Bright poll day ends in chaos for Abbott

TONY Abbott started in God's country, but has passed through hell before a likely finish in election paradise.

The targeting of Labor's southern Sydney seat of Barton backfired spectacularly on the opposition leader, who had to be whisked away by security after being jostled by angry protesters.

As soon as he stepped out of his car at Athelstane Public School at Arncliffe, Mr Abbott was surrounded by Labor faithful, refugee supporters and backers of a local independent.

He could barely move in the crush, as protesters screamed "you're not welcome here Tony - f*** off!", "go away Tony" and "shame Tony shame".

The opposition leader tried to soldier on, as Liberal supporters countered the abuse with their own chants of "Tony, Tony".

But after five minutes, security staff were forced to put a stop to the increasingly rowdy polling booth visit, ushering a rattled Mr Abbott through the throng and back into his car.

The debacle at the school - in outgoing Labor MP Robert McClelland's seat - was a rare blemish in the coalition's five-week campaign.

The opposition leader voted just after 8am at Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club, flanked by an at times emotional wife Margie, and daughters Bridget, Frances and Louise.

"The rhythm of life is always better on the beach, isn't it?" Mr Abbott said as he mingled with well-wishers on the glorious spring morning.

Asked who he had voted for, an upbeat Mr Abbott couldn't resist a joke at his expense.

"It's a secret ballot," he said.

Not everyone on Sydney's northern beaches was welcoming of Australia's possible next PM.

"F*** Tony Abbott. F*** that s***," said one women as she walked from the Freshwater polling booth.

Another woman held up a sign "TONY ABBOTT SEXIST RACIST BIGOT".

"Don't go there Australia," she repeatedly yelled out.

"This is the 21st century, not the 1950s."

Later, Mr Abbott handed out how-to-vote cards at Maroubra Junction Public School, in a last-minute show of support for Kingsford Smith candidate Michael Feneley.

The coalition are hoping to snatch the once safe Labor seat in southeast Sydney, vacated by Peter Garrett.

"It's a beautiful day for a spring clean," one Liberal volunteer told him.

"Absolutely," the opposition leader agreed.

"For a clean out of our parliament."

Labor's candidate, former Senator Matt Thistlethwaite, handed out how-to-vote cards nearby.

The morning was "going well" he said, but added: "It's going to be tight".

"We're not taking it for granted, and we're campaigning as hard as we can," he told AAP.

Asked if he minded being targeted by Mr Abbott, he said: "No."

"Welcome to paradise mate."

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Indian police kill 3 Kashmir militants

INDIAN police say they have killed three alleged militants who attacked one of their compounds in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Inspector General Nalin Prabhat said on Saturday officers were retaliating after the three opened fire on a police camp in Shopain district, about 50 kilometres south of Srinagar, the main city in the Indian portion of Kashmir.

Two civilians, both men in their 20s, were injured during the shooting, Prabhat said.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, with separatists in Indian-held Kashmir demanding independence or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

The area around Srinagar is under tight security amid separatist calls for a strike to protest a Bavarian orchestra's concert with renowned conductor Zubin Mehta.

The separatists say the concert serves to divert attention from Kashmir's problems.

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250 infants die in month at India hospital

AT least 31 infants have died at a state-run hospital in eastern India over the past four days, according to news reports.

The latest casualties take the number of deaths at the BC Roy Post-Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences in West Bengal over the past month to more than 250, NDTV news channel reported on Saturday.

Angry parents are blaming hospital authorities for mismanagement.

Doctors at the hospital say most of the children who died were referred to their institute in critical state.

Tridib Banerjee, chairman of West Bengal government's task force on health, has also rejected the allegations of negligence.

"Sometimes patients cannot be saved as they come in critical condition. There is not a single case of negligence," Banerjee was quoted as saying on Saturday.

In October 2012, a total of 18 infants died in the same hospital in the space of 48 hours.

