ADF troops say war is all about your mates

It was fellow soldiers who made the time in Afghanistan worthwhile, an Australian soldier says. Source: AAP

IT was his fellow soldiers who made the time in Afghanistan worthwhile, a soldier says.

At an official welcome home parade held for about 250 Australian Defence Force personnel in Darwin on Saturday, Captain George Minns reflected on his last tour of Uruzgan province.

As the Second Cavalry Regiment Taskforce helped wind down activity in Tarin Kowt and hand over to the Afghan National Army (ANA), everything seemed different, he said.

"It really started to get to the circle the wagons stage, because you had to maintain that ability to provide security while seeing off those last few tasks," he told AAP.

"It was quite eerie."

His second tour of Afghanistan ran for the second half of last year as the ADF prepared to leave, and he saw no trouble.

"For me the trip was pretty quiet; no one tried to shoot us, no one tried to blow us up.

"We knew activity had dropped off significantly but we still expected something - someone at some point having a crack. But it didn't happen."

Sapper Robert Muraru, preparing to march with his explosives detection dog Chipper, said he didn't detect much hostility from the locals.

"Some of them didn't like us there, (but) when we were patrolling through villages most of them would come out and wave at us," he said.

On Saturday, he faced a more welcoming crowd as friends, family and the wider Darwin community lined the streets as troops marched to applause and flag-waving.

About two dozen veterans on motorcycles staked out a strip along a main street, their leather vests proclaiming them proud returned servicemen.

"This is my spot now," said one man who identified himself as Bronco, who left the army last year.

"We're here not for us but to support the troops."

Sam Kav of the Military Brotherhood, a social group for veterans and current serving members, said support was crucial for those returning from deployment.

"A lot of people find it hard to transition from the military to the civilian world, and we provide that link to allow us to integrate back into society," he said.

Mateship was key, Captain Minns agreed.

"The best bit was always the people you're sharing the experience with and that's always true of the experience in the army in general: it's the mates that make or break it."

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Seaweed could aid weight battle

Tests show that alginate, found in a natural seaweed fibre can prevent the body absorbing fat. Source: AAP

FAT-BUSTING seaweed could be the future of slimming after scientists identified a natural seaweed fibre that prevents the body absorbing fat.

Tests show that alginate, found in sea kelp, can suppress the digestion of fat in the gut.

Researchers investigated the ability of alginate to reduce fat breakdown by a digestive enzyme, pancreatic lipase.

Blocking the action of the enzyme results in lower amounts of fat being absorbed by the body.

"We have already added alginate to bread and initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging," Professor Jeff Pearson, from the University of Newcastle's Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, said.

"Now the next step is to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective they are when eaten as part of a normal diet."

The researchers found that alginates containing more of a sugar molecule called guluronate were best at blocking fat digestion.

They compiled a list of the most promising seaweeds, including a brown sea kelp known as "tangle" or "cuvie", bladderwrack, and bull kelp.

The findings, published in the journal Food Chemistry, showed that a four-fold increase in one type of tangle alginate boosted anti-fat absorption activity by 75 per cent.

Dietary fibre avoided the side effects of conventional anti-obesity drugs that inhibit enzyme activity, said the researchers.

They wrote: "The inclusion of an alginate into foods ... has the potential to reduce the intake of dietary triacylglycerol (fat) and could greatly help in weight management."

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SA man drowns in Torrens River

THE body of a 51-year-old Adelaide man has been found floating in the River Torrens.

Police were called to the Torrens at 2.20pm (CST) on Saturday after a Netley man was reportedly seen swimming in the river, trying to retrieve a remote-controlled boat.

Witnesses saw the man go under water and never resurface.

The man's body was discovered with the assistance of Police Water Operations before 4.30pm (CST).

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Man dies in fatal crash

A MAN has died in a fatal road crash on the NSW far north coast.

