Pastry linked to Sydney hospital infection

Three Sydney public hospital patients have been diagnosed with the bacterial infection listeriosis. Source: AAP

THREE patients have been diagnosed with the serious bacterial infection listeriosis after eating profiteroles in different Sydney hospitals.

Two of the patients, one at Concord Hospital and another at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, remain in hospital and are responding well to treatment, NSW Health says.

The third was being treated for a terminal illness at Campbelltown Hospital and has tested positive for listeriosis after his death.

NSW Director of Health Protection Jeremy McAnulty said investigations have confirmed all three patients tested positive to the same strain of the infection.

"As a precaution, profiteroles were immediately withdrawn from all patient meals," Dr McAnulty said.

"Due to the limited distribution of the profiteroles, the likelihood of further infections is low.

"But it is recommended that any patients who consumed profiteroles at one of the hospitals listed in March or early April contact their doctor or HealthDirect if they develop symptoms of listeriosis."

The profiteroles were also given to patients in Balmain, Canterbury, Liverpool, Bankstown, Bowral, Fairfield, Camden, Tresillian at Canterbury, Braeside and Karitane Hospitals.

Listeriosis is an infection that can occur when a person eats food that has been contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes.

People at risk include pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

The incubation period for listeria is typically a few weeks but can be as long as 70 days in rare cases.

Symptoms appear flu-like such as muscle ache, fever, nausea and diarrhoea.

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Russia, US to bolster ties after bombings

Russian leader Vladimir Putin (pic) has spoken with the US on ways to work more closely on security. Source: AAP

RUSSIA and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in their fight against terror in the wake of news that two ethnic Chechens were suspected of organising the deadly Boston Marathon bombings.

The Kremlin said Russian leader Vladimir Putin called US President Barack Obama on Saturday to once again express his condolences and discuss ways the two sides can work more closely on security in the runup to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

"Both sides underscored their interest in bolstering the close cooperation of Russian and US special services in the fight against international terrorism," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The White House also issued a statement saying that Obama thanked Putin for the condolences "and praised the close cooperation that the United States has received from Russia on counter-terrorism, including in the wake of the Boston attack".

"The two leaders agreed to continue our cooperation on counter-terrorism and security issues going forward," the White House said.

US authorities said that the two young men who set off twin bombs Monday that killed three people at the Boston Marathon and then shot dead a policeman on Friday were ethnic Chechens from Russia's restless North Caucasus region.

The 26-year-old older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by police while his 19-year-old sibling Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apprehended near Boston on Friday evening.

Cooperation between the US and Russian intelligence services remains weak because of strained diplomatic ties and concern in Washington that Putin was using the fight against terror to crack down on his political foes.

Russian analysts said this was likely to change in the aftermath of the Boston bombings.

"The main lesson the United States should draw from all this is that they should strengthen their cooperation with Russia in their fight against terror," said Moscow's National Defence magazine editor Igor Korotchenko.

"Considering the roots of the terror in Boston, the United States should be interested in exchanging information between the two intelligence services," Korotchenko told the RIA Novosti news agency.

Kremlin-linked lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, of parliament's international affairs committee, said the shocking attack should also mute Washington's criticism of Putin's actions in the North Caucasus since his rise to power in 1999.

Russia waged two post-Soviet wars in Chechnya - the second started by Putin when he was still prime minister in 1999.

The popular campaign helped his rise to the presidency in 2000 but immediately created tensions in his relations with the West.

Other observers argued that Russia is currently ahead of the United States in internet monitoring because of is laxer privacy laws.

But Russia is also keen to win more US assistance as it prepares to host a series of major events ranging from August's World Athletics Championships in Moscow to the February 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Moscow on Tuesday announced extra security measures for Sochi due partially to its immediate proximity to the North Caucasus region.

Officials in 2011 also claimed to have uncovered a complex terror plot against the Games by Islamist rebels who allegedly used little-policed mountain regions of Georgia as their base.

Russia's state ITAR-TASS news agency ran a commentary on Saturday calling the Boston attack a serious warning for Sochi.

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Vic woman stable after complex rescue

PARAMEDICS and fire crews have used ropes to rescue a woman in a three-hour mission after she fell down a steep embankment in Melbourne's outer east.

The woman fell about 200m down the embankment in Mt Dandenong about 4pm (AEST) on Saturday and was finally loaded into an ambulance in a stable condition around 7.30pm.

Specialist CFA crews were called in to use ropes and pulleys to haul the woman up the embankment on a stretcher.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the woman received pain killing injections and oxygen throughout the rescue efforts after suffering lower body injuries.

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US asks Interpol for info on bombs

US authorities have asked Interpol to provide information on bombs similar to those used in Boston. Source: AAP

US authorities have asked Interpol to provide any information its members around the world might have on bombs similar to the ones used in the Boston Marathon attack.

"Interpol has issued an international security alert, or Orange Notice, detailing the features of the improvised explosive devices used in the Boston marathon bombings to assist law enforcement across its 190 member countries detect any similarly configured bombs," Interpol said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The alert included photos of the bombs and fingerprints of the two suspects in the case, 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. Both were ethnic Chechens who had lived in the United States for more than a decade.

Interpol's notice to its members was issued after Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police but before Dzhokar Tsarnaev was captured after a day-long search on Friday in a Boston suburb.

The request appeared to be an effort by the FBI to determine if the type of bombs used on Monday at the Boston Marathon were linked to any groups or attacks in other countries. The bombs were home-made explosive devices using pressure-cooker pots to contain explosives and shrapnel.

The motive behind the Boston marathon bombings is not yet known. The attack, the worst in the United States since the September 11, 2011 atrocities, killed three people and wounded about 180.

Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble said in the statement that the alert "will enable police services and other law enforcement agencies around the world to advise US law enforcement authorities whether they've come across similarly designed devices in their own investigations".

