Queen volunteered for Olympics Bond

Director Danny Boyle says the Queen offered to do the James Bond skit for the London Olympics. Source: AAP

QUEEN Elizabeth II needed no convincing to appear in a James Bond-themed skit during the opening ceremony of the London Olympics - in fact, she volunteered, according to the show's director.

Director Danny Boyle says he had initially thought a lookalike - possibly actress Helen Mirren - would play the role of Elizabeth alongside Bond actor Daniel Craig.

He tells ITV's Jonathan Ross in an interview to air Saturday night that when he sought permission from officials to film the skit he heard back that not only was the video a go, but the monarch herself wanted to be in it.

Boyle says that when filming began, the Queen asked him if he thought she should have a line, to which he replied "OK, what do you suggest?"

"She said 'I'll do something' and we started shooting and she turned round and she said her lines beautifully," he said, according to excerpts of the interview released in advance.

The Queen's star turn in the skit was considered one of the highlights of the opening ceremony last year.

In the skit, a tuxedo-clad 007 strides into Buckingham Palace to escort his VIP guest to the Olympic ceremony. In her acting debut, Elizabeth swivels around in her desk chair to face the legendary spy and declares: "Good evening, Mr. Bond."

Two of Queen's corgi dogs also appeared in the clip.

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US Senate agrees tax increases

THE US Senate has narrowly passed its first budget proposal in four years as majority Democrats went on record favouring almost $US1 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade while sheltering domestic programs targeted by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

The Democratic plan also proposes to reverse automatic spending cuts that are beginning to strike both the Pentagon and domestic programs. It passed by a near party line 50-49 vote after senators working most of the night approved it in Saturday's pre-dawn hours.

The vote came after legislators considered scores of votes on amendments, many of which were offered in hopes of inflicting political damage on Democratic senators up for re-election in Republican-leaning states.

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Thai camp fire toll reaches 45

THE toll from a blaze that swept through a camp in northern Thailand has risen to 45, authorities say, after hundreds of shelters for refugees from Myanmar were reduced to ashes.

Over 100 people were injured in Friday's fire, which destroyed about 400 homes at the Mae Surin camp in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand's Interior Ministry said as it updated the death toll.

Rescue workers were searching for bodies in the wreckage of the shelters at the remote mountainous camp area, according to a spokesman from the provincial authorities.

"All of (the) dead bodies I seen this morning are burnt beyond recognition," he said, adding that some 2,300 people had been left homeless by the blaze.

Aerial footage of the area shown on Thai television showed huge swathes of the camp completely incinerated.

Authorities believe the fire was sparked by an unattended cooking flame.

A local district official said hot weather, combined with strong winds had caused the fire to spread quickly among the thatched bamboo shelters.

Women, children and the elderly are believed to make up the majority of the victims.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was rushing to provide plastic sheets, bed mats and other resources to make emergency shelters.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and doing what we can to provide instant relief," said the UNHCR's Thailand representative Mireille Girard in a statement.

The Interior Ministry's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Bureau said a school, clinic and two food warehouses had also been destroyed.

The Thai government pledged an investigation into the fire at the camp, which was set up in 1992 and houses roughly 3,500 refugees.

Ten camps strung out along the Thai-Myanmar border are home to a total of about 130,000 people, who first began arriving in the 1980s.

Many of the refugees have fled conflict zones in ethnic areas of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

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Obama ends Mideast trip with tour of Petra

On the final leg of his Mideast trip US President Barack Obama spent 24 hours in Jordan. Source: AAP

BARACK Obama is closing his first Mideast trip as president with a visit to Petra, Jordan's fabled ancient city.

An unexpected sandstorm that forced Obama to change some travel plans on Friday had led him to cautiously state that the tour of Petra would happen "weather permitting."

The weather cooperated on Saturday, allowing Marine One to touch down near Petra after an hour-long flight from Amman, Jordan's capital. Overcast skies in Amman threatened to upend Obama's travel plans but the weather improved during the flight across Jordan's rugged countryside.

Petra was carved into the rose-red stone by the Nabataeans more than 2,000 years ago. The ancient Arabs turned the city into a critical junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.

Petra is Jordan's most popular tourist attraction, drawing more than a half million visitors each year since 2007.

Obama's 24-hour visit to Jordan - he arrived in the country on Friday - is his final stop on a four-day trip to the Middle East, the first foreign excursion of his second term. It also was his first visit as president to Israel and Jordan.

Obama spent the bulk of his time in Israel, where he held several meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought, through a speech and other public remarks, to reassure an anxious public that he is committed to the country's security.

He also made a brief stop in the West Bank city of Ramallah for meetings with Palestinian leaders.

In Amman, Obama met with King Abdullah II.

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Sydney icon glows green for Earth Hour

THE Sydney Opera House has glowed green while much of Australia plunged into darkness as the country united for the Earth Hour campaign on climate change.

Thousands of households and businesses across Australia switched off their lights at 8.30pm local time in an hour-long show of symbolic support for the planet.

And in a break from the usual Earth Hour protocol, selected venues - including the Opera house and the Arts Centre Melbourne - glowed a dark green to represent the campaign's push for people to embrace renewable energy.

The Australian event will trigger a global switch off, with hundreds of millions of people in more than 150 countries set to turn their lights off.

Organisers say Earth Hour, now in its seventh year, has captured the imagination of environmentalists everywhere.

"What started as an event in Sydney in 2007 with two million people has now become a tradition across the country and across the world," Dermot O'Gorman, head of the World Wildlife Fund-Australia, said.

"It's now an organic, people-powered movement... which is fantastic."

In addition to dimming the lights, Australian Earth Hour celebrations included various community events, such as street festivals in Sydney's Newtown, large concerts in Perth and bushwalks in Canberra.

With restaurant diners eating by candlelight, outback communities going dark and iconic buildings standing in shadows, Mr O'Gorman believes Earth Hour has played a part in drawing attention to energy use.

"We've always heard anecdotally that it has made people change their actions and look at their impact on the planet in a more considered way," he said.

"Earth Hour has always been about empowering people to realise that everybody has the power to change the world in which they live, and thousands of people switching to renewable energy is a perfect example."

Sydney's lights out example will be followed by countries across the globe.

Newcomers to the event this year include Palestine, Tunisia, Suriname and Rwanda and Russia, while famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace and the Empire State Building will again take part.

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Chinese pollution affecting Japan

Air purifier sales in Japan have surged because of pollution being blown across from China. Source: AAP

JAPAN logged a huge surge in air purifier sales last month, as Tokyo warned that smog was blowing into its territory from China, which is grappling with an air pollution crisis.

