Single parents to protest over payments

WELFARE advocates are planning to protest around Australia next month over the government's cuts to single parent benefits.

From January 1, single parents have not been eligible for the Parenting payment once their youngest child has turned eight years old and have been transferred to the lower Newstart allowance.

More than 60,000 single parents now receive between $60 to $100 a week less under entitlement changes.

The single parents action group (SPAG) are organising rallies in all major cities on February 5 to push for the government to reverse its decision, with the main protest at Parliament House in Canberra.

Protest organiser Samantha Seymour said the payment changes would have a detrimental impact on single parent families.

"Our purpose is to show the government that we will not tolerate their decision to further deprive and isolate Australians whose only crime is being single parents," Ms Seymour said in a statement on Sunday.

Families spokeswoman for the Australian Greens, Rachel Siewert, said she was concerned about the long-term impact of the lower Newstart payments on parents and their children.

"We shouldn't be condemning people to poverty," Senator Siewert said in a statement.

She said the government should reverse these payment cuts and also boost the Newstart allowance by $50 a week.

The government introduced the changes, worth around $728 million in savings over four years, in its bid for a budget surplus in 2012/13.

Last December, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government was unlikely to have a surplus this financial year due to lower than forecast tax revenue.

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Savile's victims set to seek damages

AROUND 50 victims of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile are set to seek damages from the late broadcaster's estate and from organisations including the BBC and Britain's health service, their lawyer said.

A report by British police on Friday said Savile "groomed the nation" over six decades, hiding behind his fame to assault girls, boys and adult women on BBC premises and in schools and hospitals.

Liz Dux, a lawyer representing more than 50 of Savile's victims, said that because Savile had died in 2011 aged 84, civil claims were the only way that they could get justice.

"Compensation is not at the forefront of their mind, but of course it's the only method of recompense that we can get for them now, given that he can't be prosecuted," she said.

Dux said they would consider making claims against Savile's heirs, against the BBC -- the publicly funded UK broadcaster that made Savile one of its biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s -- and the state-run National Health Service.

"We now have to look at what was known in the organisations. Once these inquiries have taken place then we will be able to make progress with the civil claims.

"Those inquiries are hugely important to the evidence and it will be foolhardy to press ahead straight away with the civil claims now without that evidence coming forward.

"A moratorium has been agreed in respect of the majority of the potential defendants to await the outcome of the inquiry."

In the three-month investigation by police and the NSPCC children's charity, it emerged that Savile used his fame as presenter of BBC TV's Top of the Pops chart show and children's program Jim'll Fix It to rape and assault victims on BBC premises as well as in schools and hospitals where he did charity work.

The report recorded 214 criminal offences, including 34 rapes -- 28 of them of children. Three-quarters of the victims were children, mostly girls aged between 13 and 16, but the youngest was an eight-year-old boy.

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Beijing pollution at dangerous levels

DENSE fog has enveloped swathes of east and central China, with pollution levels in Beijing reaching dangerous levels for a second day and residents advised to stay indoors, state media reports.

The municipal environment warning centre issued an alert on Saturday advising the elderly, children, and those suffering respiratory or cardiovascular illness in the capital to avoid going out or doing strenuous exercise, Xinhua reported.

Those who did venture out wore facemasks for protection, with visibility low, the skyline shrouded, and the sun hidden in the smog.

Air quality in Beijing showed airborne particles with a diameter small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs at a reading of 456 micrograms per cubic metre. The quality is considered good when the figure stands at less than 100.

The heavy pollution is expected to last another three days, with weather conditions preventing pollutants from dispersing, the warning centre said, according to Xinhua.

Fog in several provinces in east and central China closed numerous highways and delayed flights, it said.

China's air quality is among the worst in the world, international organisations say, citing massive coal consumption and car-choked city streets in the world's biggest auto market.

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Judi Dench 'sorry' over Bond's Oscar snub

VETERAN British actress Judi Dench has spoken of her disappointment that the latest James Bond film Skyfall did not feature more prominently in the latest round of Oscar nominations.

The 23rd outing of 007 in a 50-year franchise opened in Britain late last year to rave reviews and broke box office records, but failed to meet expectations in Thursday's shortlist of screen candidates.