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China's quake zone between tectonic plates

The site of China's latest earthquake sits on the border of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates. Source: AAP

THE area of southwestern China struck by a violent tremor on Saturday has witnessed some of the world's deadliest earthquakes.

The area sits on the boundary between two of the earth's tectonic plates, the Indian and Asian plates, which are constantly grinding against each other.

The region is unusual geologically because of the steep slopes at the boundary between the Sichuan Basin and the Tibetan plateau, according to seismologists.

The elevation rises by about 3,500 metres over only about 50 kilometres.

Earthquakes are frequent along the fringes of the Tibetan plateau, which was raised when India collided into Eurasia starting some 50 million years ago.

It is this powerful thrust that created the Himalayas and its highest peak, Mount Everest, which reaches 8,848 metres. The mountains continue to reach skyward to this day, propelled by unstable tectonic terrain.

The deadliest earthquake to rock the Tibetan plateau in the 20th century was in 1920 when 230,000 people died in Gansu province. Another quake measuring 8.0-magnitude struck Sichuan in May 2008 leaving nearly 87,000 dead or missing.

Jiang Haikun, an official with the China Earthquake Networks Centre's forecasting department, said Saturday's quake was formed in the same way as the 2008 quake.

Both quakes occurred on the Longmen mountain fault zone, which tended to produce powerful tremors along a 500-kilometre-long belt, he said.

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Hong Kong shares end 2.33pc higher

HONG Kong shares ended 2.33 per cent higher on Friday, capping a tough week for global markets after China released data showing growth in the world's number two economy had slowed.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 501.05 points to end at 22,013.57 on turnover of $HK65.98 billion ($A8.30 billion).

World markets were hit on Monday when China released figures showing the economy grew 7.7 per cent in the January-March quarter, slower than expected and weaker than the 7.9 per cent in the previous three months.

The news raised questions about the strength of a recent pick-up in the economy, which is a key driver of growth for other nations.

On Thursday the Hong Kong rally was helped by a jump in Shanghai that came thanks to reports in state media that China could approve as early as this month new investment quotas for overseas financial institutions looking to enter the market.

Lenovo rebounded 9.5 per cent to HK$7.06 on news it is in talks to buy part of IBM's server unit. The jump follows a recent slump fuelled by concerns about demand for PCs after data showed sales had tumbled.

China Unicom climbed 7.3 per cent to HK$10.26, while mainland developer China Overseas Land rose 5.8 per cent on bargain-hunting.

HSBC rose 1.82 per cent to HK$81.10, while Cathay Pacific added 0.77 per cent to HK$13.08.

Chinese shares ended up 2.14 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 47.04 points to 2,244.64 on turnover of 95.4 billion yuan ($15.4 billion). The index rose 1.72 per cent for the week, despite Monday's poor data.

"The market rebounded after losses in previous sessions. News that overseas capital might enter the A-share market soon is also favourable to brokerages," Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi told AFP.

Founder Securities surged 8.87 per cent to 7.24 yuan and China Citic Securities jumped 5.51 per cent to 12.82 yuan.

Among lenders China Minsheng Banking advanced 8.13 per cent to 10.11 yuan while Pudong Development Bank jumped 5.30 per cent to 10.14 yuan.

A rebound in bullion prices from two-year lows earlier in the week helped Zhongjin Gold rise 2.76 per cent to 12.64 yuan, while Zijin Mining climbed 1.92 per cent to 3.19 yuan.

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French family kidnapped in Cameroon freed

A FRENCH family of seven abducted by Islamic extremists while holidaying in Cameroon have been freed after two months in captivity, officials say.

The hostages - a father, mother, four children aged 5 to 12, and an uncle - were all in good health, the French presidency said, adding that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was on his way to the central African state to greet the family.

The Cameroonian president said in a statement read on national radio that the hostages - who were seized by six gunmen on February 19 and taken to neighbouring Nigeria - had been "handed over last night to Cameroonian authorities".

He did not say how they were freed but he thanked the governments of Nigeria and France.

The French foreign minister said they were freed overnight on Thursday to Friday "in an area between Nigeria and Cameroon".

"I spoke to the family on the phone. They are extremely happy and in good shape," said Fabius.

The family were seen arriving on Friday at the French embassy in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital.

French President Francois Hollande insisted after their release that France had not paid any ransom.

They had been held by Islamist sect Boko Haram - which is blamed for killing thousands of people in an insurgency in northern Nigeria since 2009.

Their abduction came just as France was deploying thousands of troops to fight Islamic extremists in Mali, another former French colony in the region.

Eight other French citizens are being held hostage in the Sahel region south of the Sahara, according to Hollande.

A video surfaced last month in which the father of the abducted family, Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, seemingly asked President Biya to free detained members of the al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram group.

The family, who were based in Cameroon, were visiting the Waza National Park when they were kidnapped.

They were identified as Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, who worked for the French gas group GDF Suez in Yaounde, his wife Albane, and their four sons, Eloi, Andeol, Mael and Clarence.

Tanguy's brother Cyril Moulin-Fournier was on vacation and with them at the time. The three adults are all around 40 years old.

The family, with the exception of the uncle, moved to Yaounde in 2011 when the father began a job there overseeing the construction of a liquid natural gas plant. The uncle lives in Barcelona, Spain.

Boko Haram has in the past called for the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria, where corruption is deeply rooted and most of the population lives on less than $2 per day despite its vast oil reserves.

The Boko Haram insurgency is estimated to have left more than 3,000 people dead since 2009, including many killings in operations by the security services.

The group is believed to be made up of many different factions. Analysts say some members are likely hardcore Islamists who would resist any concession to Nigeria's secular government.

Other members are thought to be northern youths who have been radicalised out of frustration at massive government corruption.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan recently instructed his security advisors to look at whether an amnesty could help curb the Boko Haram insurgency.