Acrid haze blanketing swathes of China has sparked health risk warnings in Japan while complicating already strained ties between Tokyo and Beijing, which are embroiled in a tense territorial row over islands in the East China Sea.

The Japanese foreign ministry has proposed a meeting over the issue with Beijing, which has promised action as it faces rising public anger over the persistent problem.

Sales of air purifiers in Japan surged nearly 48 per cent to 11.5 billion yen ($A116 million) in February from a year earlier, according to a monthly survey by the Japan Electronics Manufacturers' Association released Thursday, as demand for other home appliances was flat.

Japanese shoppers scooped up more than 450,000 air purifier units last month, the data showed.

While the industry body did not cite a reason for the jump, it coincided with warnings from Japanese officials over the Chinese smog while local media has cited pollution as a key reason for the surge.

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Quick look at Obama's health care law

THE new health care law was devised in Washington, but it's in the states where everyone will find out if it works. A look at the legislation:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the biggest safety-net legislation since Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.

Enrolment starts October 1, 2013; coverage takes effect January 1, 2014.

It will move the US closer to other industrialised nations that provide health care for all. About 30 million uninsured Americans are eventually to gain coverage, at an estimated cost of $1.3 trillion ($A1.24 trillion) from 2013-2023. Insurers won't be able to turn away people with health problems.

-The law mandates that most individuals have health insurance, provides subsidies to help pay premiums and penalises people who can afford coverage but don't get it. It imposes penalties on businesses with 50 or more fulltime workers that don't offer coverage.

- Health insurance exchanges set up in each state will offer subsidised private health plans to middle-class households. Medicaid, the government's health insurance for the poor, will be expanded to cover low-income people making up to about $15,400 for an individual. States can opt out of the Medicaid expansion.

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CMC info boss too stressed to confess

THE Crime and Misconduct Commission's information manager was too stressed about looming job cuts to tell his superiors he'd made another mistake over the release of sensitive Fitzgerald inquiry documents.

In February 2012, director of information management Peter Duell mistakenly lifted the 65-year publication ban on 741 documents from the 1980s inquiry into police corruption.

Some contained intelligence reports, surveillance logs and names of targets and it was feared informants could be hunted down.

Mr Duell told a public hearing into the bungle that he wasn't familiar with the documents and believed they contained benign information.

He thought those that were sensitive had a 100-year ban.

Mr Duell told former chair Ross Martin that the problem had been fixed in May, but it came to light in September that sensitive information was still available.

"I had made a big mistake," he said.

"I hadn't cleaned it up correctly."

Mr Duell said he had requested leave in September because he was upset his department had been "cut to the bone" and was again being targeted for further cuts.

Acting Parliamentary Commissioner Peter Davis SC put it to Mr Duell that he didn't relay his second error to his superiors because he wanted to save his own skin.

"No, not at all," Mr Duell said.

"I wasn't thinking about my job at that point in time, that it was going to be in jeopardy, but there were certainly staff within information management that had to leave and they did."

Mr Duell also admitted that he hadn't taken steps to remove from public access metadata - indexes on the files - which were also found to contain controversial information.

State Archivist Janet Prowse told the hearing that metadata was still available online in July.

"A researcher with basic web searching skills would be able to find and locate the metadata," she said.

Ms Prowse said that since 2007 she had processed 8.9 kilometres of records and the CMC bungle was the first of its kind.

The Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, which oversees the CMC and is holding the public hearing, is due to report on the bungle on April 5.

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Russia turns back on Cyprus debt crisis

RUSSIA spurned investment proposals that would have helped rescue the Cyprus economy, piling pressure on Nicosia as it races to stave off financial meltdown and possible exit from the eurozone.

The European Union has given Nicosia until Monday to raise 5.8 billion euros ($A7.22 billion) to unlock loans worth 10 billion euros or face being choked from European Central Bank emergency funding in a move that would bankrupt the island.

EU sources have said the bloc is ready to eject Cyprus from the eurozone to prevent contagion of other debt-hit members such as Greece, Spain and Italy.

MPs were to meet in emergency session Friday to race through a raft of bills aimed at raising the funds and heading down a growing sense of anger and panic among Cypriots fearful that their life savings will disappear in the rubble of a banking collapse.

Local media said the start of the session was delayed as the bills went back to parliament's finance committee for further examination.

One bill gives effect to a key plank of the rescue plan - the so-called Plan B - setting up an investment fund and the nationalisation of pension funds, with bonds issued against future natural gas revenues.

A second bill imposes "temporary restrictive measures on the movement of capital".

Government hopes of an economic lifeline from Russia proved to be illusory and Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris left Moscow on Friday after two days of talks without reaching an agreement.

Russian officials said two major state-owned energy firms had turned down deals put forward by Sarris and that Russia refused a loan request to fill a 5.8-billion-euro shortfall left by the EU-IMF bailout offer.

"Our investors examined this issue and showed no interest," Russian news agencies quoted the country's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying.

He added that Moscow never reviewed the issue of providing a new loan fearing Cyprus, already on the brink of bankruptcy, could not withstand more debt.

Moscow has been angered by the original terms of a rescue plan for Cyprus proposed by the troika of international lenders that would have slapped a levy of up to 9.9 per cent on bank deposits.

That plan was overwhelmingly rejected by parliament, leaving the government scrambling to put together its current Plan B.

News of the Russian rejection did little to brighten the mood of bank customers standing in long queues at dispensing machines outside banks.

Banks have been in lockdown this entire week and are not due to reopen at least until Tuesday.

Around 200 protesters gathered outside the legislature on Friday and some sat down in the street, blocking access to the complex, after anger boiled over and scuffles with police broke out briefly late on Thursday.

Most of the crowd were employees of the Laiki or Cyprus Popular Bank, which is in the eye of the storm.

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Consumers warned about funeral contracts

CONSUMERS are being warned to beware of "push advertising" for pre-paid funeral arrangements on daytime television.

In a statement, NSW Fair Trading commissioner Rod Stowe said daytime TV was experiencing a "renaissance" in marketing around the issue of death and dying that "could play on people's insecurities about such matters".

"People need to shop around and go for products without the pernicious aspects of escalating costs with age," Mr Stowe said on Friday.

The Fair Trading boss said consumers needed to be aware that with some products there was the potential to lose payments if a contract or a scheduled transfer was cancelled.

Mr Stowe stressed to consumers considering buying funeral products that refunds were "not generally provided if a payment is missed or the policy is cancelled".

Consumers should read the product disclosure statement (PDS) that outlines what happens if the policy is cancelled, he said.

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Campbell Newman keeps lead in Qld: poll

THE ALP may have gained a few points, but a new poll shows Premier Campbell Newman is holding his ground with Queensland voters.

