."I thought that they showed a lack of respect and a lack of dignity and obviously we've already protested to the Indonesian ambassador here in Canberra," he said.Mr Abbott is still seeking another phone call with President Joko Widodo regarding the plight of Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33.The president, visiting East Java on Friday, brushed off Australia's growing outrage."It's okay, we're good friends anyway," he told reporters."Our good relationship, good friendship, will remain the same."But the death penalty is our sovereign law."

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Miners fall out of share market's top 200

A quarterly update of the S&P/ASX200 index has resulted in six miners falling out of the list. Source: AAP

THE latest changes to the share market's list of top 200 companies reflects the tough times facing the mining industry.

IN their quarterly update of the top 200 list, which is based on each company's market value, Standard & Poor's and Dow Jones have removed six companies.

All six are resources firms, and half of those are iron ore miners.Atlas Iron, BC Iron and Mount Gibson Iron have been demoted, reflecting sharp drops in their market values as the price of iron ore continued to fall.Gold miner Beadell Resources, oil and gas producer Horizon Oil and rare earths miner Lynas were the others to fall out of the ASX200.In their place, a mix of retailers, healthcare and agricultural companies have been promoted.Australia's largest beef producer, Australian Agricultural Company, and electronics retailer Dick Smith are the highest profile risers.Estia Health and Regis Healthcare, both operators of retirement homes, are also now included in the top 200, along with business travel agent Corporate Travel Management.Bucking the mining downturn trend, Syrah Resources, a South African focussed exploration firm, was the other company to rise into the ASX200.

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Nobody trapped in Sydney rubble

Four storeys of scaffolding collapsed in Sydney's south but no one was confirmed hurt or trapped. Source: AAP

FOUR storeys of scaffolding collapsed during peak hour in Sydney's south, but no one was hurt or trapped.

RESCUE crews have confirmed no one was under the Rockdale rubble after earlier fears a person was trapped when 25m of scaffolding crashed onto Frederick Street.

A witness told firefighters someone had been trapped when the building's facade collapsed on power lines, three parked cars and the road just after 8am on Friday.Rescue crews determined no one was inside after a thermal-imaging search.Firefighters have been stabilising the building demolition site."It's extremely lucky given the time of day," police Superintendent Dave Donohue said.Two workers who were due to enter the building site were also lucky to miss the crash while sitting in a car opposite the site."I can only imagine, it was quite scary," Supt Donohue said.Teacher Emma Fanous drove past the site five minutes before it crashed down."I think I was more scared for anybody that was walking across the road," she said, referring to students at St Mary & St Mina's Coptic Orthodox College across the road.Power has been switched off and drivers have been told to avoid the area.

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Qld Labor under fire for assets promise

QUEENSLAND'S Labor government has reworded its key election promise, but insists it hasn't backflipped on public assets sales.

HOWEVER, Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg says the new government's admission it will sell some state assets like land and buildings amounts to hypocrisy.

"Labor was categoric during the election - they were opposed to anything that was an asset of the people," he told AAP."Then yesterday they said `major assets'; today it's `strategic assets'. But it's just mumbo-jumbo and hypocrisy."If this isn't a backflip then Labor are doing their stretches and preparing to jump."Throughout the January election campaign, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's overarching promise to voters was that "Labor will not sell your assets".Deputy Premier Jackie Trad insisted Labor was keeping its word, even if its wording has changed three times this week."What we said was that we would not sell assets that deliver dividends to the Queensland state budget," she said."That made sure we had money to deliver the infrastructure and the services for the future."What Labor committed to at the Queensland election was not selling our strategic assets."Ms Trad stressed Labor was open to selling assets that weren't state-owned companies and wouldn't involve job or revenue losses.She gave the example of selling old public housing properties and using the money to build new public housing.Ms Trad said the new government had directed departments to stop the process of asset sales but hinted some major sales could still go ahead because the previous government had signed contracts."Where that can be done, where contracts have not been entered into, where it will not be a problem for the public purse for those contracts to be broken - we have stopped those asset sales," Ms Trad said.The privatisation issue sunk the last two state governments - first Labor, then the Liberal National Party - at the 2012 and 2015 elections.