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US state decriminalises gay sex

Gay rights activists are hopeful of full equality as the state of Montana decriminalised gay sex. Source: AAP

AN obsolete law deeming gay sex as deviant - akin to bestiality - was stricken from the law in the western state of Montana, prompting gay rights activists to say they hope that full legal equality may be closer.

When Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed Senate Bill 107 decriminalizing gay sex, cheers erupted in the Capitol's Rotunda.

It had been 16 years after the state Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional and 24 years after gay rights activists began their fight to take government out of the bedroom.

"I am not going to speak too long because, frankly, the longer I talk, the longer this embarrassing and unconstitutional law stays on the books," Bullock said.

The victory, though a powerful one for the gay community in Montana, is highly symbolic with no tangible benefits aside from striking the obsolete law condemning gay sex from Montana code.

The outdated code has not been used to prosecute individuals for years.

And previous efforts to offer gays and lesbians protection under the law, including a push to prohibit civil discrimination, have been thwarted by a Republican-controlled Legislature.

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Reports Boston bombing suspect arrested

A suspect in the Boston marathon bombing has reportedly been arrested during a police incident. Source: AAP

ONE of the suspects from the Boston marathon bombing has reportedly been arrested.

"One Marathon bombing suspect has been caught, and another is on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police, officials said", the Boston Globe has tweeted.

The Globe has sourced the information to an official with knowledge of the investigation.

"Another remains on the loose in Watertown after a firefight with police. Authorities have established a 20-block perimeter as they search for him," the Globe said in a report online.

It's believed the man was arrested during a major police operation in the Boston area town of Watertown.

The shooting and major police operation come just days after twin bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line killed three people, wounded more than 180 others and led to an increase in security in the region.

The FBI earlier on Thursday released images of two men they believed were suspects.

Hours later, a police officer at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology died after being shot "multiple" times late on Thursday night local time.

Heavily armed police immediately launched a major manhunt after the killing.

Shortly after, gunfire and explosions erupted in streets in Watertown, north of the university.

"There were blasts, it could have been grenades," local resident Adam Brown told AFP.

The NBC-WJAR channel showed film of a man lying on the ground in a street in the town and surrounded by police.

Authorities made no immediate link between the incidents.

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Manhunt after first Boston suspect dies

POLICE killed one of the Boston marathon bombing suspects in a shootout early Friday and pursued a chaotic street-to-street manhunt for his accomplice, officials said.

Several Boston suburbs were put under effective lockdown and public transport was suspended throughout the region.

In addition, thousands of heavily-armed police continue a house-to-house search in suburban Watertown for an "armed and dangerous... terrorist... who has come here to kill people."

The two men, dubbed "Suspect One" and "Suspect Two" by the FBI, led police special forces on a violent cavalcade that left inhabitants of towns around Boston cowering in their homes as gunfire and explosions erupted through the night.

One police officer was killed and another wounded in the operation, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.

Davis also confirmed that Suspect One had been killed.

The man, whose identity has not been released, died in the hospital after being hit with bullets and injured by an explosion, a doctor at Beth Israel hospital told reporters.

Police told inhabitants of Watertown and nearby towns to stay home as they hunted the second man believed to have planted the bombs that killed three people and injured about 180 at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The governor also suspended all public transit services through the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The surviving fugitive was "armed and dangerous," Davis said.

"We believe this to be a terrorist, we believe this to be a man who has come here to kill people," the police chief told reporters.

Police said the first suspect had explosives on his body, and there were fears the second suspect still at large was also strapped with bombs.

The suspects first tried to rob a convenience store in Cambridge, across the river from Boston, Davis said.

They then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where one campus police officer was shot several times and died, the commissioner added. The pair then hijacked a Mercedes car and eventually let the driver out in Watertown, which is close to MIT, Davis added.

The chase went on through Watertown where the two were seen throwing explosives out of the car, local media said, citing police reports. Blasts and gunfire were heard in several districts.

During a shootout, one wanted man was hit and died later in hospital, Davis said. Another police officer was also wounded. The second suspect, who has been shown in pictures wearing a white baseball cap, escaped.

MIT students were kept in a lockdown for three hours after the shooting on campus. Police with rifles flooded the streets, and search helicopters patrolled the skies.

MIT, one of the world's top universities, is in Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston where the double bomb attack was staged on Monday in the worst militant attack on the United States since the September 11 atrocities in 2001. Authorities cancelled classes Friday, in the wake of the incident.

Hours before the manhunt, the FBI released pictures and video of the two suspects, appealing for help to identify the pair who were carrying large backpacks.

Both appeared to be young men, one dressed in a white baseball cap and the other in a black cap. The FBI gave no details of their identities or origin, naming them only as Suspect One and Suspect Two.

Two bombs were placed around the marathon finish line on Monday, spraying nails, ball bearings and other metal fragments into massed spectators, many of whom suffered horrific injuries.

The men are seen in the video walking calmly, one a few paces behind the other, weaving between crowds on Boston's Boylston Street where the race finished.

President Barack Obama vowed to the people of Boston Thursday that the "evil" bombers would be brought to justice.

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Rio targets cash from divestments: Walsh

RIO Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh says the company will focus on divesting non-core assets as it strives to save $US5 billion ($A4.87 billion) through to 2014.

Addressing his first annual general meeting as chief executive, Mr Walsh said 2012's capital expenditure of $US17.4 billion "will be our peak year of investment".

"We are targeting significant cash proceeds from divestments and are reviewing a number of potential non-core assets for divestment, in addition to those we've already announced such as Pacific Aluminium and Diamonds," Mr Walsh told shareholders in London.

Rio Tinto in February announced its first ever full year net loss, of almost $US3 billion.

Mr Walsh on Thursday said the world's second-largest iron ore producer had now bolstered investment committee controls and procedures.

"This will ensure ... that we invest only in projects that deliver returns well above our cost of capital," the chief executive said.

Mr Walsh confirmed Rio was targeting cumulative cost savings of $US5 billion over the next two years compared with 2012.

He said just pulling more tonnes out of the ground was not enough.

