At least 16 dead in Mexico bus-train crash

Sixteen people have been killed and 22 injured when a freight train slammed into a bus in Mexico. Source: AAP

SIXTEEN people have been killed and 22 injured when a freight train slammed into a passenger bus at a rail crossing in northern Mexico.

FRIDAY'S accident occurred in the town of Anahuac, which is Tamaulipas state near the border city of Nuevo Laredo.

The train's operator, Kansas City Southern de Mexico, confirmed there had been "a lamentable accident" between one of its trains and a passenger bus.The company said its employees reported "an undetermined number of dead and injured at the scene."Kansas City Southern didn't give a cause for the crash. The Mexican official said investigators were looking into whether the bus driver tried to beat the train to the crossing.The train was operated by the Transporte Frontera line on a route from Nuevo Laredo to the neighbouring state of Coahuila.

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Unions launch anti-power sell off campaign

Unions NSW plan on launching a campaign against the privatisation of the state's energy network. Source: AAP

THE NSW union movement will officially launch its campaign against what it calls the Baird government's "agenda of mass privatisation" ahead of the March state election.

NSW Premier Mr Baird is taking his plan to lease 49 per cent of the state's electricity distribution network to the March 28 election, claiming it will raise $20 billion to be spent on infrastructure.

The plan is opposed by Labor and the union movement, which has vowed to fight the proposal.Unions NSW said its official campaign against the government's privatisation plans would launch on Saturday.The campaign, titled NSW Not For Sale, would include strategic door knocking and digital campaigning, as well as radio and television advertisements, it said.Unions NSW said the campaign was similar to those carried out in Victoria and Queensland which were "instrumental in toppling pro-privatisation governments in recent months".

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Eric Bana signs on for King Arthur epic

Eric Bana has signed on to play Uther Pendragon in director Guy Ritchie's new King Arthur film. Source: AAP

ERIC Bana is going back in time again to play King Arthur's dad.

THE Australian star, who portrayed Hector in Troy and Henry Tudor in The Other Boleyn Girl, has signed on to play Uther Pendragon in director Guy Ritchie's new film about the Knights of the Round Table, according to Variety.

Charlie Hunnam will play his son in the historical epic, while Jude Law and Djimon Hounsou will also feature.Reports suggest Liam Neeson came close to landing the part of Uther but passed.

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PM launches Anzac Day event in Sydney

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has helped launch an Anzac Day endurance event in Sydney. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has paid tribute to Australia's military forces at the launch of a Sydney Anzac Day event aimed at raising money for war veterans.

MR Abbott was in Manly on Saturday to help launch the Anzac Day Challenge, a running and trekking endurance event scheduled to take place on Anzac Day.

The race covers 100km of trails through Sydney's Ku-ring-gai and Garigal National Parks and raises money for various veteran charities.Mr Abbott said as a prime minister who had put "our military personnel in harms way" it was incumbent on him to "pay tribute to all who have served our country in the military for more than 100 years"."This Anzac Day challenge is a marvellous way for more of us to share their exertions if not their dangers," he added.Mr Abbott said the event was an opportunity for ordinary Australians to "show solidarity" with those who had served in conflict zones.The low-key appearance by the prime minister comes after he sacked Liberal Party elder Philip Ruddock as government chief whip on Friday.Mr Ruddock has been replaced by his deputy, Queensland MP Scott Buchholz, with the move reportedly sparking a fresh round of bickering in coalition ranks.

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Pope expands the ranks of cardinals

POPE Francis is expanding the ranks of cardinals who will elect his successor to include pastors like him who minister to the poor and come from far-flung, often overlooked dioceses.

FRANCIS was formally elevating the 20 new cardinals at a ceremony on Saturday in St Peter's Basilica. Retired Pope Benedict XVI was on hand in a unique blending of Popes past, present and future.