A ReachTEL survey of 1237 Queenslanders taken for Network Seven on the night of March 20 shows the Liberal National Party's (LNP) primary vote at 47.8 per cent with Labor on 30.2 per cent.

The LNP is up from 47.1 per cent while the ALP rose from 28.9.

Katter's Australian Party dropped from 11.5 per cent to 10.1 while The Greens were almost unchanged at 8.0 from 7.9.

Mr Newman's performance as premier drew a "very good" mark of 19.8 per cent, a slight drop, while 22.5 per cent of respondents scored him "good" - up from 17.6.

A total of 12.7 per cent of those polled rated his performance indifferent, 16.3 poor - down from 17.6, and 27.5 very poor - down from 29.3.

A mere 1.2 per cent didn't know who he was.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk's score card saw her rated very good by 6.9 per cent, good by 14.1, indifferent by 35.3, poor by 15.1 and very poor by 17.1.

A total of 11.5 per cent of those polled didn't know her.

Most people (45 per cent) thought the premier had failed to keep his election promises while 36 per cent thought he'd kept them.

The Newman government's performance in its first 12 months of office was ranked very good by 15 per cent, good by 23 per cent, indifferent by 20.4 per cent, poor by 17.7 per cent and very poor by 23.8 per cent.

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12 killed in Pakistan refugee camp bombing

A CAR bomb tore through a refugee camp in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 12 people and wounding 30 others in the latest in a wave of attacks ahead of general elections in May.

The bomb went off at the Jalozai refugee camp close to the city of Peshawar, which is home to people fleeing unrest in tribal districts bordering Afghanistan that are a stronghold of Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants.

Live television footage showed ambulances taking the victims to hospital.

The bomb left a crater and police were sifting through the wreckage of mangled cars to collect evidence.

District police chief Mohammad Hussain gave the casualty figures.

Local administration official Ayaz Khan Mandokhel confirmed the casualties and said that the bomb was planted in a Suzuki Alto car.

"The death toll has risen to 12 and there are more than 30 others who were wounded," Hussain told AFP.

Fuad Khan, police official responsible for security of the camp, said: "The bomb exploded in a car parked near the administration office where refugees had lined up to get ration and new arrivals were being registered."

"Several camps in the vicinity of administration office were also ripped off by the bomb blast," Khan told AFP.

"I saw about 20 casualties around me as the smoke and dust cleared, but cannot say how many were dead and wounded," Khan said.

Jalozai, an enormous camp that once hosted Afghan refugees, now houses Pakistani tribesmen fleeing unrest in the Khyber, Bajaur and Mohmand tribal districts.

Pakistan is stepping up an offensive to dislodge the Taliban from a key stronghold in an effort to safeguard general election slated for May and crack down on militants behind a wave of attacks.

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Four killed at Afghan Koran protest

Four Afghans have been killed in clashes with police over the alleged desecration of the Koran. Source: AAP

AT least four people have been shot dead when dozens of Afghan villagers clashed with police over the alleged desecration of the Koran, officials say.

The clashes broke out in Musa Qala, a town troubled by insurgent violence in the southern province of Helmand.

"Four people have been killed and seven others, including two policemen, have been shot and injured in the clash," said provincial spokesman Ahmad Zeerak.

He said it was unclear whether police bullets caused the casualties and said officers had been forced to intervene after "Taliban fighters hiding among the protesters opened fire on police first".

Helmand has been the scene of some of the worst fighting between NATO troops and the Taliban since the 2001 US-led invasion which ousted the militants from power nationally.

Local villagers said a man in police uniform set fire to copies of the Koran which had been pulled from the shelves of a local mosque.

Local official Mohammad Ismail Hotak said a suspect, who had disguised himself as a police officer, had been detained for questioning.

"We have a suspect in custody who allegedly went to a mosque last night while wearing a police uniform and desecrated the holy Koran, but our initial information shows he is a member of the Taliban posing as a police," the official said.

Officials denied any copy of the Koran had been burned.

The Taliban claimed the suspect was a policeman and vowed revenge for the desecration, a deeply sensitive issue in the extremely conservative Muslim country.

In 2012, US troops set fire to copies of the Koran, sparking days of protests in which about 40 people died.

The incident plunged relations between foreign forces and Kabul to an all-time low and forced US President Barack Obama to apologise.

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Labor's bid for media reform is over

Independent MP Bob Katter is confident his alternative plan for media reforms will find support. Source: AAP

STEPHEN Conroy's controversial media legislation has gone down in flames, in what the opposition calls a humiliating backdown.

The communications minister, however, summed up the much-criticised process as a "conclusion" to reform in the sector.

The government withdrew four bills on Thursday after last ditch efforts failed to win support from crossbenchers.

The draft laws affecting media ownership and regulation had sparked anger and protestation from media organisations.

Senator Conroy had announced the bills last week, saying there would be no bartering on the detail.

But Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says Labor's done little but intensely barter with crossbenchers during the past 48 hours.

"It was policy on the run," he said.

"It was galloping along in a desperate effort to preserve the prime minister's position, to preserve Julia Gillard."

He says it's also a "humiliating backdown".

Senator Conroy says the dumping of the legislation spells the end of the government's push to get the bills through parliament.

"The government sees this as a conclusion to the parliamentary debate on media reform," he said in a statement on Thursday.

The four bills included proposals to introduce a new public interest test for media mergers and acquisitions and to establish an advocate to ensure press councils upheld standards and dealt with complaints.

Two non-contentious bills to reducing licence fees for commercial television broadcasters and make changes to the level of local content broadcast passed earlier this week.

Senator Conroy insists the proposed reforms sought to place the public interest at the forefront of any further media consolidation.

"The government also believes that the self-regulation of the press, through the Australian Press Council and the Independent Media Council, needs to be strengthened and made more independent from newspaper proprietors," he said.

Australian Greens communications spokesman Scott Ludlum says almost everything about the way the bills were handled was "deeply flawed", and that was a major reason the package failed.

"Key independents, including Mr Andrew Wilkie, should also bear responsibility for sinking the reforms by siding with the media barons instead of the public interest," Senator Ludlum said.

Senator Conroy listed some wins from the government's bid to reform the industry, saying the Australian Press Council (APC) had strengthened its complaint processes after the government commissioned the Finkelstein inquiry into the media in 2011.

"I would expect the APC to continue to strengthen its capacity to independently scrutinise the performance of our news media so it can improve the public's confidence in how it operates," he said.

The government also announced in 2011 a review of the rules and framework that applied to the converged media landscape, he said.

Australian Associated Press chief Bruce Davidson welcomed the decision not to proceed with legislation on a public interest advocate.