Rio has been slashing jobs to cut costs in the wake of 2012's annual loss.

Aside from divesting assets, Mr Walsh said Rio in 2013 would focus on reducing costs and improving performance at all operations, delivering approved growth projects and strengthening capital allocation and discipline.

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Up to 15 dead in massive Texas plant blast

IT was like Iraq, a nuclear bomb, a tornado.

Those were the words used by US officials to describe the devastation created by a blast at a fertiliser plant in Texas on Wednesday, which injured more than 160 and killed between five and 15 people.

Until the massive fireball tore through the evening air, the town of West was a typical Texas town of 2800, proud of the Czech heritage of many of its early settlers.

It was small enough for everyone to know each other, and for the high school, middle school and a nursing home to be within walking distance of the West Fertilizer Plant.

According to Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton, a spokesman for Waco police, firefighters and law enforcement responded to a fire at the plant at about 6.30 on Wednesday night (0930 AEST Thursday).

They quickly realised the severity of the threat facing them and the town, and started an evacuation process.

"Perhaps 15 minutes later a massive explosion occurred," he told the hundreds of reporters who rushed to the small town from around the country.

Swanton said early on Thursday morning the injured were being taken to hospitals in Waco and a triage centre at high school in nearby Abbott.

"It was a small fire and then water got sprayed on the ammonium nitrate, and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb," Jason Shelton, a clerk at the Czech Best Western Hotel in West told the Dallas Morning News.

"I live about a thousand feet (300 metres) from it and it blew my screen door off and my back windows. There's houses levelled that were right next to it."

Hours after the blast, several firefighters and police were unaccounted for. Authorities said between five and 15 people had been killed and more than 160 hurt.

Glenn A. Robinson, the chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, told the Waco Tribune-Herald the hospital had treated more than 100 people, including 14 who would likely be admitted, but that none had died. He said the injuries included cuts, broken bones and others expected from flying debris. Thirty people were also treated at Providence Hospital in Waco, and several others were sent to the burn unit at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Two children were taken to McLane Children's Hospital in Temple, he said.

According to mayor Tommy Muska, the blast and the fire devastated houses and buildings within a five-block radius. He said 50 to 80 homes had been flattened in the blast.

Among the worst affected were a nursing home that was adjacent to the fertiliser plant, where 133 people were evacuated.

A 50-unit apartment building appeared to have taken the brunt of the blast, its facade ripped off to reveal the building's wooden frame and the pulverised interior.

D.L. Wilson, the spokesman of the Texas Department of Public Safety, was shocked by what he saw.

"It was massive just like Iraq ... there was an apartment complex that has about 50 units - it was like a skeleton standing there," he told reporters.

Numerous buildings were on fire, including the nursing home, and the middle school.

A search for survivors continued throughout the night, as emergency workers went house to house and business to business looking for people trapped in the rubble.

Residents described the chaotic moments following the blast as hundreds of emergency personnel rushed on to the roads and local residents were trying to escape.

Strong winds were hampering efforts to extinguish the fire at the plant with firefighters trying to secure a huge tank containing chemicals, CNN reported on Thursday.

The tank was still intact despite the massive blast at the plant.

Rescue officials also fear that strong wind could spread dangerous gases to nearby populated centres, the broadcaster said.

Muska said residents were bracing for news of neighbours' deaths.

"We've got a lot of people who are hurt, and there's a lot of people, I'm sure, who aren't gonna be here tomorrow," he told CNN.

"We're gonna search for everybody. We're gonna make sure everybody's accounted for. That's the most important thing right now."

But despite the reputation of West as a tight-knit small community, recriminations were also being raised.

"That whole side of town looks like a disaster," resident Bill Manolakis told the Dallas News. "Who in their right mind sticks a damn plant next to houses?"

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IMF boss to face court in French probe

IMF chief Christine Lagarde will be grilled by a special court investigating suspected corruption dating from her time as French finance minister, her lawyer says.

Lagarde, who took over at the International Monetary Fund in 2011 when the previous boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn stepped down over a sex scandal, has been ordered to appear before the court at the end of May.

She will have to answer allegations that she acted improperly in the handling of a financial dispute that resulted in around 400 million euros ($A509.36 million) being paid by the state to disgraced tycoon Bernard Tapie.

Prosecutors working for the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) - a body established to try cases of ministerial misconduct - suspect Tapie received favourable treatment in return for supporting Lagarde's then boss, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the 2007 and 2012 presidential elections.

They have described Lagarde's handling of the case as "questionable" and suggested she was partly responsible for "numerous anomalies and irregularities" which could lead to charges for complicity in fraud and misappropriation of public funds.

Lagarde's Paris home was raided by CJR officials last month but she has not yet been charged with any crime.

The IMF has stood by her and her lawyer insisted she would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

"As has been expected for several months, the court wishes to question Madame Lagarde," says her lawyer, Yves Repiquet.

"A hearing will be held at the end of May.

"Mme Lagarde will finally have the opportunity to provide the court with explanations and clarifications that will exonerate her of any criminal responsibility."

The investigation is centred on Lagarde's 2007 decision to ask a panel of judges to arbitrate in a dispute between Tapie and Credit Lyonnais - the collapsed, partly state-owned bank -- over his 1993 sale of sports group Adidas.

The arbitration resulted in the payout to Tapie, a former politician and businessman who went to prison for match-fixing during his time as president of France's biggest football club, Olympique Marseille.

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Didier Ratsiraka back in Madagascar

MADAGASCAR'S former president Didier Ratsiraka has returned home from France, ending an 11-year exile that followed a bitter election dispute.

The 76-year-old ex-leader expressed a "sense of relief and happiness" to be back.

"It has been 11 years that I have not been here," he said in brief remarks to reporters at the airport on Thursday before being driven away to attend a national reconciliation conference.

The conference is being organised by the Ecumenical Council of the Christian churches of Madagascar to boost efforts to end the protracted political deadlock on the island.