This is Francis' second consistory creating new cardinals and once again he looked to the "peripheries" of the church to give greater geographic representation to the Europe-centric College of Cardinals.His choices, though, also reflect his vision for what the church should be: One that looks out for the poor and most marginalised, guided by shepherds who have what he has called the "smell" of their sheep.They include Cardinal-elect Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga.Another is Cardinal Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Sicily, whose church - which extends to the island of Lampedusa - has coped with the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants over the years.And the archbishop of David, Panama, Cardinal-designate Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, who works with indigenous peoples to protect them from mining interests.While cardinals are called on to advise the Pope, their primary job is to elect a new one. Only those under age 80 can participate in a conclave. In addition to naming 15 voting-age cardinals, Francis also made five elderly churchmen cardinals to honour their service to the church.One of them, Colombian Cardinal-elect Jos de Jess Pimiento Rodriguez, wasn't able to make the trip to Rome for the ceremony: He turns 96 next week.

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Rare 100-carat diamond for auction in NY

A RARE, 100-carat emerald-cut white diamond is going on the auction block in New York.

SOTHEBY'S says the internally flawless D colour gem is considered "perfect."

It's being offered on April 21 with a pre-sale estimate of $US19 million to $US25 million ($A24.51 million to $A32.25 million).Sotheby's says it's the only classic emerald-cut white diamond of the highest quality and over 100 carats to come to auction.The rough diamond was mined in southern Africa and weighed over 200 carats.Only five "perfect" diamonds over 100 carats have sold at auction in the last 25 years.A 118-carat oval-cut stone fetched $US30.6 million at Sotheby's in 2013, a record for a white diamond.A record for any diamond is $US46 million for a 24.78-carat pink diamond. It was set at Sotheby's in 2010.

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Verdict pleases counsellor's abuse victims

ROB McAuley has been waiting almost 25 years to see justice served for the "headmaster figure" who sexually assaulted him.

ON Friday, that wait was finally over as counsellor Allan Keith Huggins was convicted of 16 charges of sexually abusing seven boys.

The accusations against Huggins, 68, dated from when he was an education officer at the Warminda school-to-work program in 1990-91."We're absolutely thrilled," Mr McAuley told reporters outside the WA District Court after cheering quietly with his supporters as jury delivered its verdict.He said he was ignored when he first mentioned his abuse and was relieved to finally have the truth exposed."I'm not afraid of him. I don't give a rat's about him," Mr McAuley told reporters."It's good that the jury has finally decided to see him for the scum that he is."After the verdict, the court heard the detective who led the investigation had an arrest warrant ready for Huggins over "numerous" similar offences in NSW.Huggins' lawyer had claimed during the three-week trial that the complainants colluded to fabricate their stories to get compensation under the Redress scheme for people abused while in state care.It was a suggestion they emphatically rejected, and testified in detail about how Huggins preyed on them.Huggins testified that he inappropriately touched two boys unrelated to this trial while struggling to deal with his homosexuality while he was married, but denied sexually abusing the seven boys.He also attributed some of his desire for boys to being abused when he was between seven and 12 years old.Huggins was refused bail and as he was led away, one victim shouted: "See ya, ya f***ing maggot".Another victim, satisfied with the verdict, mockingly said, "Bye, Allan."Mr McAuley said he and the other victims could finally start moving on with their lives.Huggins will appear in court for a sentencing hearing on June 12.

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Labor claims historic victory in Qld

ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has become the first woman to lead a state opposition to an election victory in Australia following Labor's victory in the closest Queensland election in 20 years.

SHE will be sworn in as the state's 39th premier along with her interim ministry on Saturday morning, only three years after the ALP suffered a historic drubbing.