The government at the time conducted a probe which absolved the hospital of negligence and suggested new facilities be added.

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Egypt launches offensive in Sinai

EGYPTIAN helicopters and tanks are attacking Islamic militants in villages in the northern Sinai Peninsula, military sources say.

"Dozens" are said to have been killed or wounded.

The Saturday assault came after Egypt deployed a column of armoured vehicles and trucks carrying infantry into the region, a militant stronghold, in a major new counterinsurgency offensive, an official told the Associated Press.

He said columns of smoke could be seen rising from several villages near the towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweyid on the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media.

Multiple al-Qaeda-inspired militant groups have stepped up attacks against security forces in the Sinai since the ouster of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi on July 3.

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Carr pays tribute to war dead in Russia

BOB Carr says he's honoured that his last official duty as foreign minister was to pay tribute to Russian lives lost during the World War II siege of Leningrad.

The keen war historian on Saturday visited the Piskariovksoye memorial cemetery in St Petersburg where almost 500,000 people who died during the siege are buried in mass graves.

"I'm deeply honoured that my last official duty as foreign minister has been to come to this site and pay an official and deeply-meant Australian tribute to the war dead of Russia," Senator Carr told reporters.

"I couldn't think of a sweeter, sadder task to be engaged in."

The foreign minister said it was sweet because he'd been able to tell Russian officials that people in Australia still commemorated their "colossal sufferings".

It was obviously sad, he added, due to the lives truncated "by the madness of Hitler's aggression".

After laying the wreath Senator Carr was given a guided tour of the memorial's museum during which time he took notes in a small notebook.

The city was completely blockaded by September 1941 with Hitler vowing to wipe it off the face of the earth.

More than a million civilians died during the siege and almost the same number of soldiers perished on the battlefield defending the city.

Some 420,000 civilians who died from hunger, bombing and shelling are buried at Piskaryovskoye along with 70,000 soldiers.

Senator Carr said Australians living through the Second World War read in their newspapers the stories of the siege.

"The scale and depth of the suffering renders the battle of Leningrad special to anyone who reflects on what the war means," he said, adding that despite himself reading about the battle he was "ill prepared for a site where mass graves hold the remains of half-a-million people".

In the cemetery's guest book the foreign minister made the point that the battle's memorial reminded people that "most of our concerns are pretty trivial".

Senator Carr has been in Russia representing Australia at the G20 leaders' summit.

Labor MPs say it's clear the coalition has won Saturday's federal election.

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Xenophon launches attack on the Greens

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has accused the Greens of lying over his preference deals. Source: AAP

INDEPENDENT Senator Nick Xenophon has launched a stinging attack on the Australian Greens, accusing the party of lying over his preference deals.

On the eve of the federal poll, Senator Xenophon said he would "rather lose an election than lie."

"By only telling half the truth the Greens are telling a lie," the South Australian senator told reporters on Friday.

His comments continued his stoush with the Greens which has been waging for most of the election campaign after the two groups failed to do a deal on preferences in the state.

SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young probably needs Senator Xenophon's help to retain her seat in the parliament.

He has decided instead to split his preferences between the Liberal and Labor parties.

Senator Hanson-Young says that gives the Liberals the opportunity to take a third Senate seat in SA and possibly take control of the upper house.

"Nick Xenophon has done the wrong thing in this election campaign," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"He is giving (opposition leader) Tony Abbott the opportunity to take another seat.

"I know Nick's been a bit upset about me going and telling the truth. The fact is I wanted to work with Nick ... he decided to work with Tony Abbott."

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie backed Senator Xenophon, saying the Greens were running a misleading campaign about the hardworking South Australian.

"I've worked closely with Nick Xenophon over the past three years and I know for a fact that he is fiercely Independent and not beholden to anyone," Mr Wilkie said in a statement.

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North and South Korea restore hotline

NORTH Korea and South Korea have reopened a cross-border military hotline, paving the way for the reopening of their shared Kaesong industrial complex, officials in Seoul say.