Ratsiraka was president from 1975 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2002, when he fled to France following a post-election dispute which sparked violence and chaos when he refused to concede defeat to Marc Ravalomanana.

The impasse split the vast island nation in two - with two capitals, two governments, and a divided army - until Ravalomanana was officially proclaimed president in May 2002.

In 2003, Ratsiraka was sentenced in absentia to hard labour, five years in jail for threatening state security and 10 years for embezzling public funds.

However, current president Andry Rajoelina, who ousted Ravalomanana in an army-backed coup in March 2009, had said several times that Ratsiraka was free to return home.

Ratsiraka had briefly returned to Madagascar in November 2011, but left after just two weeks.

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Nestle reports Q1 sales rise of 2.3%

SWISS food and drinks giant Nestle SA has reported first-quarter sales of 21.9 billion Swiss francs ($A22.87 billion), up 2.3 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

The maker of Nescafe, Haagen Dazs and Jenny Craig says sales in developed markets continue to be subdued by low consumer confidence amid global financial uncertainty both in the United States, which is Nestle's biggest market, and in Europe.

Paul Bulcke, chief executive of the Vevey, Switzerland-based company, said in a statement on Thursday the first three months of 2013 "reflects the caution" that it had anticipated for the entire year.

But he said the company expects to see stronger momentum in key emerging markets, where it reported 8.4 per cent growth in the first quarter, a reflection of contrasting trading conditions across different regions.

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Church whistleblower fears lawsuit

Catholic Church whistleblower Peter Fox fears he could be sued by people he has exposed. Source: AAP

A SENIOR policeman who exposed alleged child abuse by Catholic priests is concerned he could face legal action because of inadequate whistleblower protection.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox earlier this week appealed for support from NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell after receiving a letter from NSW police confirming one of his disclosures wouldn't be protected under whistleblower laws.

The premier and police commissioner Andrew Scipione have since said no disciplinary proceedings or other detrimental action will be taken against Insp Fox by the police force.

"He will not be in any way victimised, he won't be the subject of retaliation," Mr Scipione told reporters on Wednesday.

"He does have the protection in regards to the matters that he's reported."

But Insp Fox, who is protected under the Police Act 1990 and the Police Regulation 2008, is worried about potential suits from people he's exposed who are outside the force.

The two acts don't offer protection from such action, Insp Fox said.

He also said the Public Disclosures Act, which aims to protect whistleblowers from litigation from the wider community, has proven to be flawed in the past.

"It's basically been shown up to be ineffective," he told AAP on Wednesday.

Insp Fox has called on the government to revise and clarify the Public Disclosures Act, so people can be assured of protection from litigation.

Despite his fears, Insp Fox said he does not regret coming forward.

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Mourners, protesters at Thatcher funeral

Britain will pay its final respects to Baroness Thatcher at Wednesday's funeral. Source: AAP

MOURNERS, as well as protesters, have gathered for the funeral of Britain's first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, as the debate over her legacy continues.

At least a thousand people had gathered outside St Paul's Cathedral, where the funeral service began at 11am (2000 AEST) on Wednesday. Many had camped overnight to secure a place.

Doors to St Paul's Cathedral, where the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher was held, opened at 9am, shortly after flags were lowered to half-mast at government buildings.

Trevor Fearon, 83, and his wife Doreen, 85, had travelled from West Kensington in west London to see the procession.

"Mrs Thatcher was a gutsy woman, especially over the Falklands," said Fearon, who worked in the exhibition industry."

Waiting in Whitehall - part of the route her coffin will take on its journey to St Paul's - were Brighton University students Rebecca May, 21, and Javiar Mansell, 20.

May said: "I feel people protesting should remember Lady Thatcher was a mother and a grandmother."

Mansell said: "I don't think people my age have the right to protest about her policies.

"We are here out of respect. Also, it's a historic event."

Looking on in Whitehall was Australian mother-of-two Geraldine Fenn, 47, who was in London for her husband's business conference.

"I remember Margaret Thatcher in a very positive light," said Fenn, who is from Melbourne.

"I know there were difficulties over the miners but as I grew older I realised that Britain needed to change."

Alan Southern, 53, was joined by a smartly dressed band of colleagues from the Parachute Regiment in attending the funeral to show his respect.

Southern, who fought in the Falklands War as a 23-year-old and met Lady Thatcher four times, said: "I have no interest at all in what the demonstrators say.

"When we came out for the Remembrance Parade they were all shouting. It's the only day of the year anyone listens to them. They have to remember we fought for them to have the right to do it.

"Lady Thatcher was an absolutely wonderful lady. She loved the armed forces and she did so much for the country, she put the 'great' back in Great Britain."

"She came to power in a man's world and she won," said 58-year-old chef John Loughrey. "Everything she fought for, she won. She was a great politician. We were living in the dark and she brought us back to the light."

Nearby, a small group of protesters arrived to demonstrate against the "idolisation" of Thatcher. Up to 200 demonstrators were expected to join them, said Dave Winslow, a student from the northern city of Durham.

The reported STG10 million ($A14.90 million) cost of a funeral for such a divisive figure was "wrong", he said, "especially when austerity is being imposed on the poor."

The protesters planned to turn their backs as the funeral procession passed.

Patricia Welsh, a 69-year-old retired youth worker, joined the Facebook-organised demonstration at the junction of Ludgate Hill and Ludgate Circus in central London.

She said: "I am absolutely furious that Prime Minister David Cameron has decided to spend 10 million on a funeral when normal people are having to face cutbacks, libraries are closing and the NHS is being cut - for the funeral of a Conservative woman.

"Like anyone else she deserves a decent funeral, but not at the expense of the taxpayer."

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Man arrested over NSW body in boot murder

An Illawarra man has been arrested over the death of Wollongong woman Linda Stevens. Source: AAP

A MAN has been arrested over the death of a woman whose body was found in the boot of a car in bushland south of Sydney.