The 44 year old died at the scene when his vehicle left the road and hit a tree after crashing down an embankment at George Bass Drive, Malua Bay early on Saturday afternoon, police say.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

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Putin targeted at Mardi Gras parade

Activists at the 2014 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin. Source: AAP

SYDNEY'S gay and lesbian Mardi Gras has taken aim at Russia for its anti-homosexual propaganda laws, with a parade aimed at showing the regime's discriminatory polices won't float with an Australian audience.

Amid the bright lights, dancing surf life savers, bikies and angels at the 37th annual parade stood a ten-foot, bobble-headed Vladimir Putin float.

"I am very much so proud to be part of this float," said Tim, who didn't give a last name, on whose shoulders rested the Russian president's massive head.

"I think it'd be a great opportunity to protest anti-gay laws, so I wanted to be part of it myself."

While the float - titled From Russia with Love - condemned Russia's views, it was also used to send love to the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Sydney's Hyde Park was teeming on Saturday night with hundreds of thousands of revellers dressed in a rainbow of colours - everything from gay pride cowboy dancers to bright blue cast members from the movie Avatar.

Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said before the parade that the event, which is known for its fun, was still capable of stirring up political debate.

"There's room for very serious political comment in Mardi Gras," she said.

"Everyone is quite alarmed about what's happening in Russia, what's happening in Nigeria and Pakistan.

"This is a global event, the biggest of its kind in the world and it's good to make those statements."

Actress and comedian Magda Szubanski says while Australia is more tolerant towards homosexuality, it is not smooth sailing.

"One recent study shows the incidents of attempted suicide among LGBTI youth is six times higher than in the straight community," she said.

"As much as it's important that we protest Sochi and what's going on in Russia, we have to be mindful that things aren't too great here.

"Speaking as a gay observer, things have a life of their own and at the moment there does seem to be a political focus."

This year's parade - the second largest event in Sydney after New Year's Eve - is bigger than in 2013, with a record 144 floats making the journey down Oxford and Flinders streets amid an estimated 10,000 marchers.

The footpaths of Oxford St were packed with an estimated 300,000 people pressing against barriers along a two kilometre stretch to see the parade.

The popular favourites Dykes on Bikes kicked off early celebrations with a roaring ride up and down Oxford at 7pm, warming the crowds up for the main event.

Among the parade's eccentric features was a nine-metre Strictly Mardi Gras trailer complete with a 98-member cast.

One of the forces behind the float, Strictly Ballroom director Baz Luhrmann, also attended the parade, along with performers Delta Goodrem and Tina Arena.

Federal MP Penny Wong also marched in the parade.

Extra police - those not on duty on the NSW police float - were deployed across the CBD to monitor the influx of visitors.

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Refugee activists march in Sydney

REFUGEE activists have clashed with police in a peak-hour march through inner Sydney.

Riot police were called in as hundreds rallied along George Street on Friday evening chanting "Free, free the refugees".

At times the throngs spilled onto city roads, disrupting traffic and prompting physical confrontations with police.

The demonstration comes after the death of 23-year-old Reza Berati during violent clashes at Australia's Manus Island immigration detention centre.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul told the rally the Iranian's death would not be forgotten.

"They want to push it aside," he said. "They want it to be covered up in the lies and the cover-ups which are now under way on Manus Island.

"We are not going to allow that to happen."

The protesters have called for the Papua New Guinea facility to be shut down and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to step down.

"Scott Morrison, blood on your hands," they cried as the march approached the Immigration Department's Sydney headquarters.

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LNP members push for more wild river cuts

LIBERAL National Party members want more wild river protections to be wound back.

Office holders will vote on whether to forward the policy to the LNP government, along with 27 other proposals, at the party's state council meeting in Toowoomba this weekend.

The resolution calls for wild river declarations of the Gregory and Staaten catchments, in the gulf, be rescinded.

Plans are already underway to revoke six other declarations across northern and western Queensland, with new protections to be offered under regional plans.

