Arms vendors turn to cyber security

THE world's largest arms vendors are expanding in the cybersecurity sector as austerity measures weigh on sales of traditional weapons, a Swedish peace research institute said Monday.

Sales by the 100 largest arms producing companies, excluding Chinese companies, fell by 5 per cent to $US410 billion ($A400.25 billion) in 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual review of the industry.

The drop was mainly due to austerity measures and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, SIPRI said, but pointed out that cybersecurity has remained a privileged spending area for governments despite budget cuts.

"Cybersecurity has become a top national security issue and there has been a lot of discussion about that over the last years," SIPRI cybersecurity expert Vincent Boulanin said.

"Countries are willing to gear up to face potential cyberthreats from other countries or private actors."

Cybersecurity first became a major issue following the attack against Estonia in 2007 that used thousands of infected computers to cripple dozens of government and corporate websites, Boulanin said.

Since then, numerous attacks have occurred that have increased the demand for security products, including the recent Chinese hacker attacks against The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Boulanin said arms dealers are taking advantage of these developments to expand into new fields and are acquiring smaller companies to get hold of the necessary technical expertise.

The ventures mainly involve services for data and network protection, testing and simulation, training and consulting and operational support.

SIPRI also said US-based Lockheed Martin remained the biggest arms vendor in 2011, with arms sales of $US36.27 billion, while Boeing overtook Britain's BAE Systems as the second largest weapons merchant.

Here's SIPRI's list of the top 10 arms vendors in 2010 (2009 ranking in parenthesis):

1. Lockheed Martin, US, $US36.27b ($A35.41b) (1).

2. Boeing, US, $US31.83b ($A31.07b) (3).

3. BAE Systems, Britain, $US29.15b ($A28.46b) (2).

4. General Dynamics, US, $US23.76b ($A23.20b) (5).

5. Raytheon, US, $US22.47b ($A21.94b) (6).

6. Northrop Grumman, US, $US21.39b ($A20.88b) (4).

7. EADS, Trans-European, $US16.39b ($A16.00b) (7).

8. Finmeccanica, Italy, $US14.56b ($A14.21b) (8).

9. L-3 Communications, US, $US12.52b ($A12.22b) (9).

10. United Technologies, US, $US11.64b ($A11.36b) (10).

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Bribe-seeking allegations referred to CMC

QUEENSLAND'S crime watchdog is digging into cash-for-contracts allegations involving the department of former arts and IT minister Ros Bates.

An official working in Ms Bates' department allegedly offered to help secure contracts for a Brisbane IT company in exchange for a significant sum of cash.

A spokesman for Premier Campbell Newman said on Monday the matter had been referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

"We were not aware of the allegation as it had not been brought to our office," the spokesman said.

The Courier Mail newspaper reported the company, Technology One, immediately raised the allegation with a senior staff member in the office of the trouble-prone former minister.

Some industry insiders believe an approach was made to more than one company, and the specific cash sum sought was described by a senior source as being "more than the wage of the average bus driver".

In a statement to AAP on Monday, Technology One said it would not be commenting on the allegations.

It is not clear whether the allegation was ever passed on to authorities.

Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Newman should have moved faster.

"As soon as the premier became aware of these allegations, he should have referred them to the CMC instead of waiting almost 24 hours to act," Ms Palaszczuk said in a statement.

Ms Bates quit Premier Campbell Newman's cabinet last Friday, citing health and family reasons.

She had faced months of pressure over allegations of nepotism involving her son's government job, her contact with lobbyists and her extended absences for health reasons.

On Saturday morning, it was revealed that Ms Bates had appointed her friend Kaye Martin to a department contract and a board position with Screen Queensland.

Acting arts minister John-Paul Langbroek says Ms Bates' resignation and the fresh allegations aren't linked.

The revelation about Ms Martin's appointment was released in a bid to be open and accountable when the government became aware of the conflict of interest, he said.

He's asked Screen Queensland for Ms Martin's resignation.

Liberal National Party defector Alex Douglas has accused the government of using the media in a calculating way, saying the public should be asking why the government dropped such a damning story to the paper a day after Ms Bates' resignation.

"I think the story is very hollow and doesn't ring true," he told the ABC.