"The danger of having any government oversight of the press is far greater than the perceived benefits," he said.

The Ten Network said commonsense had prevailed.

"Principles aside, these bills were fundamentally flawed, contained numerous significant drafting and operational problems and could not realistically be implemented in their current form," Ten's director of communications Neil Shoebridge said.

Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes also said his company had reservations about the bills.

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Gillard says leadership struggle is over

JULIA Gillard has declared the Labor leadership tussle over.

After a tumultuous day on which party elder Simon Crean called for a showdown and was sacked from the ministry, caucus unanimously fell in behind the prime minister and her deputy Wayne Swan.

Mr Crean sought to put an end to months of relentless speculation about a Kevin Rudd comeback by asking Ms Gillard for a leadership spill on Thursday, the final day of parliament before a seven-week break.

He argued the "deadlock" over the Labor leadership could not continue and said he would back Mr Rudd as leader and offer himself as deputy.

He said Mr Rudd - whose leadership style has been criticised in the past - had "changed" in the 13 months since his last failed challenge to Ms Gillard and was now a "more disciplined asset".

After initially rejecting the call, Ms Gillard agreed to declare the leadership positions open after talks with senior government MPs, including Anthony Albanese.

But within minutes of the caucus meeting, Mr Rudd announced he wouldn't stand in the absence of a request from a majority of the party.

"I am here to inform you that those circumstances do not exist," he said, referring to the evident shortfall in support.

As the news spread, Labor MPs were heading into the party room in Parliament House.

Ms Gillard and Mr Swan were returned unopposed as leader and deputy. Ms Gillard thus prevailed for the second time since she rolled Mr Rudd for the leadership in 2010.

While Mr Crean didn't nominate for the deputy's role, he spoke to MPs and called for a return to the Labor values and policy focus of the Hawke-Keating era.

Ms Gillard accepted the caucus endorsement "with a sense of deep humility and a sense of resolve".

"Today the leadership of our political party - the Labor Party - has been settled and settled in the most conclusive fashion possible," she said.

"The whole business is completely at an end."

Mr Rudd's decision had immediate consequences for his supporter, government whip Joel Fitzgibbon, as well as parliamentary secretary Richard Marles.

Mr Fitzgibbon, who is now considering his position, said he backed Mr Rudd because of Labor's primary vote, which is in the low 30 per cent range.

"That's why I took the decision that the party may have a better chance under a different leader," he told reporters.

But he accepted the caucus decision, saying it was now "time for healing".

Mr Marles, who spoke out in favour of Mr Rudd on Thursday, resigned from his role.

Mr Crean was stripped of his arts and regional portfolio.

Mr Rudd called for the party to unite and ensure Opposition Leader Tony Abbott "does not simply walk into the Lodge as if it's his own personal property".

Mr Abbott said the caucus outcome had solved nothing and the tensions would continue.

"The civil war will continue as long as Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard are in the parliament," he said.

Australia needed strong and stable government to prosper and flourish.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand and that is plainly the case with the current government," Mr Abbott said.

Earlier, he failed to get support in parliament for a "no-confidence" motion against the government, even though independents Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie sided with the coalition.

Mr Wilkie warned that if the "nonsense" continued when parliament returned for the budget on May 14 the minority Labor government risked losing the support of the independents.

Mr Swan said the issue was over.

"This prime minister is a tough leader," he said.

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Cyberattack on Korean banks, broadcasters

THE South Korean military raised its cyber attack warning level after computer networks crashed at major TV broadcasters and banks, with initial suspicions focused on North Korea.

The Korea Internet Security Agency, a state watchdog, said computer networks at three TV broadcasters - KBS, MBC and YTN - as well as the Shinhan and Nonghyup banks had been "partially or entirely crippled".

LG Uplus, an internet service provider, also reported a network crash.

An investigator from the specialist cyber wing of the national police agency said the shutdown appeared to have been triggered by a "virus or malicious code", suggesting a concerted hacking operation.

There was no immediate confirmation of who or what was behind the multiple shutdown, which occurred around 2pm (1600 AEDT), but the main finger of suspicion is likely to point at Pyongyang.

The crash came days after North Korea accused South Korea and the United States of being behind a "persistent and intensive" hacking assault that took a number of its official websites offline for nearly two days.

The North was believed to be behind two major cyber attacks in 2009 and 2011 that targeted South Korean government agencies and financial institutions, causing their networks to crash.

The South Korean Defence Ministry said it had raised its five-level Infocon cyber threat alert status from four to three.

With military tensions on the Korean peninsula at their highest level for years following the North's nuclear test last month, the Infocon level was only recently raised from five to four - with one being the top level.

"We do not rule out the possibility of North Korea being involved, but it's premature to say so. It will take time to figure out," Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said.

Shinhan Bank said in a statement that it had been forced to turn away branch customers, while its internet banking and ATM operations were also badly affected.

Its network was partially restored after two hours, the bank said.

A KBS labour union spokesman said all the broadcaster's computers had crashed simultaneously.

"We're on air, but journalists are having difficulties filing stories as they cannot access the network," he said.

According to South Korean intelligence officials, North Korea is believed to have a cyber warfare unit staffed by around 3000 people handpicked for their computing prowess.

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Perth man killed by freight train

A 20-YEAR-OLD Perth man has died after being struck by a freight train.

Police said the man was walking in the southern suburb of Yangebup early on Wednesday when he was struck by the west-bound train.

The train driver did not witness the accident and continued on.

The driver of a second freight train saw the man lying on the train track and tried to stop, but also struck him.

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Joyce denies he wants to challenge Truss

NATIONALS senator Barnaby Joyce says asking if he'll be the next deputy prime minister is like wanting to know if he will become the Pope.

The high-profile senator has confirmed his interest in standing for the NSW seat of New England after the shock withdrawal of preselected state MP Richard Torbay.

The announcement has fuelled speculation that once in the lower house Mr Joyce would be in pole-position to become deputy prime minister in a coalition government.

But Mr Joyce says there are too many hypotheticals to consider before it comes to that.

"I was just waiting for when I was going to become the Pope and the king and an astronaut," he told ABC television.

The Queensland senator has previously indicated he would like to lead the Nationals in the lower house, but on Wednesday said he would only like to that once incumbent Warren Truss retired.

"I have no intention whatsoever of challenging Warren Truss," he said.

"Warren Truss is the safest set of hands in Canberra - he'll be the deputy prime minister."

But Mr Joyce's potential opponent in the seat of New England and the electorate's incumbent MP, Tony Windsor, said it was all about leadership aspirations.

"I don't think he's got anything to do with New England or the people of New England," Mr Windsor told ABC radio earlier on Wednesday.