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Chan, Sukumaran housed in new cells

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have spent their first night on Indonesia's execution island. Source: AAP

MYURAN Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are in separate cells, but can talk to each other and a Nigerian prisoner who is also awaiting execution on a penal island in Indonesia.

URSA Supit, a supporter of Raheem Agbaje Salami, was able to visit the Nigerian on Thursday, a day after he was transferred to Nusakambangan from an east Java jail.

In contrast to the transfer of the Australians from Bali - which happened with overblown military and police security - Salami was taken for a long journey overland in a regular van.Ms Supit said the men are in a renovated block of four individual cells in Besi prison; each cell has a place to sleep and a toilet.Salami had been following the "sensational" case of the Bali Nine pair, Ms Supit said, and could talk to them, but couldn't see them."They sounded fine, but they have nothing because they had to leave all their stuff in Bali," she told reporters.No date has been set for the executions, but 72 hours' notice must be given by law.With Chan and Sukumaran at death's door, the federal government is making its final push to convince Indonesia's president to spare them from execution.At a dawn vigil in Canberra, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was seeking another phone call with Mr Joko."Pull back from this brink," he said later in parliament.Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meanwhile has discussed with her Indonesian counterpart a prisoner swap.She won't give the details of what was relayed to Retno Marsudi in the "very tense phone call".Attorney-General HM Prasetyo told news website Detik.com such a deal would be "difficult"."I think its uncommon," he said. "The offer is irrelevant with what we're doing."For sure, it's never been done and never crossed our mind."Indonesia's Co-ordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Human Rights, Tedjo Edhie Purdjiamto, said he hadn't discussed it with other ministries, but didn't think such an arrangement was possible."It's OK that they offered, but we don't go into that domain," he told reporters in Jakarta."We've never received that (offer). We will go on."The minister couldn't confirm a report that President Joko Widodo had indicated the executions of Chan, Sukumaran and up to eight others would not take place this week.In an interview with broadcaster al Jazeera, Mr Joko said he was considering the "national interest" in pursuing the execution of drug offenders.He said he couldn't discriminate between people from different countries, whose fate had been determined by the courts."I as the president have to follow the constitution, which still allows executions and their verdicts have already been decided by the court."The president told the reporter off camera that there will be "no executions this week".His ministers would not confirm this, or any time frame.Ms Supit gave other clues as to what the Sukumaran and Chan families, who arrived in central Java on Thursday, can expect for their final visits.The prison is 10 minutes by bus after arriving on the island and there was less security than she imagined.The human rights advocate met her friend in a small garden, finding him tired but well.She said it was a clean, "normal jail", but access for visitation was difficult to negotiate.Ms Supit said the cells were not considered isolation even though they were separate.The fourth cell in their block was empty, perhaps reserved for Filipina drug mule Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, who has a bid for a judicial review still being heard.Like Chan and Sukumaran, Salami is pursuing a legal appeal in the administrative court with a date set for Monday.Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, were sentenced in 2006 for their parts in a plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin from Bali to Australia.

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Farmers in shock over banana disease scare

There are fears a fungal disease detected in a Queensland banana farm could decimate the industry. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND'S banana farmers always knew it was possible a devastating fungal disease could emerge in the state.

AND now it looks like it has, they're praying it doesn't spread.