Other resolutions include increasing sentences by up to 100 per cent where alcohol and drugs were a contributing factor to the crime.

The Queensland Core Skills test should be aborted from 2014, and soon-to-be mothers should receive more support via social media and phone calls to decrease anxiety and depression.

There are a number of recommendations to reduce the cost of living, which was one of the LNP's election pledges.

Land rental on leasehold land should be frozen while a review to overhaul the system is undertaken, and solar feed in tariffs for any new customers should be immediately removed.

The existing solar feed in tariff scheme alone is now forecast to cost on average each customer, in 2015/16, around $276 per year.

Premier Campbell Newman and LNP president Bruce McIver will speak at the event on Saturday, and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss will address the crowd on Sunday.

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China busts major baby trafficking ring

CHINESE police have rescued 382 abducted babies and arrested 1094 suspects in a national operation that busted four major internet-based baby trafficking rings, the Public Security Ministry says.

The operation came after police in Beijing and the eastern province of Jiangsu last year found four websites selling babies under the cover of adoption, the ministry said, adding that internet technologies have assisted baby traffickers by providing more secretive covers for their businesses.

Child abduction is a major problem in China despite punishments as harsh as the death sentence for traffickers, and national-level busts of trafficking rings have been frequent in recent years.

Strict laws that limit many families to one child, a traditional preference for boys, poverty and illicit profits drive a thriving market in babies and children.

To address the problem, China is considering tougher penalties for parents who sell their children, as well as for the buyers.

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Motorists suffer 'accident anxiety'

MOST motorists are suffering from "accident anxiety", and drivers aged 35-44 are the most worried, according to a survey.

As many as 79 per cent of those taking to the road are anxious about driving, the poll by Allianz Insurance found.

This concern is so great that 17 per cent of drivers have decided not to make a particular journey due to their worries.

Based on responses from 1000 people who drive regularly, the survey showed 83 per cent of drivers aged 35-44 get anxious on the road.

Overall, the biggest worry to drivers is tailgating, followed by road rage and uninsured drivers.

Of those who have accidents, 81 per cent said it was not their fault with 22 per cent saying they felt more worried, more stressed and less confident after a collision, with women being notably more worried than men after a crash.

Yet just seven per cent reckoned more driver training would be the answer.

Allianz Insurance chief executive Jon Dye said: "It's worrying to see that so many motorists feel they will have an accident, and yet so few feel more driver training would help. Drivers can only drive at their best if they feel calm and alert and not unduly worried about what other motorists are getting up to.

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GM adds 842,000 cars to ignition recall

GENERAL Motors on Tuesday doubled to 1.6 million the number of small cars it is recalling to fix faulty ignition switches linked to multiple fatal crashes.

Just two weeks ago, GM announced the recall of more than 780,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s. It's now adding 842,000 Saturn Ion compacts, Chevrolet HHR SUVs and Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars.

The company was immediately lambasted by a well-known safety advocate who says GM knew of the problem for years and waited too long to recall the cars even though people were killed because of the problem.

GM says a heavy key ring or jarring from rough roads can cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position and shut off the engine and electrical power. That can knock out power-assisted brakes and steering and disable the front airbags. The problem has been linked to 31 crashes and 13 front-seat deaths. In the fatalities, the airbags did not inflate, but the engines did not shut off in all cases, GM said.

The vehicles being recalled include: Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years; Saturn Ion compacts from 2003 through 2007; and Chevrolet HHR SUVs and Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars from 2006 and 2007. Most of the cars were sold in the US, Canada and Mexico.

According to a chronology of events that GM filed on Monday with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company knew of the problem as early as 2004, and was told of at least one fatal crash in March of 2007.

GM issued service bulletins in 2005 and 2006 telling dealers how to fix the problem with a key insert, and advising them to tell customers not to dangle too many items from their key chains. But the company's records showed that only 474 vehicle owners got the key inserts.