"It's all about Barnaby and his lust for power."

Asked about his motive, Mr Joyce said it was to ensure the coalition won government.

Mr Joyce took a swipe back at Mr Windsor.

"Tony wasn't straight with (the voters of New England) at the start, he didn't say before the election, 'look I might back the Labor party and the Greens,'" he said.

"The government he sponsors everyday is a rolling fiasco."

The National Party's state chairman Niall Blair will not say why support for Richard Torbay was withdrawn, but he did say legal advice was being sought over "matters" that predated Mr Torbay's membership.

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Daisy, five, discovers dinosaur in UK

A SPECIES of prehistoric flying reptile dating from 115 million years ago has been discovered by a girl who was only five at the time.

Daisy Morris is to have the species named after her as Vectidraco daisymorrisae.

The youngster, who is now nine, stumbled across the fossil at Atherfield beach on the Isle of Wight in 2009 and took it to local dinosaur expert Martin Simpson.

Along with his colleagues from the University of Southampton, Simpson confirmed that the fossil came from a new species.

Vertidraco means "dragon from the Isle of Wight" while the rest of the title is named after the young fossil hunter.

"When Daisy and her family brought the fossilised remains to me in April 2009, I knew I was looking at something very special. And I was right," Simpson said.

"The fossil turned out to be a completely new genus and species of small pterosaur, a flying reptile from 115 million years ago in the Lower Cretaceous period, which because of the island's eroding coastline, would without doubt have been washed away and destroyed if it had not been found by Daisy.

"It just shows that, continuing a long tradition in palaeontology, major discoveries can be made by amateurs, often by being in the right place at the right time."

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Hug, massage imitated by jacket

A HIGH-TECH company from Singapore has come out with the world's first jacket that imitates the feeling of being hugged and massaged.

The light and fashionable jacket has an integrated touch-technology system that produces deep pressure stimulation by inflating small air-bubbles.

"The jacket provides touch that varies in strength and in location, thus allowing the user to control how much pressure to apply where and for how long," says James Teh, founder of T-Ware, the company behind the T-Jacket.

A first of its kind, the T-jacket can be remote controlled by smartphone or tablet to adjust, monitor and analyse the pressure application. This function comes in handy especially when used as a therapeutic tool for children with developmental disorder.

Among autistic children deep pressure therapy is a sensory-based intervention used by therapists to calm them and help them to better organise their sensory inputs.

"Most of them suffer from sensory processing difficulties that make them hypo or hyper-sensitive to external stimuli like loud noises and unfamiliar faces and objects. T-Jacket is used to help children with autism because we've realised that a lot of autistic children crave deep pressure and benefit from deep pressure therapy," says Teh.

But T-Ware's hopes go further. They aim to soon introduce their jacket onto the market aimed not only at children with special needs, but everybody who yearns for a good bear hug.

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Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

The number of dead pigs found in a river running through Shanghai has reached more than 13,000. Source: AAP

THE number of dead pigs found in a river running through China's commercial hub Shanghai has reached more than 13,000, as mystery deepened over the hogs' precise origin.

Shanghai had pulled 9,460 pigs out of the Huangpu river, which supplies 22 per cent of the city's drinking water, since the infestation began earlier this month, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Shanghai has blamed farmers in Jiaxing in neighbouring Zhejiang province for dumping pigs which died of disease into the river upstream, where the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday another 3,601 dead animals had been recovered.

The Jiaxing government has said the area is not the sole source of the carcasses, adding it had found only one producer that could be held responsible.

Shanghai said it had checked farms in its southwestern district of Songjiang, where the pigs were first detected, but found they were not to blame, the Shanghai Daily said.

The scandal has spotlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy.

Samples of the dead pigs have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

"Due to some farming households having a weak recognition of the law, bad habits, and lack of increased supervision and capability for treatment have led to the situation," the national agriculture ministry's chief veterinarian Yu Kangzhen said.

Yu attributed a higher mortality rate among pigs to colder weather this spring, though he ruled out an epidemic, the ministry said in statement posted on its website over the weekend.

The thousands of dead pigs have drawn attention to China's poorly regulated farm production. Animals that die from disease can end up in the country's food supply chain or improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.

In Wenling, also in Zhejiang, authorities announced last week that 46 people had been jailed for up to six-and-a-half years for processing and selling pork from more than 1,000 diseased pigs.

China faced one its biggest food-safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

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US backs Aust and NZ's Antarctic plans

The US is backing a proposal by Australia and NZ to set up marine sanctuaries in Antarctica. Source: AAP

HAILING the waters of Antarctica as a living laboratory, the United States has joined Australia and New Zealand in appealing for the creation of marine sanctuaries in the most remote and pristine part of the world.

The United States and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a marine sanctuary covering 1.6 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, which would be the world's largest reserve.

Nations led by Australia, France and the European Union also want to protect 1.9 million square kilometres of critical coastal area in the East Antarctic.

But the proposals were blocked when talks in November at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - comprising 24 countries and the European Union - ended without resolution amid concerns from Russia and China.

Now the nations in favour are boosting their efforts to get the two sanctuaries approved at a special meeting of the group in Germany in July.

"Antarctica is a collection of superlatives. It's the highest, coldest, the windiest, the driest, the most pristine and the most remote place on Earth," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a gathering organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"And it has beguiled humankind for centuries as people have sought to understand it," he added, arguing that the waters of the Southern Ocean, home to 16,000 species, are a "living laboratory."

Kerry told the gathering at the National Geographic Society he believed the world can "work together to ensure that Antarctica remains a place devoted to peace and devoted to expanding human understanding of this fragile planet."

"This is one of the last places we could do this, and I think we owe it to ourselves to make it happen."

But conservationists argue the proposals do not go far enough to protect marine life - notably the Antarctic toothfish, which is fished in huge quantities and served as Chilean sea bass on restaurant tables around the world.

The Ross Sea proposal, while creating a reserve to protect Adelie and emperor penguins, as well as killer whales and Weddell seals, would still allow some 3,000 tonnes of toothfish to be commercially caught each year.

"We wanted New Zealand to come up with a much stronger proposal, and they just didn't, and they dug their heels in, and basically the US had to go for New Zealand's proposal," documentary film-maker Peter Young said.

"It doesn't matter how sustainable this quota is, we shouldn't be in the last place. We don't take buffalo from Yellowstone. We don't take kiwi from the forests in New Zealand. We should not fish from the Ross Sea."

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Xstrata cuts 100 jobs

GLOBAL miner Xstrata says it will axe about 100 jobs as part of a decision to close its Brisbane office.