Colin Maxwell Farrow, who was wanted for questioning over the death of 41-year-old Wollongong woman Linda Stevens, was arrested at Kembla Grange on Wednesday afternoon.

He is being interviewed at Wollongong Police Station.

Detectives investigating Ms Stevens' death named Farrow, 39, as a person of interest earlier in the week and described him as "highly dangerous".

Ms Stevens' body was discovered by police in the boot of her Kia sedan in bushland at nearby Corrimal last Thursday.

A post mortem examination has revealed she sustained multiple puncture wounds but it's not yet clear what caused them.

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Pakistan survivors scour homes after quake

A powerful earthquake in Iran has hit hundreds of homes in Pakistan, killing more than 30 people. Source: AAP

PAKISTANI survivors of a tremor centred in Iran that killed at least 41 have people dug through the rubble of their ruined homes as the military rushed to send aid to the remote region.

The United States also offered aid after the 7.8-magnitude quake, Iran's most powerful in five decades, damaged an estimated three-quarters of the mud-built homes of Mashkail, a town in the dirt-poor Pakistani province of Baluchistan.

Tuesday's earthquake was felt across the region and though the epicentre lay in southeast Iran, all but one of the deaths reported so far have been across the border in Pakistan.

Efforts to help the survivors have been hampered by Mashkail's remote location - communities are scattered, there are no paved roads, no electricity and limited mobile phone coverage, and no proper medical facilities.

Only three tents were visible in the town and frightened families were sheltering under trees, an AFP reporter said, too scared to return to their homes for fear of aftershocks.

A 5.7-magnitude tremor early on Wednesday frayed nerves even further.

Between 15 and 20 people made the bone-shaking, 45-minute journey across bare ground to the Iranian border to reach a hospital and see a doctor, according to officials with Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Constabulary.

While some survivors offered prayers for the dead, others dug through rubble with spades and even knives to try to recover their belongings.

"We often feel tremors here, but this was the worst I've ever seen in my life. I thought a bulldozer was passing by close to my house," Abdul Ghaffour, who is about 50, told AFP.

"All the homes are mud homes. A lot of walls fell. There was a lot of dust so I couldn't see what was happening. Thank God my family and I are safe."

Major General Obaidullah Khattak of the Frontier Corps, another Pakistani paramilitary force, said 16 badly injured people had been taken by helicopter to Baluchistan's capital Quetta for treatment and nine doctors were on the scene.

"We have sent one tonne of medicine. Two trucks of edible items and 350 tents will arrive tonight; 500 troops have reached Mashkail from the surrounding areas, travelling through the night to provide help," he told AFP.

The area's scattered population made determining the death toll difficult, but Frontier Corps Major Attiq Minhas told AFP at Dalbandin airport, around 250 kilometres from Mashkail, that at least 40 people had died.

On the Iranian side of the border, one woman was reported killed by falling rocks and the Red Crescent rushed 400 tents to shelter about 1700 people who lost their homes in the quake.

Minhas said 650 Pakistani personnel were involved in the rescue operation in Mashkail town and that so far medical staff had received 23 wounded people.

Abdul Bari, a 32-year-old tailor who broke his leg, said that his wife and children were fine, but feared that dozens of people had been killed or wounded.

"When I felt the tremors, I saw within seconds houses razed to the ground. It was like doomsday," he told AFP in Dalbandin, after travelling for five and a half hours by taxi for help.

Baluchistan, an inaccessible province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is plagued by Islamist militancy, attacks on the Shi'ite Muslim minority and a separatist Baluch insurgency.

Putting aside America's longstanding enmity with Iran, and its more recent strains in relations with Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry offered condolences and assistance with relief work.

Disaster relief contributed to an earlier thaw in relations between the United States and Iran, which accepted US personnel following the Bam earthquake in 2003, which killed more than 26,000 people.

The United States has also engaged in disaster diplomacy with Pakistan, briefly improving its abysmal image in the country following a 2005 earthquake in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, where more than 73,000 died.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon also expressed condolences after Tuesday's disaster and said the UN too stood ready to help if needed.

The quake struck in the afternoon with its epicentre around 80 kilometres east of the city of Khash, in the Iranian province of Sistan Baluchistan.

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Sex charges over assaults on Sydney girls

A MAN has been charged with indecently assaulting two teenage girls, including allegedly attacking one of the girls on a train in western Sydney.

Police said they charged the man, 36, on Wednesday with five counts of indecently assaulting a person under 16.

The charges relate to alleged assaults on two 13-year-olds.

Police allege the man indecently assaulted one of the girls when she was travelling on a train between Strathfield and Seven Hills on the afternoon of April 4.

The man got on the train at Granville and exited at Parramatta, police said in a statement.

The man is alleged to have indecently assaulted the other girl on a number of occasions between December 2013 and April this year.

The man was arrested at Doonside on Wednesday morning.

He was refused bail and will front Blacktown Local Court on Thursday.

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Somali police crack down after attack

A nine-man suicide commando has blasted its way into a Somali court complex, leaving 29 people dead. Source: AAP

SOMALIA'S police force has launched a major security operation searching for explosives and weapons, a day after a spectacular suicide attack by Islamist insurgents in the city.

"There is a major security operation under way in Mogadishu," said senior police official Mohamed Hassan. "So far more than 400 people have been detained. The operations are aimed at tackling insecurity."

On Sunday, a nine-man suicide commando team blasted its way into Mogadishu's main court complex, some blowing up their explosive vests while others sprayed gunfire in a rampage that left 29 civilians dead, while a separate bomb attack killed five more.

The al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the courthouse attack.

"All vehicles moving in town are subject to security screening while the passengers are being temporarily detained for questioning," Hassan added.

Security forces set up roadblocks across the city.

"The soldiers are stopping all vehicles and arresting people," said Ali Ismail, a witness.