GM thought the service bulletin was sufficient because the car's steering and brakes were operable even after the engines lost power, according to the chronology.

By the end of 2007, GM knew of 10 cases in which Cobalts were in front-end crashes where the air bags didn't inflate, the chronology said.

"They knew by 2007 they had 10 incidents where the air bag didn't deploy in this type of crash," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Center for Auto Safety.

"This is a case where both GM and NHTSA should be held accountable for doing a recall no later than the spring of 2007."

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Woman gives birth on NY street

A British woman has given birth on a New york street after having her taxi stolen. Source: AAP

A BRITISH woman has given birth in the street in New York City - after a taxi she waved down to take her to hospital was swiped by a passer-by.

Polly McCourt, 39, hailed the cab on Monday with the help of the doorman to her apartment block in the city's Upper East Side after she realised she was going into labour.

"He was trying desperately to hail a cab and a lady walked out five metres in front and hailed a cab and got into it," she said from her hospital bed.

"And I went, 'No, that's my cab, I want that cab'."

Her husband Cian McCourt, 40, who reportedly works for a New York law firm, was stuck in traffic when he received the call and arrived just after his wife gave birth to their daughter in the street during rush hour - a scene caught on camera by a passing news crew.

He said: "I knew instantly that it was Polly, but then I feared the worst. You think, 'She's been knocked down'."

Passers-by helped deliver the little girl, who was named Ila, and kept the pair warm with coats and scarves until an ambulance arrived and took them to Lennox Hill Hospital.

Ms McCourt was so grateful to one of them she gave her daughter her middle name, Isabelle, and is now keen to track her down after losing her phone number.

The episode has since been dubbed "miracle on 3rd Avenue".

The couple have two other children, Conor, six, and Adele, four, according to the New York Daily News, and reportedly moved to New York four years ago from Dublin.

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Bishop spiked rhino program, hearing told

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has spiked plans by the former Labor government to help save the Sumatran rhinoceros.

In June 2013, then foreign minister Bob Carr said Australia would provide $3 million over three years to help Indonesian authorities protect the species, of which there are estimated to be fewer than 200 remaining.

But the program did not and would not begin, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman Rod Brazier told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.

"The current foreign minister has decided not to proceed with the program," he said.

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Qantas cuts 5000 jobs, sparks debate

Qantas workers are set to find out how many of them will lose their jobs after a half year loss. Source: AAP

THE federal government has all but rejected a debt guarantee for Qantas after the airline announced a massive loss and plans to shed 5000 jobs.

The national carrier posted a $252 million half-year loss on Thursday, due to a tough fight with a cashed-up Virgin Australia in the domestic market, fierce competition on international routes and problems with Jetstar.

The airline will cut 5000 jobs, freeze wages, retire old planes, slash capital spending and cut some routes in a bid to cut $2 billion in costs over three years.

"The current position is unsustainable," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

Mr Joyce said the job cuts, most of which would occur within the first 18 months, were necessary to save the airline.

"There are many Australian companies that have failed because they were not prepared to make the hard decisions, Qantas is not one of them," he said.

He said he wants to protect as many of the 27,000 jobs remaining but could not guarantee they would all be protected indefinitely because of issues outside Qantas' control.

The cuts triggered a feisty debate in federal parliament, as Labor said it might support a debt guarantee but ruled out backing changes to legislation to allow the airline to lift its foreign ownership above 49 per cent.

Noting it was a difficult day for Qantas workers, Prime Minister Tony Abbott was cool on a debt guarantee, telling parliament the airline was not a special case.

"Why should the government do for one what it is not prepared to do for all, or what is not necessarily available for all?" he said.

Virgin Australia boss John Borghetti said if the government gave Qantas a debt guarantee, he would seek a similar pledge "within 24 hours".

Mr Abbott strongly argued for enabling Qantas to secure more foreign capital and take the fight up to its competitors.

"We want to ensure that Qantas is not competing against its rivals with a ball and chain around its leg," he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said there was no excuse for the government not to step in.