Australian Banana Growers' Council chairman Doug Phillips has worked his banana farm near South Johnstone for 13 years.His 16-hectare property is about a 40-minute drive south of a plantation near Tully which was quarantined on Wednesday after the Panama TR4 fungal disease was detected.It's the first time it has been found in Queensland, having wrought havoc on the Northern Territory's industry after breaking out there in 1997.Mr Phillips says Queensland growers have always hoped the disease wouldn't reach the Sunshine State."We always knew it was a possibility, but you never quite think it's going to happen," he said."We need to get on top of this as soon as possible."The spread of the disease would be the worst-case scenario for the industry, he warned.The suspected case is on the Cassowary Coast - an area considered to be the heart of the banana growing industry.In all, the far north produces about 95 per cent of the country's bananas, is worth about $570 million and employs thousands.Biosecurity Queensland says it's too early to say how the disease got into the state and the results of final tests won't be ready for up to two weeks.Until then, Mr Phillips is urging farmers to take prevention into their own hands.The best way to do this is to limit access to their properties, given the disease is carried through water and soil, he says.Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Bill Byrne and Biosecurity Queensland have defended their response to the scare after reports the quarantined property's farmer raised concerns about his plants weeks ago.The department says it acted as quickly as possible after he notified the growers' council about potentially diseased plants on February 10.A biosecurity spokesman said testing for bacteria and fungi could take a number of weeks and involved growing tissue cultures, adding there were no symptoms consistent with the disease.PANAMA TROPICAL RACE 4 DISEASE* One of the world's worst banana plant diseases, caused by a fungus* TR4 is the worst strain and affects all banana plant varieties, including Australia's major banana variety, Cavendish* It kills banana plants by destroying the plants' vascular tissue* It doesn't affect fruit and bananas are still safe to handle and eat* TR4 is in the Northern Territory where it has significantly impacted the industry.Source: Australian Banana Growers' Council

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High winds set to hamper bushfire efforts

Aircraft are dumping retardant in a bid to contain a bushfire that continues to burn in Tasmania. Source: AAP

WINDS forecast to reach speeds of up to 100km/h will hamper efforts to control a bushfire which continues to tear across northern Tasmania.

BURNING for more than 48 hours and through some 1000 hectares of bushland near George Town, the fire remains out of control and is heading east toward dense forest, the Tasmanian Fire Service says.

"The winds are of quite a bit of concern to us," incident controller Steve Lowe said on Thursday afternoon."We have done some really hard work on the northern front and if we can hold it, hopefully we can get on top of it, but it all depends on these wind gusts that are coming through."The fire isn't threatening homes or infrastructure, but residents of Lefroy are being urged to remain alert.The township of about 70 homes was evacuated on Wednesday and the blaze came within a kilometre of residences."At this point in time there is no threat ... but we need all people in the area to remain up-to-date as conditions change," Mr Lowe said.Two fixed-wing aircraft brought in from Victoria spent Thursday dumping thousands of litres of retardant, while crews continued the battle on the ground.The focus has been on the northern, most active, fire front which is being fuelled by southwesterly winds expected to peak in speed by midnight.There is still no cause for the fire, which started in a state forest late on Tuesday.It was deemed safe enough for investigators to enter the fire ground on Thursday and begin their work.In other parts of Tasmania temperatures dipped on Thursday, with snow recorded on some peaks.

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NSW mum told son to fight accused murderer

A MOTHER who witnessed part of her son's fatal bashing told him to fight back during the attack.

LISA Carr's son, Dennis O'Brien, 28, died a week after being bashed by his friend Mathew Beattie in the granny flat of his Port Stephens home in NSW's Hunter region in June 2013.

Giving evidence at Beattie's Supreme Court murder trial on Thursday, Ms Carr said she told her son to hit his attacker as he faced flurries of four or five punches and headbutts."He should have (hit him)," she told the court."But did he?" crown prosecutor Michael Barr asked."No," she said.The court had earlier heard 28-year-old Beattie, who has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was under the influence of amphetamines, prescription drugs and alcohol at the time of the attack.Ms Carr was thrown on a bed by Beattie after she hit him with a metal push scooter three times and pushed him against a wall, the court heard.She saw her son's head and body being kicked as she left the flat, his body jolting from the force of each kick, she said.In a triple-zero call played in court, Ms Carr said her son had been "bashed to a pulp"."His whole head is pissing out blood."When she re-entered the room with emergency services, she said Mr O'Brien's face and head were swollen.Chunks were missing from his leg, she said.A loved one of Mr O'Brien yelled at Beattie when he bowed his head during Ms Carr's evidence."You're a tough c***. Look at her when she speaks," the man said.The court heard Beattie had picked up the arms of an unconscious, blood-soaked Mr O'Brien and told him to "get up" when police arrived.He told officers "I'm just talking with my best friend", before making punching movements as he ran towards police.The court heard he screamed "he's my brother, get off ... get off me you dogs" as he was arrested.Mr O'Brien regained consciousness at the scene and underwent surgery for internal abdominal bleeding, but died a week later.No witnesses saw Mr O'Brien strike Beattie during the attack, the court heard.Ms Carr didn't co-operate with officers at the scene because she said her son wouldn't want her to tell them Beattie's name.The trial continues before Justice Richard Button.