The weak global coal market including poor prices and a high Australian dollar, as well as high costs, have been blamed for the decision.

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Qld MP Driscoll still facing allegations

A ROOKIE Queensland MP has been unable to shake off allegations of misusing taxpayer funds despite an attempt to explain himself in parliament.

Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll has faced a raft of allegations in recent weeks, including claims of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and improper business dealings.

Mr Driscoll defended himself in parliament on Tuesday, saying he had done nothing wrong other than failing to declare that his wife received more than $500 in income from a private company she runs.

Premier Campbell Newman has stood by his first-term MP, saying there's nothing to suggest he's unfit for public office.

The premier said investigations so far by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), and ongoing departmental probes, had all turned up nothing.

But Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk repeatedly attacked the government in parliament on Tuesday, saying Mr Driscoll had not done enough to explain himself.

"We have heard today a very brief explanation from the member for Redcliffe ... and it does not go to the root of all the questions that need to be answered."

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Driscoll had other irregularities in his pecuniary interests register and listed 13 specific questions the opposition felt he still needed to answer.

Mr Newman said Mr Driscoll had become subject to "trial by media", a scenario he had encountered himself during last year's state election.

"I, myself, and my wife know only too well about ... trial by media, but particularly the tactics of the Australian Labor Party to use the CMC as a political weapon to attack people," he told parliament.

The latest claims against Mr Driscoll, published in The Courier-Mail on Tuesday, accuse him of using his electorate office and staff to run a retail lobby group he used to head.

He's also faced sexual harassment claims from former employees of the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association and calls to produce the association's books amid claims that about $700,000 was spent inappropriately.

Mr Driscoll's wife has also been accused of inappropriately receiving taxpayer funds from another organisation with which Mr Driscoll was involved, the Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay.

But the MP says he's the target of a campaign of "falsehoods" and the attacks on his wife have been particularly upsetting.

The CMC confirmed on Tuesday that it received a referral from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services on November 27, 2012.

It alleged official misconduct against Mr Driscoll.

The CMC says it found at the assessment phase of the complaint, that the matter did not involve official misconduct and therefore fell outside its jurisdiction.

The commission pointed out in its statement on Tuesday that the assessment process is separate to an investigation.

The CMC said it's assessing all new relevant information on the matter to decide whether or not it needs to take any further action.

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Half a million new homes for Sydney

NSW Planning Minister Brad Hazzard has unveiled a 20-year blueprint for Sydney's growth. Source: AAP

A 20-YEAR blueprint for Sydney's growth has identified a need for more than half a million new homes by 2031 but lobby groups want clarity about where they will be built.

Unveiling the strategy on Tuesday, Planning Minister Brad Hazzard said 545,000 new homes would be needed to cater for a population of 5.6 million Sydneysiders in 20 years - a 17 per cent increase on the number forecast in 2010.

Seventy per cent of the additional 1.3 million people who will set up homes in Sydney will be the children of current residents.

"We're trying to be less constrictive and restrictive and what we are saying is the market place should have far more of a say in what the mix of housing is and where it will be," Mr Hazzard said.

"We can make forecasts on where we believe it should be, but we are not going to do what Labor did ... they allowed the planners to be the sole determinant."

Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson said the obvious location for higher density housing was around transport nodes and town centres.

But a range of housing types was needed, including new houses on the city's fringe and apartments in existing suburban areas.

"We need more detail on the type of housing densities planned, particularly for existing urban areas," he said.

Patricia Forsythe, executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber, said the strategy needed to address the density of housing along transport corridors.

"We need to increase housing density along existing transport corridors as a matter of common sense to continue to maintain a working city.

"Many existing transport corridors, especially along railway lines, have old three-storey walk-up apartment buildings that are reaching their use-by date.

"Reforming the planning and strata systems could see a flurry of building activity to redevelop these buildings into higher density, modern apartments."

Housing Industry Association executive director NSW, David Bare, said "urgent action is required".

As part of the plan, the government also wants to create 625,000 extra jobs over the next two decades, with 50 per cent of them in western Sydney.

The draft metropolitan strategy divides Sydney into nine key areas, known as "city shapers". These include growth corridors along Parramatta Road, Anzac Parade and the North West Rail Link, and an enhanced role for Parramatta as Sydney's second CBD.

A western Sydney employment area would be developed south of Mt Druitt.

"We need to make sure in whatever we plan, the jobs are near houses, the houses near jobs and infrastructure is there to connect them," Mr Hazzard told parliament.

He said western Sydney was at the heart of the government's economic strategy.

"Sydney is in effect the Aladdin's Cave, but the part of the Aladdin's Cave that is the critical part is the west," he said.

"The west is where the treasure lies for people to tap."

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Mugabe in Rome for Pope's inauguration

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is in Rome for Pope Francis's inauguration. Source: AAP

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe flew into Rome on Monday to attend Pope Francis's inauguration, sidestepping a travel ban that applies to the EU but not to the sovereign Vatican City state.

Mugabe arrived amid controversy in Zimbabwe where police on Sunday arrested four of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's aides and a prominent human rights lawyer following a referendum that would curtail Mugabe's powers.

A practising Catholic, the 89-year-old Mugabe visited the Vatican previously in 2011 for the beatification of late pope John Paul II.

In 2005, he attended John Paul II's funeral on a visit that drew controversy after Britain's Prince Charles shook hands with him.

Pope Francis's inauguration mass in St Peter's Square will take place on Tuesday, with hundreds of thousands of faithful and world leaders expected.

Mugabe has been widely condemned for human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Preliminary results indicate the referendum has been approved, paving the way for fresh elections to decide whether Mugabe will stay on.

The new constitution would introduce presidential term limits and beef up parliament's powers but could allow Mugabe to stay on for another decade if he wins elections.

Mugabe has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1980, despite a series of disputed and violent polls and a severe economic crash propelled by hyper-inflation.

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Charges over $4m car pile up in Japan

A multi-car pile up involving eight luxury cars could see 10 drivers charged. Source: AAP

POLICE in Japan want to charge 10 drivers over a $US4 million, multi-car pile up involving eight Ferraris, one Lamborghini and a Mercedes-Benz.

The chain-reaction smash in December 2011 occurred when a convoy of expensive sports cars were on a freeway in Shimonoseki in western Japan, said Yamaguchi prefectural police official Shinji Tanaka.

The driver of the lead Ferrari lost control of his luxury ride and those behind the wheels of nine supercars and three other vehicles failed to apply their brakes in time.

One car driving on the opposite carriageway was also affected.

The Sports Nippon newspaper said around $US4 million ($A3.88 million) worth of damage was done.