"The first test call was successfully made between the two Koreas this morning," said an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday.

The call was made after the two sides agreed on Thursday to restore the telephone and fax lines used for cross-border communications, which North Korea shut down on March 27.

Kaesong has been shuttered for the past 163 days amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.

The two Koreas agreed in August to work towards reopening the Kaesong industrial complex, which hosted 123 South Korean factories and employed more than 53,000 North Korean labourers before Pyongyang closed it in April.

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Man groomed fake 14-year-old girl online

A Sydney man has been charged with child grooming after police posed as a 14-year-old girl online. Source: AAP

A SYDNEY man has been charged with child grooming after police posed as a 14-year-old girl online and arranged to meet with him for sex.

The 36-year-old man was arrested in Parramatta on Friday after detectives allegedly struck up multiple conversations with him under the online identity of a teenager.

During the interactions the man made sexually explicit comments and arranged to meet her to engage in sexual activity, police said.

Following his arrest, they searched a home in Pennant Hills and seized computers, a smart phone and other computer equipment.

Authorities said they were first alerted to the man's suspicious online activity by the Australian Federal Police and National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US.

A police spokesman would not provide AAP with details of the nature of the intelligence that led to the investigation.

The man has been charged with using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 years of age for sexual activity.

He was given conditional bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on October 16.

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Australia right to back Syria strike: Carr

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has denied Australia was too quick to back a strike against Syria as US President Barack Obama struggles to persuade other world leaders to support punitive military action.

Leaders meeting at the G20 summit in St Petersburg have failed to bridge their bitter divisions over the US plan with Russian President Vladimir Putin steadfastly opposing any intervention.

Mr Putin is supported by China and even the European Union, which argues a strike isn't the answer.

Senator Carr, however, rejects any suggestion Australia is on the wrong side of the argument.

"No these (issues) are all still very much being discussed," he told AAP on Friday in St Petersburg.

"The position we adopted was correct. Chemical weapons use produces mass atrocity crimes.

"If the world doesn't respond in a way that's appropriate and proportionate, then other dictators will think they can gas children."

Eight G20 countries on Friday accepted Australia's plan for a medical pact for Syria.

It would allow medicines to be distributed throughout government and anti-government zones, and protect hospitals and their staff everywhere.

The sick and wounded would be guaranteed safe evacuation from war-torn regions.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon attended Friday's medical pact meeting.

"We look forward to the UN (now) adopting these provisions and getting agreement in Syria for the different forces to adhere to it," Senator Carr said afterwards.

Securing backing for the plan was a win for Australian diplomacy, but more importantly, a move towards humanitarian relief for people suffering in Syria, the foreign minister said.

Earlier he revealed a late-night dinner on Thursday failed to bring divided world leaders closer to a consensus on possible military action.

"All countries expressed their views, there was no consensus and there was no hope of movement from the UN Security Council," Senator Carr said.

Canberra's assessment of the evidence out of Syria is that President Bashar al-Assad's regime did use chemical weapons against its own people.

Senator Carr has reiterated Australia's in-principle support for a limited US air strike that doesn't involve boots on the ground.

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US drone kills senior militant commander

A US drone strike has killed a senior commander in the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, wanted for kidnappings and sending hundreds of foreign fighters into Afghanistan, Pakistanis say.

Mullah Sangeen Zadran, whom the US blacklisted as a terrorist in August 2011, was among six Haqqani network fighters killed in the overnight strike in North Waziristan.

Two announcements made by mosque loudspeaker in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, said his funeral would take place at 3pm local time on Friday.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirmed his death and said an Arab fighter was also among the dead.

Meanwhile the government called for an end to the US drone campaign in its tribal regions following the strike.

"The government strongly condemns the US drone strike," the foreign ministry said.