"I'm very, very sorry nothing has been recognised," said Dame Judi, who plays MI6 chief M in Skyfall.

"That's a great pity. I thought Sam (Mendes) directed it beautifully. It's a terrific film. I think that all round it was really wonderfully presented, filmed, lit and shot," she added, during an interview with London's Radio 4.

Skyfall received five nominations in Los Angeles in production categories.

British singer Adele made the shortlist for the best song, with Skyfall's theme.

Asked if she thought there was a bias against 007 films when it comes to awards, Dench replied: "I hope not."

The film, starring Daniel Craig as Bond, has eight 2013 Bafta nominations, including one for Outstanding British Film.

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France hunts Kurd killers amid feud claim

POLICE are hunting down the assassins of three Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris even as Turkey said an internal feud in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was most likely behind the slayings.

Judicial sources say the three female activists, including founding PKK member Sakine Cansiz, were each shot in the head at least three times, giving further credence to the theory of an execution-style hit.

Autopsies on the bodies revealed one of the women had been shot four times in the head and the other two shot three times, the sources said on Friday.

The killings came days after Turkish media reported Turkey and the PKK leadership had agreed on a roadmap to end the three-decade-old insurgency that has claimed more than 45,000 lives.

The PKK, which took up arms in 1984 for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey, is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community.

Experts have suggested a number of potential motives for the killings, including an attack by Turkish extremists and internal feuding within the PKK.

The three were found dead on Thursday at the Kurdistan Information Centre in Paris's 10th district, after last being seen alive at the centre at midday on Wednesday.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday the slayings bore the hallmarks of an internal feud, noting that the victims appeared to have given the killer or killers access to the centre.

"The place was protected not by one lock but many coded locks," Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as telling reporters. "Those three people opened it (the door). I do not assume they would open it to people they didn't know."

But the Turkish leader also upheld his earlier suggestion that the slayings could be aimed at derailing peace talks between Ankara and the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

A former guerrilla of the organisation, Cansiz was considered a close ally of Ocalan.

"The killings could be the result of an internal feud or steps aimed at disrupting the steps we are taking with good intentions," Erdogan said.

Experts have said potential internal feuding could be linked to the peace process or to other PKK activities, in particular conflicts over money.

A French judicial source said police are running 21 investigations into potentially illegal fundraising by the PKK.

The group raises funds through a "revolutionary tax" on Kurdish expatriates that authorities in several countries have condemned as extortion. Several PKK leaders have also been designated as drugs traffickers by the United States.

There are around 150,000 Kurds in France, the vast majority of them of Turkish origin.

Erdogan's government recently revealed Turkish intelligence services had for weeks been talking to Ocalan, captured in 1999 and held on an island prison south of Istanbul.

Under the reported peace roadmap, the government would reward a ceasefire by granting wider rights to Turkey's Kurdish minority, whose population is estimated at up to 15 million in the country of 75 million.

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Catherine 'delighted' with first portrait

THE first official portrait of Prince William's wife, Catherine, has been unveiled in London, with the Duchess giving the work a royal thumbs up.

Catherine, 31, attended the National Portrait Gallery on Friday where artist Paul Emsley's work was revealed to a private audience which included the Duke of Cambridge.

"I think, from what I can see this morning, she's delighted with it. I'm very happy about that," Emsley said of Catherine's reaction.

The award-winning artist was commissioned by the gallery to capture Catherine and worked with the Duchess during a series of photography sessions.

The larger-than-life sized head and shoulders painting shows Catherine's flowing brunette hair and soft features against a dark background.

"In discussions it became clear that what she wanted herself, and I was very happy with that, was that the portrait should convey her natural self as opposed to her official self," Emsley told reporters, as published by The Independent online.

"The fact she is a beautiful woman is for an artist difficult. In the end I think what I tried to do really was to convey something about her warmth and her smile."

Asked of any royal feedback he received during the unveiling, Emsley said Catherine, who has a history of art degree, commented on the portrait: "It's just amazing".

The work was praised by prolific royal portrait artist Richard Stone, who said Emsley is "brave" to have embarked on a work of such large scale.

"It's very challenging to do something larger than life, and he seems to have pulled it off very well," said Stone, whose first royal commission was to paint the Queen Mother, which he went on to do six times.