"I saw nearly 300 people who were detained and blindfolded near the industrial road. Everyone the security forces set eyes on today is getting arrested," said Yusuf Ganey, another witness.

"This is not a normal operation," he said.

The Shabab Islamists used to control most of the seaside capital until they abandoned fixed positions in August 2011. But the extremist group has since carried out a string of attacks against the UN-backed government.

A regional military offensive has forced many Shabab fighters to pull out of a string of key towns, but the insurgents have reverted to guerrilla tactics and have carried out several bomb attacks in Mogadishu.

But the scale and audacity of this latest attack - striking in the heart of the heavily-guarded administrative quarter of the capital - shocked many.

The area round the courthouse remained cordoned off Monday with security forces still surrounding the area.

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Sydney protest wants army 'wastage' cuts

A group of protesters demonstrated as part of the global day of action against military spending. Source: AAP

PROTESTERS have pinned fake $100 notes to a replica F-35 fighter jet in inner Sydney to demonstrate against excessive government spending on military resources.

The group of about 40 demonstrators gathered outside the office of Health Minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday as part of the global day of action against military spending.

The protesters offered passers-by photocopied $100 notes to be pinned to the cardboard cut-out fighter jets, as a symbolic gesture of the "wastage".

"Australia doesn't have any enemies. We don't need to be spending the second-highest amount on defence in the OECD," protest organiser Nick Deane told AAP.

"It is wastage. We are not under threat. We don't need the level of military spending and commitment that we've got at the moment."

Mr Deane said the government should scrap plans to purchase 100 "lemon" Joint Strike Fighter jets - worth $130 million each - because they are not suited to the country's defence needs.

He said there was a risk Australia would get involved in an arms race between China and the US if it continued on its current defence spending commitments.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said some of the military dollars should be diverted to address issues faced by countries in conflict and war.

"If governments spent $4.8 billion per day on addressing environmental, economic, food and human security, many of the root causes of armed conflict would be eliminated," he said in a statement on Monday.

He said the government should spend defence dollars on "genuine security threats" and scrap its plans to buy the Joint Strike Fighters.

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Cambodia, Thailand take temple row to ICJ

THAILAND and Cambodia have taken their dispute over land around a flashpoint temple to the UN's highest court, in a case Phnom Penh warned could end friendly relations between the countries.

The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun a week of hearings after Cambodia asked two years ago for an interpretation of the 1962 ruling on the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Thailand does not dispute Cambodia's ownership of the temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has seen deadly clashes along their joint border. But both sides claim an adjacent 4.6-square-kilometre patch of land.

Without an interpretation of a 1962 ICJ ruling, "relations with Thailand cannot be friendly and cooperative in the future," Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the court.

Ahead of Cambodia's opening statement on Monday, Hor Namhong told reporters his country "felt threatened" by troop incursions from Thailand.

"We expect the court to interpret the 1962 ruling which said that the temple of Preah Vihear is on Cambodian soil," he said, speaking in French.

"According to the ruling the surrounding area also belongs to Cambodia," Hor Namhong said.

A verdict from the ICJ, which judges disputes between states, is not expected for several months.

In February 2011, 10 people were killed in fighting at the Preah Vihear temple site and fresh clashes broke out farther west in April 2011, leaving 18 dead.

The ICJ subsequently ruled both countries should withdraw forces around the 900-year-old Khmer temple, which is perched on a clifftop in Cambodia, but with access much easier from the Thai side.

Access from the Cambodian side was so difficult in the 1970s that it was the last place to fall to the Khmer Rouge regime, and also the Communists' last holdout in the 1990s.

Cambodia and Thailand finally pulled hundreds of soldiers out of the disputed border area in July 2012, replacing them with police and security guards. The situation remains calm.

Thailand says arguments over the land bordering the temple stem from Cambodian efforts to define rights over it as part of its application for World Heritage status for the temple.

The roots of the dispute are however much earlier, dating to maps drawn during French colonial disengagement in the early 20th century.

Thailand is broadcasting the hearing live on its state-run television channel, with a translation in Thai.

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Afghan opium cultivation set to surge: UN

A Drugs and Crime report says that opium cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to surge this year. Source: AAP

OPIUM poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to increase for a third straight year, expanding even to poppy-free areas this year, a United Nations report warns.

The Afghanistan Opium Risk Assessment 2013 said Afghanistan was moving towards record levels of opium production this year despite eradication efforts by the international community and Afghan government.

"The assessment suggests that poppy cultivation is not only expected to expand in areas where it already existed in 2012... but also in new areas or in areas where poppy cultivation was stopped," the survey said on Monday.

The study by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says that a strong association between insecurity, lack of agricultural assistance and opium cultivation are fuelling the trend.

"Villages with a low level of security and those which had not received agricultural assistance in the previous year were significantly more likely to grow poppy in 2013," the report said.

Twelve provinces are likely to show an increase in opium cultivation, while three provinces formerly free of poppy are at risk if eradication is not implemented, it said.

Cultivation is mostly increasing in southern provinces where the Taliban are more active and thousands of international troops are set to withdraw this year.

Afghanistan produces about 90 per cent of the world's opium and in 2012 the UNODC warned that opium cultivation in the country had increased by 18 per cent.

Last month, Afghanistan said it planned to destroy 15,000 hectares of poppy fields this year in its latest efforts to control the heroin trade that fuels endemic violence and corruption.

Poppy farmers are taxed by Taliban militants who use the cash to help fund their insurgency against the government and NATO forces, according to the UNODC.

The poppies, which provide huge profits in one of the world's poorest countries, also play a large part in the corruption that plagues Afghan life.

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Garrett hopeful school reform will pass

FEDERAL Education Minister Peter Garrett is hopeful Labor's schools improvement plan can pass parliament before the election.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced extra funding of $14.5 billion will be pumped into schools from next year, with the commonwealth providing the bulk or 65 per cent.

Mr Garrett denied accusations from some state premiers that they got the key details of the federal government's offer from the Sunday press conference.