The Haqqani network, one of the Afghan Taliban factions, is considered the deadliest of all militant groups operating in the region, and blamed for many lethal attacks in Afghanistan.

The group, which has links to al-Qaeda, has bases in Pakistan and launches cross-border strikes against international forces.

The latest attack was the second in Pakistan's tribal regions since US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Islamabad earlier this year, in which he said drone campaign could end "very soon".

"These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the foreign ministry said on Friday.

"Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations."

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Fog causes 100-car pile up on UK road

A 100-VEHICLE pile-up on a bridge in heavy fog in England has left at least six people seriously injured and 200 suffering minor injuries in what witnesses described as "carnage".

No one is believed to have died in the crash on the new Sheppey crossing bridge in Kent. It started around 7.15am local time and continued for 10 minutes as cars and lorries crashed into each other in visibility that was down to 20 metres.

There were reports of some motorists driving "like idiots" in the conditions before the crash that completely closed the A249 that goes over the bridge.

The scene was full of buckled cars, lorries and even a car transporter as people waited at the side of the road to receive help from the emergency services.

It was reported that people were trapped and a fleet of 30 ambulances and response vehicles went to the scene, with some casualties receiving treatment at the roadside.

Witness Martin Stammers, 45, from Minster, told Kent Online: "It's horrific. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

"All you could hear was cars crashing. We got out of our car and it was eerily quiet, with visibility down to just 20 yards."

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "There are no fatalities but ambulance crews are dealing with a large number of walking wounded casualties. Firefighters have used hydraulic cutting equipment to release five people from their vehicles.

Kent Police said there were collisions at the top of the bridge and at the foot of the approach to it.

A lorry driver who saw the start of the accident used his truck to block the entrance to the bridge and stop more cars piling into the crash, a witness said.

A driver involved in the crash, Chris Buckingham, told Sky News: "There was somebody, from what I've been told by the police there at the scene, who actually witnessed the first part of the accident, a lorry driver.

"He was going the other way and what he managed to do, which has probably saved lives, is he's gone down to the end of the carriageway, gone across the roundabout and actually blocked off the road so no more cars could actually enter the dual carriageway before the emergency services got there.

"Whoever that guy is I'd like to shake his hand because he's probably saved lives today."

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Three NSW men charged with drug offences

THREE men have been charged with drug offences, with one man arrested at Sydney Airport on his return to Australia.

An arrest warrant was granted for a 30-year-old man who was overseas on June 18.

It came after police had raided a home in the western Sydney suburb of Pemulwuy on the same day.

Officers seized 270 MDMA tablets, 112 grams of methamphetamine (also known as ice), cash and several items deemed to be proceeds of crime.

The man was arrested as he returned to Australia from Macedonia at Sydney Airport on Wednesday.

He was charged with a long list of drug offences including supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

He was refused bail and will reappear before Central Local Court on September 26.

In a separate case, police caught a 40-year-old man in a car on Wednesday in possession of 2.28kg of cannabis.

He was charged with drug offences, refused bail and will appear before Parramatta Local Court on September 26.

Another man was caught with 1kg of amphetamine after police stopped a car in Seven Hills on May 2.

The 32-year-old was charged with numerous drug offences.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear before Parramatta Local Court on September 26.

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Coalition cuts aid, jobs to cover budget

The coalition's budget is under fire for cutting aid, public service and water buybacks. Source: AAP

AN Abbott government would cut foreign aid and Murray-Darling water buybacks, on top of scrapping the mining and carbon taxes to improve the budget and pay off some Labor debt.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey unveiled the coalition's election policy costings on Thursday, two days before Australians go to the polls.

While Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the figures proved Kevin Rudd's claims of a coalition $70 billion black hole were just "hyperventilation," the prime minister remained adamant the cuts will damage Australia.

"The Australian people are left completely in the dark on how his massive cuts will hurt their jobs, hurt the economy and even risk the possibility of a recession," Mr Rudd said.