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Aust woman killed in Austrian avalanche

AN Australian woman has been killed in an avalanche in Austria.

THE 27-year-old woman was snowboarding off-piste with three other Australians in the Landeck district in the state of Tyrol in the far west, local media report.

A 30-year-old man was seriously injured. He was flown to an Innsbruck hospital, 80km to the east.The other two people, a man and a woman, reportedly escaped serious injury.Tuesday's accident happened at midday local time and ski patrols, alpine police and two helicopters were involved in the rescue, local website Heute reports.Although the cause of the accident has not been confirmed, local police claimed the snowboarders had triggered the avalanche, Heute reports.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is providing consular assistance to the woman's family.

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Virgin Mobile to allow data rollover

VIRGIN Mobile has become the first Australian telco to let users roll unused data over to the next month.

THE feature will be built into new plans from Thursday, while existing customers can get it by upgrading.

"It gives people a second chance to use the data they've paid for," said Virgin Mobile chief David Scribner.He said about four in five Virgin customers have spare data left over each month, which is essentially forfeited."They should get another chance to use it."Excess data charges from blown monthly allowances have been a growing complaint across the board in recent years.Consumer groups Choice and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network have both called for data rollover, which has been pioneered by US telcos AT&T and T-Mobile.

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Three more berry-linked hepatitis A cases

The number of Australian cases of hepatitis A infection linked to frozen berries has climbed to 26. Source: AAP

THE number of Australians who have become ill with hepatitis A after eating contaminated frozen berry products has climbed to 26.

AN update from the federal health department on Wednesday added three more cases - two in Queensland and another in WA.

"The source of the hepatitis A virus is still unconfirmed. However, the berries are the only common exposure for cases," the update said.There have now been 11 berry-related hepatitis A cases reported in Queensland, eight in NSW, three in Victoria, two in WA, and one each in ACT and South Australia.They are linked to eating frozen berry products pulled from store shelves in February.The recalled items include all 1kg packs of frozen Nanna's Mixed Berries and Nanna's Raspberries, and 300g and 500g packs of Creative Gourmet's Mixed Berries.Testing of Nanna's Mixed Berries confirmed a potential contamination, and the other products were withdrawn as a precaution.People who have eaten the recalled products and feel unwell are advised to speak to their GP.Despite the food scare, the number of hepatitis A cases reported to authorities this year trails the number reported at the same time last year, 59 compared with 65.

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We must work harder for growth: Hockey

Treasurer Joe Hockey says the economy isn't running fast enough to drive unemployment lower. Source: AAP

TREASURER Joe Hockey concedes the economy isn't running fast enough to drive unemployment lower.

BUT he believes the Australian economy is performing well by international standards, despite the latest lower-than-expected growth figures.

The economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, only a fraction better than the revised 0.4 per cent recorded in the previous three months.At an annual rate of 2.5 per cent for 2014, growth is well below the level needed to generate employment and reduce joblessness."That is why we have to work harder ... we want to get growth up," Mr Hockey told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.The treasurer flagged major announcements during the next few weeks in relation to families, small business and infrastructure."We have just got to grasp the nettle ... we can then get jobs starting to flow through," he said.But shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the economy had struggled since the government unveiled its first budget 10 months ago."What we are seeing is the result of a treasurer and a government misreading the Australian economy ... and making it harder by their actions," he said.Wednesday's national accounts showed annual household consumption at its strongest pace in almost three years, while exports were again the key prop for growth, helped by the decline in the Australian dollar.A fall in business inventories was the largest hit to the economy because subdued confidence meant business was more inclined to draw on existing stock rather than ramp up production.The nation's terms of trade also fell for a fourth consecutive quarter.That would weight on profits, wages and public revenues, resulting in softer consumer spending, business investment and public demand, said Felicity Emmett, the co-head of Australian economics at ANZ.The unwinding of mining investment had a long way to run and was likely to be much sharper in coming quarters."While lower (interest) rates will help at the margin, the missing ingredient seems to be confidence," Ms Emmett said.She noted Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens had suggested there might be another interest rate cut and the national accounts had only reinforced that possibility.