"This is the worst day for aviation people since the collapse of Ansett," he said.

Opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said changing the Qantas Sale Act was a distraction for government inaction.

He said if foreign investment were an issue, the airline would already be at its 49 per cent foreign ownership limit and not the current 39 per cent.

Changing the act would have other ramifications, including thousands of jobs going offshore, rural and regional routes being dropped and the likely split of Qantas' operations into separate domestic and international companies.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon has called for a judicial inquiry into the company's financial mismanagement, particularly in relation to Jetstar, and called for Mr Joyce and the Qantas board to be sacked.

"The jobs that should have been lost are Alan Joyce and his board," he said.

But Mr Joyce believes he's the right person to take the company through the challenges it faces and has a plan to fix the business.

"Again what we are only after is a fair go for Qantas.. we don't have a fair go at the moment," he told ABC.

Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon urged Treasurer Joe Hockey to meet airline executives.

"If Joe Hockey's not prepared to do that, then it's industrial action that the workforce should be considering," he said.

The airline plans to shed 1,500 management and non-operational roles, as well as operational positions affected by fleet and route changes and the restructure of maintenance operations.

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Joyce says he's the man for the job

QANTAS chief executive Alan Joyce says he's the right man for the job of overseeing the tough measures needed to return the airline to profit.

He said their plan to axe 5,000 jobs, defer buying or sell aircraft and cut unprofitable routes would produce $2 billion savings and return Qantas to profitability in just three years.

Announcing Qantas results on Thursday, Mr Joyce revealed a $235 million loss.

But he rejected suggestions from, among others Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, that he should hand the job over to someone who could turn a profit.

"I have been CEO for five years and we have been profitable for most of that period of time and I believe I am the right person to make sure that we take this company through the challenges that we face," he told ABC TV.

Mr Joyce said the company faced severe challenges but there was a plan to turn the business around.

He said both sides recognised that Qantas was operating in a distorted market, a view shared by Treasurer Joe Hockey who acknowledged the Qantas Sale Act was impacting the company's ability to compete.

As well, Mr Hockey said, Qantas was competing against other state-owned airlines and Australia had an interest in having a national carrier.

Qantas was also taking steps to get its house in order, Mr Hockey said.

Mr Joyce rejected suggestions from some analysts that the company still hadn't taken the really tough decisions to cut unprofitable routes.

"But we have," he said.

"Every route that is left generates cash for us."

"If people do not believe they are the tough decisions needed to turn the business around, they are not paying attention to this business."

Mr Joyce said all the airline wanted was a fair go and that was not happening at the moment.

Competitor Virgin was allowed investment by three foreign government-owned airline partners to continue losses on Australian routes.

Mr Joyce said Qantas gave no assurance of keeping jobs in Australia in return for a government debt guarantee.

"The best way to guarantee the security of Qantas jobs is to have a profitable fit Qantas that can compete in the environment it's in," he said.

Mr Joyce said there were two issues - making internal changes to cut costs and levelling the playing field, either through a debt guarantee or amending the Qantas Sale Act.

He said the government was aware it needed to act soon.

But he's yet to hear from them on Thursday's announcement.

"The government has always been very clear that it's up to Qantas to manage its own business and we have had no dialogue about what this plan entails ... about getting government acceptance for it any way."

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Don't lose interest in Greste: colleague

A crowd has rallied in support of Aussie journalist Peter Greste who has been detained in Egypt. Source: AAP

A COLLEAGUE of imprisoned Australian journalist Peter Greste has urged the public and media not to lose interest in his case.

Speaking to a rally of about 20 people at Martin Place in Sydney, Al-Jazeera's Andrew Thomas said the case in Egypt was important for free press worldwide.

"Other countries will watch the... success Egypt has had locking up foreign journalists ... and they might try to do something similar," he said.

"That would mean the ... dark corners that governments don't want you to know about wouldn't be exposed."