"It is a shameful way to run a government, and it is certainly not the way to treat people."

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Tasmanian bushfire under control

BUSHFIRE crews in southern Tasmania have controlled a blaze which earlier threatened homes, and residents will be able to return to their houses.

A 250-hectare fire in the Derwent Valley, northwest of Hobart, prompted an emergency warning as temperatures hit the mid-30s and winds gusted to 50km/h on Monday evening.

Thirty-three crews and six water-bombing aircraft were deployed to battle the blaze, which started in a paddock near the small farming town of Gretna and was the only serious threat on a severe fire danger day in the state.

"The number of resources that were reallocated to this fire at the time really put us in a good stead to get on top of it early," Tasmania Fire Service senior station officer Phil Douglas told AAP.

"They've been able to stop the full spread of the fire much sooner than we'd anticipated.

"They're continuing to work in that area but... they're happy that they're controlling that fire.

"It no longer is impacting or threatening any houses or community."

"We are saying to people who may have relocated from that area that they're able to return to their homes."

The fire has been downgraded to advice level, while there are no reports of property being lost.

The Derwent Valley has been hit hard in Tasmania's worst bushfire season since 1967.

It was among the areas ablaze when nearly 200 properties were lost in early January, while a fire near Molesworth has been burning for nearly two weeks.

The temperature was still 29C in the area at 8pm (AEDT) on Monday but a cool change was expected overnight with about five millimetres of rain and a maximum of 19C forecast for Hobart on Tuesday.

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Staff evacuated from Nigeria after kidnap

A CONSTRUCTION company has evacuated all of its staff from a northern Nigeria site after gunmen blasted into the facility and kidnapped seven foreigners.

Police in Bauchi state, where the attack occured late Saturday, said on Monday their top priority was securing the release of the hostages, who reportedly include four Lebanese, one Briton, a Greek citizen and an Italian.

The raid on the compound of the Lebanese-owned firm Setraco was one of the worst attacks targeting expatriates in northern Nigeria in recent years and may indicate a changing strategy by the radical Islamic groups in the region.

Boko Haram Islamists, who are blamed for hundreds of deaths since 2009, have repeatedly attacked Bauchi, but have never acknowledged abducting a Westerner.

A group seen as an offshoot of Boko Haram, Ansaru, claimed the kidnapping of a French national in December and some analysts fear this splinter faction has prioritised foreign hostages, like other al-Qaeda-linked groups in North Africa.

The kidnapping of expatriates have typically occured in Nigeria's oil-rich south, with the hostages released following a ransom payment.

Residents in the town of Jama'are, about 200km from the state capital, said 12 vehicles arrived at the Setraco facility on Sunday and evacuated all the staff, excluding those native to the town.

It was not immediately clear how many of the remaining workers were foreign and an official at Setraco's office in Nigeria's capital declined to comment, also refusing to provide contacts for the company spokesman.

"Now all the company employees, who are not from Jama'are have left. Soldiers and policemen are conducting patrols in the town," said resident Haruna Garba.

The assailants stormed a police station and a prison in Jama'are before raiding the Setraco compound, police said.

When the kidnapping operation began the assailants struggled to gain access to the site, then shot dead a security guard and used explosives to blast a hole through the rear gate, residents and police said.

"There was a gaping hole... because the kidnappers used explosives to blow up the rear when the occupants refused to open the gate," said Sale Nagaidam, who visited the site on Sunday and witnessed the heavy security deployment.

Bauchi's police spokesman Hassan Auyo said on Monday that it was too early to speculate on who was behind the attacks.

"Our main priority now is to secure the release of the hostages," he said, adding that a manhunt had been launched.

The governments of Greece and Italy have confirmed that their citizens were among those taken hostage.

Beirut has acknowledged that two Lebanese nationals were seized, but has not matched the police figure of four, while the British foreign office has said it is making "inquiries" before confirming that a Briton was abducted.

There was no claim of responsibility for the weekend violence, but attention will likely turn to the emerging group Ansaru, which said it kidnapped a French engineer in the northern state of Katsina late last year.