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Bushfire threat eases in northern Tasmania

The Tasmanian town of Lefroy is under threat from an out of control bushfire, authorities say. Source: AAP

AN out-of-control bushfire continues to burn in northern Tasmania, but the emergency level has been downgraded as it moves east of the town where it threatened homes.

THE latest update from the Tasmanian Fire Service shows properties to the east of Lefroy, near George Town, may still be at risk as crews work into the night to establish containment lines.

The bushfire, which started in a state forest on Tuesday and has burnt through some 700 hectares of land, was classified as "high risk" on Wednesday afternoon as it moved toward Lefroy where residents were told to evacuate.There are about 70 homes in the town, which was blanketed in heavy smoke for much of the afternoon and came under ember attack late in the day.By mid-evening the TFS categorised the fire as "watch and act".More than 15 tankers and seven aircraft have been sent to the blaze, including two fixed-wing planes from Victoria.Acting deputy regional fire chief Neil Brookbank said efforts to combat the fire continued."Tonight we are going to continue to establish our containment lines," he told ABC TV."We are also going to be looking at establishing our resources for tomorrow and we will have crews out there over the evening also working on mopping up."He said the cause of the fire was unknown and was under investigation.Residents were warned that smoke and ash would make it difficult to see and breathe and advised against travelling unless there was a safe, clear path.Road blocks are in place.An evacuation centre has been set up at George Town's Memorial Hall.The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a chance of showers overnight, with winds reaching speeds of up to 45km/h.

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Turnbull says Abbott best for PM

Frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull (L) says Tony Abbott is the best person to be prime minister. Source: AAP

MALCOLM Turnbull insists Tony Abbott is the best person to be prime minister.

THAT'S because he has the confidence of the party room.

"To be the leader of a political party you only need one attribute and that is to have the confidence of the party room," he told ABC TV.Mr Turnbull has been billed as the likely challenger in any spill of the Liberal leadership.But he hasn't thrown his hat in the ring or even hinted that he covets the top job.Mr Turnbull said the 102 Liberals in the party room were the ones who decided who led their party."You can have all the attributes in the world, perceived, real, unreal, imagined - the only attribute that matters is ... whether the majority of the party room support you," he said.Clearly, Mr Abbott had that support as no one challenged him.Asked if he had the ticker to challenge Mr Abbott, he replied: "My ticker is in very good shape."The communications minister said all Liberals were committed to giving Australia sound, responsible, good government."We support Tony Abbott as our leader. He has the support of the party room. Yes, there was a spill motion, but it was not carried and we are all behind the leader, every single one of us," he said.On the contentious issue of gay marriage, Mr Turnbull said there was really little difference between his position and Mr Abbott - as they both supported a conscience vote, even though he supported same-sex marriage and the prime minister opposed it."If a private member's bill comes up, I've got no doubt the party room will decide there will be a free vote," he said."The idea that there's this massive gulf between us is quite imaginary and it's been put around by people, frankly, who I suspect don't bare either Tony or me a lot of good will.

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PM admits govt overreached in budget

TONY Abbott admits the government has been through a bad patch, overreached in the budget last year but says the situation now is very different to three weeks ago.

THE prime minister said his challenge was to lead a government more in common with the reforming governments of Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard than with the Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

"I accept that we have been through a bad patch. Certainly the experience of the government in Queensland naturally helped to unnerve some of my colleagues," he said on Sky News.Mr Abbott said he wanted to get on with government, be straight with people, address their problems, make their jobs more secure and their businesses more prosperous so they can better afford the things on supermarket shelves."If you can do all those things, then a sensible decent people will give you an appropriate political reward," he said.Mr Abbott said the government had steadied and got down to business."The situation inside the government today is very different to what is was three weeks ago," he said.Asked about last year's budget, Mr Abbott said the government had learned some important lessons about the political speed limits on structural reforms.He said Labor under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating was lucky that it faced an opposition prepared to co-operate on most reforms."The Howard government didn't have such an opposition and we now don't have such an opposition. Obviously we did overreach in some important structural reforms," he said.