The award-winning Mr Greste, bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed were arrested in December.

They're among 20 journalists accused of airing false news and misleading viewers about the political situation in Egypt.

Broadcaster Al-Jazeera held "a global day of action" for the trio in 30 cities worldwide and on social media on Thursday.

Mr Greste and his colleagues were denied bail at their first appearance in a Cairo court last week.

Amnesty International activism manager Chris Holley told AAP there was hope the men could be released on bail during their next court appearance on March 5.

"Our call is for them to be released unconditionally," he said.

"But if they're not released they should be given bail ... and I think there's a prospect that could happen."

He did admit it was hard to predict how the Egyptian government would act.

Greste's parents live in Brisbane and could not be at the protest.

In a letter, read by Mr Thomas, they thanked the small crowd and wished "peace and prosperity on the people of Egypt".

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Govt finds backing for Qantas changes

Possible changes to the Qantas Sale Act have prompted fears that jobs will go overseas. Source: AAP

THE federal government has found support for allowing Qantas to be majority foreign-owned the day before the airline reveals a loss and job cuts.

However, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he won't be asking the airline to guarantee Australian jobs as the government drafts laws to lift regulatory restrictions.

The Qantas Sale Act, which came in as the airline was privatised in 1992, limits foreign ownership of the airline to 49 per cent, foreign airlines from holding more than a 35 per cent stake, and any single foreign shareholder to 25 per cent.

The national carrier is expected to announce a net loss of more than $400 million on Thursday and reveal plans to cut $2 billion in costs, including shedding as many as 5000 jobs.

The federal government is considering a short-term debt guarantee, as well as repealing the foreign ownership limits, to ease pressure on the iconic airline.

But it would need six crossbench votes in the new Senate, which will sit for the first time on July 7, to get its bill passed.

Two new senators, David Leyonhjelm from the Liberal Democrats and Bob Day from Family First, told AAP on Wednesday they would support the repeal.

"Qantas is shackled and hamstrung by all manner of regulation in one of the most competitive industries in the world," Mr Day said.

Mr Leyonhjelm said there was no need for the ownership restrictions.

A spokesman for the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, whose senator Ricky Muir will take his seat in July, said the bill would be examined on its merits.

Independent Nick Xenophon has argued for Qantas' management to be sacked before he would consider the legislation and the Democratic Labor Party's John Madigan is yet to take a position.

The Palmer United Party, the Greens and Labor oppose any change.

Mr Abbott told reporters the government would not be issuing any edicts to Qantas.

"What Qantas does is a matter for Qantas management," he said.

While there may be some sentimental attachment to iconic businesses such as Qantas, three-quarters of Australians travelling overseas flew with other airlines, he said.

Labor transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said the opposition wanted Qantas to remain majority Australian-owned and Australian-based.

He said repealing the laws would lead to the airline splitting its international and domestic businesses to comply with international aviation regulations and agreements.

It would also lead to many of the 33,000 jobs going overseas.

The laws as they currently stand require the airline to keep the bulk of its maintenance, catering, flight operations and training facilities for international services in Australia.

The Transport Workers Union estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 white-collar and catering jobs would be sent offshore.

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Ex-RailCorp exec told to burn documents

Former RailCorp executive Joseph Camilleri was told to burn documents by his daughter. Source: AAP

THE gambling-addict daughter of a former RailCorp executive told her father to "burn, burn, burn" documents in her room after a raid by investigators, a corruption inquiry has heard.

But the executive, Joe Camilleri, maintains the loans were personal and did not buy former employees favours.

In a tapped phone call played at an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearing in Sydney, Jessica Adouni is heard urging her father to "do it now".

The call was secretly recorded just after an ICAC raid on Mr Camilleri's home.

That followed his sacking by RailCorp after he had tapped work colleagues for large loans to help his daughter.