The coalition found $40 billion in savings over four years and would deliver a budget bottom line $6 billion better than Labor's and reduce gross debt by $16 billion.

But Mr Hockey didn't commit to Labor's timeframe for a budget surplus in 2016/17.

"The sensible savings are part of a carefully crafted plan for a stronger economy," he said.

"At the same time as cutting waste, the coalition will scrap the carbon and mining taxes, reduce the tax and red-tape burden on small business and deliver desperately needed roads, bridges and freight rail projects."

But aid groups were angered by plans to cut $4.5 billion over four years from foreign aid and development assistance and divert the funds to major road projects in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

"Mr Hockey may well wish to argue the economy will grow faster under a coalition, but his costings are at the expense of children's lives," UNICEF Australia chief Norman Gillespie said.

And the plan to "re-phase" Murray-Darling water buybacks to save $650 million over four years has angered South Australian premier Jay Wetherill who has accused Mr Abbott of walking away from the state.

"Tony Abbott has decided he can win this election without South Australia," Mr Wetherill said.

Greens water spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said it would "devastate the lower Murray".

The coalition believes scrapping the carbon tax will add $1 billion to economic activity.

"Stopping the boats" will save a further $1 billion, although this assumption hasn't been endorsed by the Parliamentary Budget Office and is a coalition estimate.

On top of shedding 12,000 public service jobs, the coalition want more savings from the government sector and will seek a 0.25 per cent across the board saving - targeting advertising, consultancies and travel - to reap about $400 million.

Mr Abbott earlier said the cost of the coalition's broadband plan or Direct Action climate plan had been reassessed since their first release and he believed the figures - like those for other savings - were "bulletproof".

Mr Rudd said there would be more cuts from the coalition's proposed post-election commission of audit - which Mr Abbott says will "go through the whole of the administration".

A similar audit commissioned by John Howard in 1996 took $43 billion out of the economy.

The coalition looks set to win Saturday's election on a net gain of at least four seats and by as many as 20.

Mr Abbott asked voters not to support independents and minor parties.

"If you vote for an independent, a celebrity, or a minor party, effectively you are voting for another hung parliament and another circus. That's the last thing anyone should want," Mr Abbott said.

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Cuts at core of coalition foreign policy

The coalition's foreign affairs policy includes delaying increases to Australia's aid spending. Source: AAP

CUTS to aid commitments are at the heart of the coalition's foreign policy which also plans to review Australia's off-shore consular services within months if the party comes to power.

The coalition on Thursday released its foreign affairs plan, taking a swipe at the government for its mismanagement of diplomatic spending, including the budget for Australia's successful bid for a United Nations Security Council position.

"We are not satisfied with either the quality of governance of the program, nor the strategic priorities, which were skewed by Labor's campaign for the UN Security Council seat," the policy says.

The coalition cited an independent report that said Australia's Millennium Development goal to up-scale foreign aid spending to 0.5 per cent of gross national income (GNI) should be subject to fiscal "hurdles".

Labor has most recently promised Australia will reach the target by 2017/18, pushed back two years from its initial commitment.

While remaining committed to the 0.5 per cent target, the coalition statement cited concern "about the rapid increase in foreign aid".

"It is not possible to commit to a date, given the current state of the federal budget after six years of Labor debt and deficit."

A coalition would instead index future increases to the consumer price index, saving $4.5 billion.

The move attracted criticism from welfare groups including Unicef, which said the measures "are at the expense of children's lives".

"This decision has wiped out a generation of youth idealism, and broken the hearts of Australians who dare to care about people beyond our borders," World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello said in a statement.

The coalition policy also plans a review of diplomatic resources by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to report back within six months.

Hinting at cutbacks to Australia's off-shore consular services, the review aims to "ensure Australia's global diplomatic network is consistent with our interests".

The policy highlights the importance of Australia's relations with its regional neighbours and acknowledges the largest recipient of the country's aid, Papua New Guinea, which "will remain a particular priority".