Police sent the case against a 61-year-old man and nine others to prosecutors last Thursday on suspicion of violating traffic laws.

The final decision on whether to charge the drivers rests with prosecutors.

Police say 10 drivers, aged between 38 and 61, were exceeding the speed limit or not paying enough attention to the road, Tanaka said.

At the time of the accident, television showed footage of the badly crumpled cars - most of them red - some with airbags deployed after a smash that left six people hurt but killed no one.

"It's rare to see a chain-reaction accident like this involving expensive cars," said Tanaka.

"Some of the drivers told us they didn't really know the specifications of their cars or just how powerful their acceleration was."

The drivers were on their way to a supercar event in Hiroshima.

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ACCC best to assess media mergers: Nine

Nine's boss pledged to protect regional TV jobs in a potential merger with Southern Cross. Source: AAP

THE competition watchdog has better ways of assessing the pros and cons of any merger between two companies than the measures proposed under the federal government's public interest test, Nine Network's managing director Jeffrey Browne says.

Mr Browne was speaking to a Senate committee inquiry into Labor's package of six media reform bills, which the federal government wants parliament to pass this week.

He said there were safeguards under the Broadcasting Services Act as well as the powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to ensure there was no need for a public interest test in relation to mergers of media companies.

"The ACCC controls mergers, to the extent they prohibit mergers, if there is a substantial lessening of competition, where they have exercised that power very effectively," he told the committee in Canberra on Monday.

He said the advantage of using the ACCC's current provisions was that there were some clearly defined indicators such as jobs, innovation and exports.

"The existence of those economic principles make that test or their considerations more objective than what is being proposed," Mr Browne said.

He also said there was a sufficient spread of voices in the media landscape where his network competed strongly with the Seven and Ten Networks.

There were more programs on the internet every day, he said.

The proposed increase to a quota for Australian programs would be easily accommodated by the Nine Network, Mr Browne said.

His network was broadcasting around 70 per cent Australian shows, compared with the 55 per cent share for commercial television overall, as part of an agreement to cut the licences rebate for the networks.

Audiences had demanded more local shows with 20 of the top 20 programs produced in Australia in 2012, and 47 out of the top 50, compared with most being from the US five years ago.

"We comfortably exceed that quota because those shows rate and that is what our audiences want and need," he said.

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PA equipment threatened by broadband sale

GYM instructors and clerics could struggle to get their message across when the federal government sells the rights to broadcast frequencies used by analogue television, and wireless microphones.

In April the government will auction a spectrum in the 700 megahertz bandwidth freed by the switch to digital television.

Telecommunications companies Optus, Telstra and Vodafone have registered their interest in bidding for frequencies which will allow them to expand their wireless broadband services for fourth-generation mobile phones.

But shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Dividend) Bill needs to be amended so popular wireless microphone technology does not become obsolete.

He says there are 120,000 to 150,000 wireless microphone units in Australia that could be affected.

The takeover of the bandwidth is not scheduled until 2015, but there have been calls for buyers to be able to use it beforehand.

"You can imagine the consequences are going to be shocking. This has the potential of interfering with tens of thousands of businesses."

He called on the government to introduce an education campaign for users and sellers of the technology so they could plan for 2015.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority website says planning is at an early stage and updates will be provided as they become available.

Speaking on the bill in parliament on Monday, Mr Turnbull was also critical of the government's auction reserve price of $1.36 per megahertz per head of the population, double what was achieved in a recent similar sale in the United Kingdom.

Mr Turnbull said the government should lower the reserve and stop subsidising the NBN.

"They are subsidising the form of broadband that has the smaller contribution to productivity and gouging the medium of broadband that has the maximum benefit," he said.

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US trial of abortion doctor starts

A PHILADELPHIA abortion provider is going on trial for murder in a case that could send the 72-year-old to death row.

Dr Kermit Gosnell, whose trial starts on Monday, is charged with running a rogue abortion clinic in West Philadelphia that allegedly performed illegal, late-term abortions and injured countless women through lax medical procedures.

Gosnell, 72, has pleaded not guilty in connection with the deaths of a female patient and seven babies allegedly born alive. His wife, a beautician, is among eight clinic workers who are charged with him.

They are accused of performing secret third-term abortions on Sundays.

A 2011 grand jury report describes nearly unfathomable conditions, including fetal body parts stored in glass jars and filthy operating areas.

"Anybody walking into that clinic should have known immediately that it should have been shut down," said Bernard Smalley, a lawyer for the family of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee who died after being given too much anesthesia and pain medication during a 2009 abortion.

Philadelphia prosecutors accuse state and local authorities of turning a blind eye to laws requiring regular inspections. And they say the occasional complaints that trickled in, one after an earlier patient death, went nowhere.

"We think the reason no one acted is because the women in question were poor and of colour, because the victims were infants without identities, and because the subject was the political football of abortion," said the 2011 grand jury report, released by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

The case prompted state lawmakers to tighten clinic regulations.

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Melb Heart believe they know fan attacker

A-LEAGUE club Melbourne Heart are confident they have identified the supporter was who launched a cowardly attack on a celebrating a Western Sydney Wanderers fan at AAMI Stadium.

Heart chief executive Scott Munn told AAP the club believes it knows the identity of the man whose was face was clearly caught on Fox Sports TV coverage as he landed a king hit on the bare-chested Wanderers fan on Saturday night.

"We are reasonably comfortable we know who the person is and all action will be taken to provide his identity to the police," Mr Munn said.

Mr Munn stressed the man was not a member of the club.

"His actions were not appropriate and we don't accept it - it was absolutely abhorrent," Mr Munn said.

Victoria Police are aware of the vicious assault, and are working with Melbourne Heart, but say so far no one involved has reported it to police.

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Asian markets mixed

ASIAN markets have closed mixed following another strong lead from Wall Street, where traders took heart from more upbeat US jobs numbers.

The yen was flat after Japanese MPs gave final approval to the government's nominees to take the helm at the Bank of Japan (BoJ), with expectations high that it will usher in more aggressive monetary easing.

Tokyo rose 1.45 per cent, or 179.76 points, to 12,560.95 - its highest level since September 2008. Sydney bounced back from three days of losses to register its biggest rise since July, adding 1.75 per cent, or 88 points, to close at 5,120.2.

Hong Kong was 0.38 per cent lower, losing 86.07 points to end at 22,533.11 while Shanghai closed up 0.36 per cent, or 8.12 points, at 2,278.40.

Seoul fell 0.78 per cent, or 15.63 points, to 1,986.50.

On Wall Street, traders welcomed data showing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week for the third week in a row, signalling continuing improvement in the jobs market.