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US trade deficit balloons in November

THE US trade deficit widened sharply in November, posting its highest level in seven months amid a jump in consumer-goods imports, according to Department of Commerce data.

The US trade deficit expanded to $US48.7 billion ($A46.16 billion), up from a revised $US42.1 billion in October. November US exports were $US1.7 billion more than October exports, while November imports were $US8.4 billion above the October level.

The trade deficit was well above analyst forecasts of $US41.8 billion.

The jump in imports was especially pronounced in consumer goods (up 11.1 per cent) and cars (up 6.3 per cent). US spending on oil imports fell due to lower oil prices.

The US's closely watched trade gap with China fell to $US29 billion in November from the October level of $US29.5 billion.

Lower oil prices translated into a lower deficit with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which fell in November to $US6.6 billion from $US8.6 billion in October.

AFP j

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Honda axes 800 British jobs on weak demand

HONDA has announced it intends to cut 800 jobs this year at its Swindon plant in Britain owing to weakening demand for its vehicles in Europe.

"Honda Motor Europe has today announced changes to its UK car manufacturing operation to ensure the long term stability of its future business," the group said in a statement on Friday.

"Sustained conditions of low demand in European markets make it necessary to realign Honda's business structure. As such, Honda ... will enter into formal consultation with its associates to consider these changes and the proposal that it will reduce the workforce by 800 associates by spring 2013."

Ken Keir, executive vice president at Honda Motor Europe, added that current "conditions of sustained low industry demand require us to take difficult decisions."

The Swindon plant in southwest England currently employs about 3500 staff, including 500 recruited only last year, in part to work on a new diesel engine line.

Britain's biggest union Unite called Honda's decision "a hammer blow to UK manufacturing and the local economy."

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the British government would be working "to minimise the impact of the job losses."

He added: "Times are tough in the European market but the automotive industry remains a major success story for the UK.

"Over the last two years global manufacturers including Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have invested STG6 billion ($A9.21 billion) in the UK, safeguarding and creating new jobs."

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Cabinet push for dole rise: report

THERE'S growing support within federal cabinet for the Gillard government to increase dole payments in this year's budget.

The Weekend Australian reports that the government has begun modelling a number of measures to help people who are receiving the Newstart Allowance, such as single mums.

One option being considered would allow such income support recipients to keep more of their payment if their hours of work increased, the newspaper reports.

Another possible change would reportedly lead to an increase in the amount from the current $35-a-day payment, but not up to the $50 amount being advocated by welfare groups.

They have slammed government changes to the parenting payment scheme that will shift some 84,000 single parents to Newstart when their youngest child turns eight.

Welfare groups estimate that some families will be between $60 and $100 a week worse off because of the changes.

On Friday, Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin apologised for earlier remarks in which she indicated she could live on the $35-a-week dole.

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ArcelorMittal wants to raise $3.5 bn

TOP global steel producer ArcelorMittal says it plans an offer of stock and subordinated notes to raise $US3.5 billion ($A3.35 billion) to reduce its massive debt that has worried investors.

"ArcelorMittal intends to use the net proceeds from the combined offering to reduce existing indebtedness," the company said in a statement.

The announcement sent ArcelorMittal shares down more than five per cent in afternoon trading on the Paris stock exchange.

At 1252 GMT (0152 AEST) the company's shares had fallen 5.4 per cent to $12.70 while the overall market was stable.

The offering of common stock and mandatorily convertible subordinated notes would be made in the United States, said ArcelorMittal, and reserved the right to adjust the proportions.

"Deleveraging remains a priority for ArcelorMittal to retain strategic flexibility," said the company.

It said the offering plus other measures should enable the company to reduce its net debt to approximately $17 billion by the end of June, from approximately $22 billion at the end of 2012.

The three top ratings agency's stripped ArcelorMittal of an investor-grade rating at the end of last year citing the company's massive debt amid sluggish global steel sales.

"We have consistently said that reducing net debt is a priority for the company," chief executive Lakshmi Mittal was quoted as saying.

"This transaction, supplemented by proceeds from ongoing asset disposals, the announced reduction in dividends and continued cost saving initiatives, will significantly lower our net debt and accelerate the achievement of a medium term net debt target of $15 billion."

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