The coalition names Australia's "key partners" as the US, Indonesia, Japan, China and India.

It also champions the New Colombo Plan, which encourages young Australians to take up study opportunities in Asia and thus build stronger links with the region.

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iPhone set to dominate this year: report

The iPhone is set to dominate Australian smartphone sales over the next 12 months, reports predicts. Source: AAP

APPLE'S iPhone is set to dominate Australian smartphone sales over the next 12 months, a report predicts.

Roy Morgan researchers talked to 1900 people who plan to upgrade their phone in the next 12 months.

Thirty-nine per cent say they plan to get an iPhone.

By comparison, 21 per cent say they will buy a Samsung phone and four per cent say they fancy a HTC.

Just five per cent say they plan to buy a Nokia - worrying news for Microsoft, which this week bought the company's handset business for $A5.6 billion.

George Pesutto, Roy Morgan's head of media and communications, says much of Apple's predicted success can be explained by the "multiplier effect" whereby customers own several Apple devices which all work together and thereby encourage customers to stick with the company.

Two thirds of the respondents who say they will buy a new iPhone already have one.

Pesutto says interest in buying new models might increase in the lead-up to the expected release of new iPhones this month.

Pundits expect the company to unveil two new models on September 10.

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Vic man exposed himself to teens

POLICE are looking for a Victorian man who has been exposing himself to teenage girls.

Officers believe the same offender is responsible for at least three incidents in Rosebud with the first reported on March 15 and the most recent on August 30.

It is believed that a man approaches teenage girls in suburban streets, propositions them and then exposes himself.

He is perceived to be of southern European appearance, between 30 to 40 years old, up to 184 centimetres tall and with a medium build.

Police have released an image of a man that they believe may be able to assist with their investigation.

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Vic man exposed himself to teens

POLICE are looking for a Victorian man who has been exposing himself to teenage girls.

Officers believe the same offender is responsible for at least three incidents in Rosebud with the first reported on March 15 and the most recent on August 30.

It is believed that a man approaches teenage girls in suburban streets, propositions them and then exposes himself.

He is perceived to be of southern European appearance, between 30 to 40 years old, up to 184 centimetres tall and with a medium build.

Police have released an image of a man that they believe may be able to assist with their investigation.

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No surprise rate cut ahead of poll

The RBA says the cash rate is appropriate for an economy expected to continue to grow below trend. Source: AAP

THE central bank expects the economy will continue to grow below trend for a while but has refrained from cutting the cash rate again just days out from the federal election.

As widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate unchanged at Tuesday's board meeting after cutting it to an all-time low of 2.5 per cent in early August - at the start of the five-week election campaign.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens said the board judged that the setting of monetary policy remained "appropriate", but the bank would continue to keep an eye on the economy in coming months so that inflation remained within its two to three per cent target band.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the steady rate outcome was good news for Australian home buyers and businesses.

"I think it is an important consideration when you look at overall cost of living pressures," Mr Rudd told reporters in Launceston.

Mr Stevens said the economy has been growing a bit below trend over the past year.

"This is expected to continue in the near term as the economy adjusts to lower levels of mining investment," he said in statement.

Even so, Mr Rudd said the Australian economy was still one of the strongest in the world, with relatively low unemployment and a triple-A rating from all three major credit agencies.

He said there has been a lack of clarity from the coalition in its attacks on the government's economic record.

"If you listened to them and walked off the planet Mars you would think that the economy was about to fall apart by tomorrow lunch time," he said.

Economists expect Wednesday's national accounts for the June quarter will show the economy expanding at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent, below a trend pace above three per cent.

Final components to the gross domestic product (GDP) outcome that was released on Tuesday showed exports making no contribution to growth, when a modest input was expected, while government spending was slightly stronger than forecast.

RBC Capital Markets head of strategy Su-Lin Ong expects the details of national accounts will likely tell a story of tepid domestic demand.