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Bushfire threatens Tasmanian town

RESIDENTS of a northern Tasmanian town have been told to protect their homes or leave in the face of an approaching bushfire.

THE Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) says the blaze could threaten the town of Lefroy, near George Town, within the next two to four hours.

"This fire will be difficult to control. There may be embers, smoke and ash falling on Lefroy," a TFS warning said on Tuesday night."You need to start taking action now to protect your family and your home."If you are not prepared for a bushfire, be ready to leave for a safer place. If you don't live near Lefroy, stay away."

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Bali Nine pair move devastating: Bishop

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop says she's dismayed that Indonesia is pressing ahead with the execution of Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

BALI'S prosecutor Momock Bambang Samiarso confirmed on Tuesday evening that the pair will be transferred on Wednesday to the prison island of Nusakambangan where they will be executed.

Ms Bishop said this was devastating news."I am dismayed by reports that Andrew and Myuran are to be transferred by Indonesian authorities in preparation for their execution," she said in a statement.Ms Bishop said she would continue to contact ministers in Indonesia to press for a stay of the executions."Given their rehabilitation, it is callous for these executions to proceed," she said.

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Automakers vow not to give up on electric

TOP automakers are vowing not to give up on weak-selling electric vehicles - even as they unveil an array of powerful luxury cars with conventional engines aimed at a growing global automarket.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer says that his company cannot do without battery-powered vehicles such as its i3 urban compact.

"In the future, electric drive vehicles will be in demand," he said at the Geneva International Motor Show, adding that the Munich-based automaker could not meet its targets to reduce emissions without them.Only about 75,000 of the 12.5 million vehicles sold last year in Europe were electrics or hybrids.Still, auto companies have sunk billions into developing alternative propulsion vehicles over the long term, due to government requirements to limit vehicle emissions and with an eye to restrictions on autos in China due to heavy air pollution.Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said hybrids combining internal combustion and batteries were "truly attractive cars that represent the best of both worlds" and serve as a bridge to future no-emissions vehicles.He cautioned, however, that the long-life batteries needed for electrics to conquer the market are at least five years off.Daimler introduced a rechargeable plug-in hybrid of its C-class sedan.The calls to keep developing alternative-drive cars come even as high-end sports cars take pride of place at this year's Geneva show.Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi and McLaren all are unveiling high-speed machines costing hundreds of thousands, while Daimler has the Maybach Pullman stretch limousine, which will go on sale for north of 500,000 euros ($A715,154.12).Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stressed his company's commitment to new technologies even as the company's Lamborghini brand showed off its Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, a sleek beast of a sports car with an enormous 750 horsepower and a top speed of over 350km/h).Volkswagen also unveiled a concept sport coupe that's hybrid driven and can reach 93km/h.

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US astronauts take third ISS spacewalk

TWO NASA astronauts have ventured out of the International Space Station in their third spacewalk in just over a week.

TERRY Virts and Butch Wilmore went into space on Sunday morning with 122 metres of cable and two antennas to install. Once that's complete, the spacewalkers will have routed nearly 244 metres of power and data lines, all of it needed for future American crew capsules.

NASA is paying Boeing and SpaceX nearly $US7 billion ($A8.98 billion) to develop spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the space station.The first manned flight is targeted for 2017. New docking ports will fly up later this year.Virts and Wilmore's first spacewalk was on February 21 and their second was on Wednesday. NASA hasn't conducted such quick spacewalks since its former shuttle days.

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Clean Up Australia clears 300,000th tonne

On the 25th Clean Up Australia Day, founder Ian Kiernan is convinced the country is a cleaner place. Source: AAP

A QUARTER of a century after the first Clean Up Australia Day, volunteers have cleared their 300,000th tonne of rubbish.