Labor has 44 seats in the 89-seat parliament, with the LNP claiming 42 and Katter's Australia Party winning two.Sunshine Coast MP Mr Wellington's support gives Labor a one-seat majority in a hung parliament.Within two hours of the last seat being declared, LNP leader Lawrence Springborg and Ms Palaszczuk visited Governor Paul de Jersey.But only the Labor leader was smiling when she left, stepping out of her car to give the news to the waiting media pack."The governor has invited me to form government. I have accepted that offer," Ms Palaszczuk said."It is an extremely humbling experience, and tomorrow the interim ministry will be sworn in here at Government House."Shortly afterwards, Mr de Jersey tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with Ms Palaszczuk."This afternoon I received @AnnastaciaMP and invited her to form government," he wrote.Mr Wellington said he was proud to be supporting Ms Palaszczuk."We won't agree on everything but I know her heart's in the right place and I certainly believe I've done the right thing for Queensland," he told the ABC.Mr Springborg congratulated Ms Palaszczuk and Labor, and said the election proved Queensland had a strong, functioning democracy."I wish them all the very best in their deliberations over the next few months, and potentially over the next three years as well," he said, alluding to the LNP's potential challenge to the result in the seat of Ferny Grove.A Palmer United Party candidate was disqualified for being an undisclosed bankrupt, and the opposition could take the result to the Court of Disputed Returns.If a by-election were held in the next few months and the LNP won the seat, it could form government with the support of Katter party MPs.But Professor Clive Bean of the Queensland University of Technology said the Katter MPs would play a crucial role anyway.He said Labor would have to choose a Speaker and if that person came from its own ranks it would mean that, with the support of Mr Wellington, the party would be tied with the LNP and Katter MPs."Although the speaker is allowed a casting vote, it is highly unusual and not something that we have generally seen in practice," Prof Bean said."It will be interesting to see whether Annastacia Palaszczuk nominates a Labor member, Peter Wellington or even one of the Katter members and then of course whether that nomination is accepted."Ms Palaszczuk's government faces many other hurdles and the majority of her MPs have no experience in parliament, let alone government.She has also promised she will cut the number of ministers from 19 to 14.

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Fire ban issued for parts of WA

A FIRE ban has been issued for parts of the Goldfields Midlands region along with severe fire warnings for other parts of the state.

FIREFIGHTERS have declared a total fire ban for Saturday, including the Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Dundas and Menzies districts.

An extreme fire danger warning has been issued for central and southern parts of the interior, along with severe fire warnings for inland parts of the Pilbara and Gascoyne.Penalties for breaking fire bans include fines up to $25,000 or 12 months in prison.The ban includes hot work, such as welding, soldering and gas cutting.

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Rinehart to view controversial episode

Gina Rinehart is seeking an early viewing of the second part of the Channel 9 show House of Hancock. Source: AAP

GINA Rinehart has won the right to an early viewing of the second episode of House of Hancock, the first step in a possible bid to stop the airing of the Nine Network mini-series.

JUSTICE Peter Garling ordered Nine on Friday evening to hand over a DVD of the episode, which is due to be broadcast on Sunday night.

It can be viewed only by the mining magnate and her lawyers.They must let Nine know whether they are going to make an application to stop the broadcast by 9.15pm on Friday.If such an application was made, the hearing would start at noon on Saturday, Justice Garling said.He said that based on promotional material and interviews about the episode, there was a real prospect the show would air statements that were not entirely accurate and perhaps even made up.He pointed to remarks made by entertainment reporter Peter Ford that the second episode made Ms Rinehart look like an "obsessed, vindictive shrew"."I am satisfied the plaintiff is entitled to see it," Justice Garling said.The decision comes after barrister Tom Blackburn SC made the urgent application in the Supreme Court, saying Ms Rinehart held concerns the episode contained injurious falsehoods, was defamatory and breached consumer law.He cited "inaccuracies" in the first instalment of the two-part drama that aired last weekend, which included a dramatised conversation between Ms Rinehart and her late father, Lang Hancock.He said Ms Rinehart's concerns were increased when an A Current Affair story on House of Hancock aired this week."(It) gave my client cause for enormous concern about the likely ... honesty of that program" and the "severity of falsehood about to be broadcast", Mr Blackburn said.The court heard House of Hancock producer Michael Cordell had said, "This is a big, explosive, Dallas-type drama and a lot of it we didn't have to make up.""Channel Nine knows that some of it is made up," Mr Blackburn told the court.He said Ms Rinehart wanted access to the show in order to determine the grounds of an urgent injunction that could prevent it going to air.If falsehoods and defamatory material were aired, Mr Blackburn said it could do great damage to the mining magnate's reputation and would likely have financial repercussions.But Nine Network barrister Peter Gray SC said material in the episode was already in the public domain and had been "exhaustively traversed".He said the granting of such orders would impinge on freedom of speech.

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