"I think it's absolutely important that we put to bed this notion that the states had no idea what was coming on Sunday. That was not the case," he told ABC TV.

Ms Gillard will meet with state and territory leaders in Canberra on Friday to thrash out a formal agreement on measures due to start next year but will face strong resistance from some state premiers.

"I believe we can get legislation through bringing these education reforms into place... before (parliament) rises," Mr Garrett said, adding that it was subject to negotiations with the state and non-government schools sector.

He admitted that loadings for students with disabilities and migrant students who don't have English as a first language were yet to be worked out.

On Saturday, the federal government announced the introduction of a two per cent efficiency dividend on university funding in 2014 and 1.25 per cent the next year, saving about $900 million.

Asked if the federal government would have to legislate the university cuts, Mr Garrett said it was a matter for Tertiary Education Minister Craig Emerson.

Some universities have complained the first they heard about the efficiency dividend was at a press conference on Saturday, but Mr Garrett maintained Dr Emerson had held consultations.

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First Bloke in charity ride 'wobble'

THE first bloke's bid to lead a motorbike convoy on a charity ride from Sydney to Canberra almost ended in drama on Sunday when he came close to tumbling off his bike.

Setting off from Kirribilli House on Sunday morning, the prime minister's partner, Tim Mathieson, led the bikers down the road to the nation's capital to raise money for former child slaves.

On the way, Mr Mathieson's motorcycle reportedly left the ground and crashed into a kerb, but thankfully righted itself in the nick of time.

A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed Mr Mathieson "had a wobble" at one point on the ride, but didn't fall off.

The riders raised about $40,000 for Hagar, a charity that works with women and children who have survived trafficking and sexual abuse.

Mr Mathieson told reporters he hoped the event "next year will be bigger and better".

He said he got a first hand look at Hagar's work when he visited Cambodia two weeks ago.

"They just bring people back into the real world after horrendous things have happened to them," he said.

Hagar Australia CEO Kate Kennedy said the money raised on Sunday would be enough to put 60 boys through the Hagar Catch Up School in Cambodia for one year.

The organisation's Australian arm also works in Afghanistan and Vietnam where it offers counselling and education.

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Injured climber airlifted to NSW hospital

A ROCK climber who broke both his ankles after falling down a cliff in the Blue Mountains has been airlifted to hospital.

The man, 27, was climbing a rock face at Leura when he fell around 1pm (AEST) on Sunday, landing about 50 metres from the base.

Police say the man broke both his ankles in the 15-metre fall.

An off-duty doctor abseiled down the cliff face to the injured climber and managed to puts his legs in splints.

Paramedics later assessed the climber and he was then taken by helicopter to hospital.

His climbing equipment is being examined.

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Roadside bomb kills Pakistan politician

A bomb blast on a bus in Pakistan has killed at least nine people. Source: AAP

A ROADSIDE bomb in restive northwest Pakistan has killed a political party official as he travelled to a campaign meeting, a month before the country votes in a historic general election.

The blast on Sunday in the Swat valley, which was ruled by the Pakistani Taliban during a 2007-2009 insurgency, comes a day after militants blew up the office of an independent candidate in North Waziristan tribal district.

The attacks will fuel concerns that violence will mar the national and regional elections on May 11, which will mark the country's first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has served a full term in office.

Sunday's blast killed a local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), which ruled the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from 2008 until assemblies were dissolved last month for elections.

"Mukarram Shah, a local leader of ANP, was travelling to Mingora when his vehicle was targeted by an IED (improvised explosive device), around 12 kilometres northeast of Mingora city," Gul Afzal Afridi, the district police chief said.

Shah was alone in his car and no-one else was hit by the explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Pakistani Taliban have targeted a number of top ANP figures in recent months, assassinating the number two in the provincial government in December.

The militants claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on an ANP rally on March 31 that killed two people and have warned they will strike again.

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Gunmen attack Somali court complex: report

GUNMEN have stormed the main court complex in Somalia's capital, firing guns and detonating two blasts, witnesses say.

Yusuf Abdi, who was near the court when the attack happened on Sunday morning, said that armed men forced their way inside and immediately set off an explosion.

A government spokesman, Mohamed Yusuf, confirmed the attack and said security forces had responded and were battling the militants.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene reported hearing a second explosion and said gunmen were on top of a court building, firing their weapons.

No casualty toll was immediately available because the fighting was ongoing.

Most militant attacks in Mogadishu are blamed on fighters for the Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab.

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14th Iraqi local polls candidate killed

A ROADSIDE bomb has killed an Iraqi provincial elections candidate and three other people north of Baghdad, bringing the number of candidates killed in attacks to 14.

Najm al-Harbi was travelling to Baquba on a highway in Diyala province in his personal vehicle on Sunday when the bomb exploded, killing him, two of his brothers and a bodyguard, a police lieutenant colonel and a doctor said.

An official from Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak's office confirmed Harbi's death, and said he was the head of the deputy premier's list in Diyala province.

Harbi's killing comes a day after Hatim Mohammed al-Dulaimi, a candidate for Salaheddin provincial council, was shot dead by gunmen near his home in Baiji, north of the Iraqi capital.

Soldiers and policemen cast their ballots for the provincial elections on Saturday, a week ahead of the main vote, the country's first since March 2010 parliamentary polls.

The election comes amid an uptick in violence and a long-running political crisis between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and several of his erstwhile government partners.

The credibility of the elections has been drawn into question following deadly attacks on candidates and a government decision to partly postpone voting that means only 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces will take part.

More than 8000 candidates are standing in the elections, with 378 seats on provincial councils up for grabs.

An estimated 16.2 million Iraqis are eligible to vote, among them about 650,000 members of the security forces.

Although security has markedly improved since the height of Iraq's sectarian conflict, 271 people were killed in March, making it the deadliest month since August, according to Agence France-Presse figures.

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