MORE than half-a-million Australians carted around the signature yellow rubbish bags on Sunday at more than 6000 sites around the country, the organisation says.

On the event's 25th anniversary, volunteers removed an estimated 13,500 tonnes of rubbish.That's in addition to the 288,000 tonnes estimated to have been cleared over the previous 24 years."We should all be proud of our outstanding success," said founder of Clean Up Australia, Ian Kiernan, in Sydney.He told AAP "there's no doubt" Australia is a cleaner place than it was 25 years ago."The support for the event continues to grow as we become more aware of the importance of protecting our local environment," he said.But he said volunteers continue to find "staggering" amounts of cigarette butts, glass, plastics and paper.Around 80 per cent of the rubbish removed each year is recyclable.

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Search for NSW toddler goes global

NSW Crime Stoppers have appealed to 26 countries to help find toddler William Tyrell (pic). Source: AAP

THE search for missing NSW toddler William Tyrell has gone global.

NSW Crime Stoppers have appealed to 26 countries to help find the toddler, who disappeared from his grandmother's yard in Kendall, near Port Macquarie, five months ago.

Crime stopper websites have been asked to post information about William's disappearance, News Corp Australia reports.New Zealand has already posted a photo and an appeal.Other countries including the US and Canada are expected to follow suit in coming days.It comes less than two weeks after investigators decided to broaden their scope, announcing a plan to speak to anyone who came within 1km of the home between 10am and 11am on September 12.Last month police raided three properties linked to a local washing machine repairman, seizing a mattress, vehicles and a computer.Investigators insist the man is not a suspect.William was last seen wearing a Spiderman costume.

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Putin accused over Nemtsov shooting

MURDERED spy Alexander Litvinenko's widow has said Boris Nemtsov's shooting was the Russian government's way of saying that anyone who spoke out against President Vladimir Putin would be killed.

MARINA Litvinenko described news of the veteran liberal politician's shooting as "absolutely devastating".

She was asked on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House program whether she believed the shooting of Nemtsov near the Kremlin in Moscow was linked to her husband's poisoning.She replied: "It's a different way to kill a person, but a way to present that anybody who will try to say something against (the government) will be killed."Nemtsov was a leading critic of President Putin and the war in Ukraine.He is said to have been hit by four bullets from a passing car as he walked on a bridge, hours after urging Russians to attend a protest rally and march against the "mad, aggressive and deadly policy of war against Ukraine".When asked what effect the high-profile death would have on democracy in Russia, Litvinenko said former deputy prime minister Nemtsov and other people had started to be described as "enemies of Russia".She continued: "Particularly after the war with Ukraine, the atmosphere in Russia is very aggressive. When you see images saying he is an enemy of Russia, Russian people will hate him."Litvinenko agreed with Nemstov's long-time friend, Vladimir Riskov, who said Putin was politically responsible.She concluded: "All what happened in Russia, it's the responsibility of this government and Mr Putin, he built this country that became centre of huge conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and a big problem with all the West, and it's the full responsibility of this person and his government."

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Estonians vote under shadow of Russia

POLLS have opened in Estonia in a general election overshadowed by security concerns sparked by Russia's involvement in Ukraine.

THE conflict in Ukraine has stirred anxiety in the former Soviet republic, with national security issues having dominated the election campaign.

The small Baltic nation, a member of both NATO and the European Union, borders Russia and has an uneasy relationship with Moscow.The country is also home to a Russian-speaking minority that makes up 25 per cent of the population of 1.3 million.However, there is no openly pro-Russian party in Estonia, in contrast to the situation in Latvia, Estonia's southern neighbour.The pro-market Reform Party of Prime Minister Taavi Roivas has led in the opinion polls published in the run-up to the vote.It won 28 per cent or 33 seats in the 101-member parliament in the last election in 2010.Roivas' main opponent is Edgar Savisaar, the 64-year-old mayor of Tallinn and head of the leftist Centre Party.The election commission said preliminary results will be published after polls close on Sunday (0600 AEDT Monday).

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