Such weak activity looks set to continue into the September quarter with retail spending data released for July growing by just 0.1 per cent to $21.8 billion, with a notable 7.9 per cent drop in department store sales in the month.

Ms Ong said the result was disappointing, having expected a temporary boost from the government's twice-yearly school kids bonus paid in June to have provided some offset in July to higher fuel prices, a mild winter, and lacklustre confidence.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said retailers will be hoping for a majority government come polling day.

"Consumers and businesses need a strong and stable government with pro-business consistent policies in order to allow consumers to regain the confidence to spend," Mr Zimmerman said in a statement.

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Historic Sydney bells get their voice back

THEY might be 140 years old but the bells in Sydney's oldest clocktower still have some lungs on them.

The Sydney Town Hall carillon stopped chiming in March last year, after it was cocooned in cloth ahead of restorative work.

But on Tuesday, after more than 530 days sitting in silence, its time-markers tolled once more.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said stonemasons used centuries-old techniques to chisel and carve about 26 cubic metres of sandstone to replace damaged pieces of the historic clocktower.

"I climbed the scaffolding with the team to see their expert craft-work up close - it will be terrific to see it revealed once more, the bells ringing again and beautifully restored for generations to come," she said in a statement.

The town hall and clocktower were built between 1869 and 1889 from Pyrmont sandstone.

While the same stone has been used, slight colour differences can be seen between the old and the new.

The restoration included steel reinforcements to brace the structure against earthquakes and the removal of asbestos.

The bells will be muted again to allow workers to remove the remaining scaffolding, with the job expected to be finished next month.

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Dennis Rodman returns to North Korea

FORMER NBA star Dennis Rodman has arrived back in Pyongyang, Chinese state media report, after he said he was going to see his "friend" North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, whose regime has jailed a US citizen.

Korean-American Kenneth Bae, 44, has been held prisoner in the North since November, and Rodman said last week that he might seek the man's release.

But speaking to reporters on Tuesday at Beijing airport en route to the North Korean capital, Rodman said "I haven't been promised anything" on Bae.

"I'm just going to meet my friend Kim the marshal to start a new basketball league going," Rodman said. "I'm just trying to keep the communication job going."

China's official news agency Xinhua later reported that Rodman had arrived in Pyongyang, where he had been invited by the North's sports authority.

On a visit six months ago, the flamboyant Rodman declared himself a "friend for life" of the authoritarian leader and embraced him after the pair watched a basketball game together in Pyongyang.

The Swiss-educated Kim, who is around 30, is reported to be a huge basketball fan and in particular the Chicago Bulls, with whom Rodman won three NBA titles alongside Michael Jordan in the 1990s.

Rodman faced ridicule from many US commentators over the first trip, which came during high tensions over rocket launches and atomic tests by Kim's isolated regime.

At the time, in an enthusiastic commentary on the Kim-Rodman meeting, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Rodman - nicknamed "The Worm" - as saying the impasse in US-North Korean relations was "regrettable".

North Korea and the US have never had diplomatic ties.

A US envoy had been due to travel to North Korea last week to seek Bae's release, but Washington said Pyongyang cancelled the invitation at short notice. KCNA quoted the North's foreign ministry as saying joint US-South Korean military drills had "beclouded the atmosphere".

Bae, a Korean-American tour operator whose Korean name is Pae Jun-ho, was arrested in November 2012 as he entered the hardline communist state's northeastern port city of Rason.

North Korea, which bans religious proselytising, said Bae was a Christian evangelist who brought in "inflammatory" material.

He was sentenced to 15 years hard labour earlier this year on charges that he was trying to topple the North Korea regime, and speculation has mounted that Rodman would try to use his budding friendship with Kim to help free the jailed American.

"I'll be back over there. I'm going to try to get the guy out," the heavily tattooed Rodman told celebrity news website TMZ in May.

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