The ICAC heard on Wednesday that Mr Camilleri paid out more than $4 million over four years to his daughter, despite her increasingly questionable claims for money, which were supposedly to cover high legal costs and bank fees.

He borrowed money from work colleagues and enlisted his sister Carmen Attard to also borrow money to help Ms Adouni.

The ICAC is investigating whether people who contributed to the $1.5 million Mr Camilleri and Ms Attard raised for Ms Adouni received any personal or professional benefit.

Mr Camilleri told the ICAC he believed his daughter's reasons for needing money between 2008 and 2013, and only learnt later of her gambling problem.

He repeatedly denied he acted corruptly or favourably towards those who lent him money, despite some working for firms that were later involved in RailCorp tender processes.

Counsel assisting the commission Nicholas Polin played the phone call from August 2013 in which Ms Adouni was heard telling her father after the ICAC raid she wanted to "make sure there's nothing left".

"Dad, they will come back, don't be stupid.

"Any papers, burn, burn, burn, that's all you've got to do ... do it now."

Mr Camilleri denied destroying anything.

Mr Polin repeatedly asked Mr Camilleri if he was a liar after he denied to RailCorp investigators he had borrowed money from people working in organisations that had business with RailCorp.

"I wasn't lying at the time, but it can be perceived as a lie, yes," Mr Camilleri said.

Evidence tendered to the ICAC included an email to Mr Camilleri from a "Richard Dipshit" purporting to be Ms Adouni's lawyer, and a badly written letter claiming to be from an ASIO security chief about money in a bank account.

A later email from the purported lawyer apologised for the "Dipshit" reference, saying his grandson had been using his computer.

The ICAC heard Ms Adouni said her identity had been stolen and was being used by people to buy property overseas.

Mr Polin asked Mr Camilleri if he was "incredibly stupid" or telling the truth.

Mr Camilleri said he might have been "very naive and had too much trust in my daughter".

The hearing continues.

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Tap-and-go to higher Vic crime rate

Victoria's crime rate has risen with drugs, family violence and deceptions among the causes. Source: AAP

TAP-AND-GO technology is helping make credit card fraud the fastest growing area of crime in Victoria.

Drugs and family violence also contributed to an overall 1.2 per cent jump in the crime rate for the 12 months to December 2013.

Deception offences rose by 42 per cent and drug offences jumped by 12.3 per cent.

The introduction of tap-and-go credit cards has made deception easier and police have again expressed concern about the technology, which allow customers to make purchases without a PIN or signature, and say negotiations continue with the banks about a solution.

The 42 per cent figure is up about 12 per cent on quarterly figures released last November.

"It is not a policing issue, it is a whole of community issue and everybody should be working together to try and address these issues and to make it very, very difficult for people to commit offences," Deputy Commissioner Lucinda Nolan said.

A Mastercard spokeswoman said the company is surprised police are concerned about tap-and-go technology since industry data reveals there's been no increase in fraud specifically relating to such cards.

"We have asked Victoria Police to clarify the source and nature of their crime statistics," she said.

Family violence is also up with a big jump in the number of intervention order breaches which have caused the category of other crimes to rise by 15.5 per cent.

Ms Nolan said breaches of intervention orders had significantly increased, but that did not mean they were not working, just that police were stronger in enforcement.

"So that when there are breaches, whether they are minor or major police are taking action," she told reporters on Wednesday.

Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said 40 per cent of crimes committed against a person occurred in the home.

"This underlines the impact of family violence," he said.

There were 12,607 more offences overall committed in Victoria over the year, a rise of 3.1 per cent.

Ms Nolan said methamphetamines are challenging cannabis for the drug related to the most offences, with ice continuing to have a very bad impact on the community.

"You see the impact it has, particularly on the regional centres and rural communities, it is absolutely huge, how it has impacted on those families and those local communities," she said.

But there was some good news for police, with robberies down by 15.4 per cent and property crimes decreasing by 2.6 per cent.