The S&P 500, which includes all major segments of the US economy, climbed 0.56 per cent to end just short of its all-time high close set in October 2007.

And the Dow was up 0.58 per cent, breaking its all-time record for the eighth straight day. It was the Dow's 10th consecutive rise.

However, while the unemployment numbers were welcomed, the US dollar fell to Y96.08 in New York from Y96.40 in Asia earlier on Thursday.

In Tokyo on Friday the dollar fetched Y96.07.

The upper house of Japan's parliament gave the green light to Haruhiko Kuroda as BoJ governor, as well as to Kikuo Iwata and Hiroshi Nakaso as his deputies.

The men are expected to usher in a new era for the BoJ as Tokyo demands more action to boost the world's third-biggest economy, with Kuroda saying he will do all he can to achieve the bank's new two per cent inflation target.

Focus will now be on the bank's policy meeting next month to see what tools the new leadership will use to jumpstart the Japanese economy and drag it out of deflation.

The euro bought $US1.3026 and Y125.11 against $US1.3000 and Y124.91.

In Seoul, electronics giant Samsung fell 2.63 per cent after it unveiled its new Galaxy S4 smartphone in New York late on Thursday with a bigger screen and a new eye-tracking device.

However, Bae Seung-Young of Hyundai Securities told AFP: "It's not because the Galaxy S4 failed to meet expectations. It's just that investors feel technical smartphone upgrades are flattening out."

Oil prices rose, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April up 13 cents to $US93.16 a barrel in the afternoon, while Brent North Sea crude for May gained 24 cents to $US109.20.

Gold was at $US1,592.44 an ounce at 0815 GMT (1915 AEDT) compared with $US1,584.80 late on Thursday.

In other markets:

- Taipei fell 0.31 per cent, or 24.27 points, to 7,927.49.

Leading smartphone maker HTC shed 2.7 per cent to Tw$234.5 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.96 per cent lower at Tw$103.0.

- Manila fell 0.60 per cent, or 40.11 points, to 6,654.60.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone dropped 0.55 per cent to 2,844 pesos while BDO Unibank fell 3.30 per cent to 88 pesos.

- Wellington rose 0.14 per cent, or 5.96 points, to 4,387.06.

Contact Energy was up 2.19 per cent, Ryman was up 1.3 per cent at NZ$4.78 while Trade Me added 0.9 per cent to NZ$4.74 and Kathmandu climbed 0.4 per cent to NZ$2.45.

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Cyprus postpones debate on EU bailout

THE Cyprus government has postponed a planned emergency session of parliament on Sunday to debate a controversial EU bailout as the scale of opposition to its terms became clear.

President Nicos Anastasiades also put off until Monday a planned briefing of MPs and a promised address to the nation to defend what he acknowledged were "painful" sacrifices in return for a desperately needed 10-billion-euro ($A12.58 billion) bailout for the island's banks.

MPs will now convene at 4pm on Monday (0100 AEDT Tuesday) to debate ratification of the deal after a briefing by the conservative president, the state broadcaster said.

Ministers will now meet on Monday to thrash out the draft legislation to put before parliament, including an unprecedented levy of up to 9.9 per cent on all savings in the island's banks that has prompted a storm of public protest.

State television said the parliamentary debate was postponed to "ensure MPs were fully aware of the situation and were better informed."

The privately run Sigma TV said that Anastasiades was struggling to secure even a simple majority for the necessary legislation in parliament, in which his right wing DISY party holds just 20 of the 56 seats.

The communist AKEL party, which has 19 seats, had refused to sign an agreement on the terms on offer while it was in power before Anastasiades was elected president last month.

Even Anastasiades's partners in the ruling coalition have voiced strong misgivings. DIKO leader Marios Garoyian said he had spoken to the president about seeking "alternative choices" amid opposition from some of his centrist party's nine MPs.

The government needs to ratify the controversial savings levy before banks reopen, which is currently scheduled for Tuesday after a holiday weekend on the island.

But state television said there was a possibility that Tuesday too may now be declared a bank holiday as the legislative process falters.

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Count under way after Zimbabwe referendum

ZIMBABWE is tallying the ballots from a constitutional referendum that looked set to curb President Robert Mugabe's powers and tee up crucial elections in the violence-plagued nation.

The first incomplete trickle of results pointed to landslide backing for the text, which would introduce presidential term limits, beef up parliament's powers and set polls to decide whether the 89-year-old Mugabe stays in power.

Mugabe has ruled uninterrupted since the country's independence in 1980, despite a series of disputed and violent polls and a severe economic crash propelled by hyper-inflation.

The draft constitution is part of an internationally backed plan to get the country on track. Zimbabweans' verdict on the draft is expected to be known within five days of the voting.

According to the Movement of Democratic Change, the party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, of the nearly 90,000 votes initially counted in the second city of Bulawayo only 6250 were against the draft.

Mugabe has backed the proposed constitution, which enshrines his drive to put land in the hands of black Zimbabweans. Also, the clauses are not retroactive so he could if re-elected remain president for another 10 years.

His political rival Tsvangirai has also lent his support to the text, although turnout is expected to be low.

But that has not prevented the threat of violence from looming over the vote, as party militants keep one eye on the general election.

A vote is expected to take place in July, but doubts remain about whether it can take place as planned.

Shortly before polls opened on Saturday, gunmen later identified as plain clothes police detectives, seized a member of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from his home northeast of Harare.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba told AFP Samson Magumura had been arrested on charges of attempted murder in connection with a recent firebomb attack that injured a Mugabe ally.

While casting his vote on Saturday, Mugabe, whom many blame for past unrest, urged Zimbabweans to ensure the referendum proceeded peacefully.

"You can't go about beating people on the streets, that's not allowed, we want peace in the country, peace, peace," he said.

Mugabe, the target of 11 years of Western sanctions over political violence and rights abuses, also used the opportunity to vow the United States and European countries would not be allowed to monitor the upcoming general election.

"The Europeans and the Americans have imposed sanctions on us and we keep them out in the same way they keep us out," he said.

Tsvangirai on Saturday expressed hope that a positive outcome would help catapult the country out of a crisis marked by bloodshed and economic meltdown.

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Search for missing man to resume on Monday

THE search for a man missing off Sydney's northern beaches will resume at first light on Monday.

The 23-year-old was swept out to sea at North Curl Curl beach at around 1.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

A full search continued on Sunday morning but had to be scaled back because of poor weather conditions.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that the search will resume at first light on Monday morning and the weather will once again determine the scale of the search.

In a separate incident, another 23-year-old man has died after being found unconscious near a blowhole at Warriewood, also on the northern beaches.

Several people were rescued from Sydney beaches on Saturday as rough surf battered the coastline.

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