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Ukraine disbands feared riot police

Ukraine's new leaders have promised to fight separatism after President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster. Source: AAP

UKRAINE'S new pro-Western leaders have disbanded the country's feared riot police as they seek to win confidence in their efforts to forge a unity government.

The interim authorities are grappling with the dual threats of separatism and a looming debt default as they try to piece the former Soviet nation back together following the weekend ouster of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Protests that started in November over Yanukovych's decision to ditch a historic European Union trade deal in favour of closer ties with former master Russia culminated in a week of Kiev carnage that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Yanukovych and his tight clique of security chiefs and administration insiders are widely believed to have gone into hiding in the Russian-speaking southern peninsula of Crimea, which is now threatening to secede from Ukraine.

The interim leaders' headaches are compounded by Moscow's decision to freeze payments on a massive bailout package that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to Yanukovych as his reward for rejecting closer EU ties.

The Ukrainian government faces foreign debt payments of $US13 billion ($A14.46 billion) in 2014 and has less than $US18 billion in its fast-depleting coffers. It's a grim equation that has forced it to seek as much as $US35 billion from Western states.

Both the United States and Britain have publicly backed the idea of putting together an economic rescue for Ukraine, which would be overseen by the International Monetary Fund.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Secretary William Hague also rejected Russia's claim on Tuesday that Ukraine was being forced to make a historic choice between the East and West.

"This is not a zero-sum game. It is not a West versus East," said Kerry after hosting Hague in Washington.

But EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton wrapped up a two-day visit to Kiev on Tuesday by mentioning only a short-term economic solution for Ukraine, while saying nothing about extending the billions of dollars in credit requested by interim leader Oleksandr Turchynov.

Little appears to unite the vast nation of 46 million - splintered between the Ukrainian-speaking west, where pro-European sentiment runs high, and a heavily-Russified southeast - more than a shared aversion for the Berkut riot police.

The elite units carried shields and Kalashnikov rifles as they cracked down on protesters in Kiev and brutally beat those detained. In one incident that spread on the internet, they forced one man to strip naked in the freezing cold and parade in front of a police camera.

But acting interior minister Arsen Avakov announced on his Facebook page that he was dissolving the feared unit, effective immediately.

"The Berkut is no more," the 50-year-old wrote.

Avakov promised to disclose further details on Wednesday and said nothing about how he would deal with a possible insurrection from one of the country's best-armed and trained forces.

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Convicted rapist, murderer executed in US

A man convicted of raping and killing a teenage girl has been executed in the US state of Missouri. Source: AAP

THE US state of Missouri has executed a man convicted of abducting, raping and killing a teenage girl.

Michael Taylor, 47, was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday, the Missouri Department of Public Safety said.

The execution came amid controversy over the chemicals being used to give death row inmates lethal injections in Missouri and other US states.

Taylor's was the fourth lethal injection in Missouri in as many months.

He was sentenced to death over the 1989 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl who was abducted at a school bus stop.

Taylor was executed after the US Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay.

He was pronounced dead at 12:10 am (0510 GMT) and made no final statement.

He declined to order a special last meal and was served a state-issued meal that included potato soup and a sandwich, the department said.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon also rejected a clemency request.

Nixon issued a statement asking the people of Missouri to remember the young girl killed, Ann Harrison. He noted that Taylor had pleaded guilty, was convicted and sentenced to die.

"That punishment has now been carried out," Nixon said.

He turned aside Taylor's pleas, which were based on the state's use of a secret compounding pharmacy for the lethal dose of pentobarbital and for executing previous inmates while they still had appeals pending, NBC News said.

Prior to this, the last execution was that of Herbert Smulls, who was declared dead on the night of January 29, a little over an hour before the legal period for his execution ended.

Since European manufacturers stopped providing pentobarbital for executions of humans, several states are running low on execution chemicals and turning to new suppliers or products that have not been widely approved.

This has led many US death row inmates to file suits on grounds they fear the new products could subject them to undue suffering.

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