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Slain Reeva's family prepare for funeral

Oscar Pistorius has cancelled his Australian tour as he faces charges of murdering his girlfriend. Source: AAP

THE family of Oscar Pistorius's slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp are preparing to hold a funeral service for the 29-year-old model, as her bereaved mother pleaded for answers about the death of "the most beautiful person who ever lived".

The former cover girl, who was shot dead at Pistorius's luxury home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day, will be cremated on Tuesday in her home town of Port Elizabeth, in a private ceremony for family and friends.

Pistorius, the double amputee who became a sporting hero to millions when he competed at the Olympics last year, has been charged with killing Steenkamp and will appear in a Pretoria court on Tuesday for a bail hearing.

In an interview published on Monday, Steenkamp's mother described her death as "horrendous."

"Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?," June Steenkamp told the Times of South Africa. "What for?"

"She had so much of herself to give and now all that is gone. Just like that, she is gone... In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here."

"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with... to get to grips with. All we want are answers... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."

More than 100 people are expected to attend an hour-long memorial service on Tuesday for Steenkamp, a law graduate who had been going out with the 26-year-old Pistorius since late last year.

Well-wishers have already begun placing bouquets of flowers outside the family home.

Her uncle Mike Steenkamp said the family had been overwhelmed with offers of help and sympathy.

"We have received a lot of condolences from all over South Africa and around the world as well. We have received a lot of support."

Police says Steenkamp was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday by a pistol owned by Pistorius and died of her wounds at the scene.

His family has insisted that the evidence will refute "any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all".

Defence lawyers are expected to argue at Tuesday's hearing that there are "exceptional circumstances" for Pistorius to be granted bail, a request that will be opposed by the state.

That request means the hearing is likely to offer more details about what happened in the early hours of Valentine's Day at Pistorius's upmarket home in a gated estate in the South African capital.

Pistorius, who broke down sobbing in his first court appearance on Friday, has built up a powerful team of lawyers, medical specialists and public relations experts for his defence.

Stuart Higgins, a former editor of British tabloid The Sun, whose lengthy list of clients includes British Airways, Chelsea FC and Manchester United football club, will be handling public relations in the case.

One of the lawyers, Kenny Oldwage, acted for the driver in a 2010 accident that killed former president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela's great-grandchild Zenani. The driver was acquitted.

The events of February 14 have put Pistorius's career on hold, forcing him to cancel races in Australia, Brazil, Britain and the United States between March and May.

"I have decided that following these tragic events that we have no option but to cancel all future races that Oscar Pistorius had been contracted to compete in, to allow Oscar to concentrate on the upcoming legal proceedings," manager Peet van Zyl said.

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Two die, 18 injured in Thailand blasts

A SERIES of blasts in a town in Thailand's restive south has killed two people and wounded up to 18, authorities say.

The latest incidents, which began with two fire bombings of shops in Pattani on Saturday night, came just days after a major attack on a Thai military base in the insurgency-plagued region.

In total, three bombs have exploded in the provincial town since late Saturday, while police said four more devices had been defused, in the latest attacks to rock the Thai south, where thousands have died in nine years of deadly unrest.

A blast around noon on Sunday in the centre of Pattani killed a local security volunteer instantly, police said.

Hospital staff said another defence volunteer later died of his wounds, while about 18 people, including civilians, were wounded.

Thailand's southern provinces near the Malaysian border suffer almost daily gun and bomb attacks by shadowy groups fighting for greater autonomy.

More than 5500 people, both Buddhist and Muslim, have been killed in the bloody conflict since early 2004.

On Wednesday, scores of heavily-armed gunmen stormed an army base in the neighbouring province of Narathiwat but the Thai military repelled the assault, killing 16 militants in one of the most deadly incidents of the insurgency.

Members of Thailand's security forces and civilians accused of collaboration with the authorities are frequently targeted with ambushes and roadside bombs.

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Magda hoping for a Tropfest fight

AUSSIE actor Magda Szubanski is hoping she and fellow Tropfest judge Sam Worthington get into a punch-up over the winner.

One of eight judges at main event for Tropfest at The Domain in Sydney on Sunday night, Szubanski says usually it's pretty self evident who the winner is but sometimes there's a bit of a tussle.

"I'm hoping there might be a bit of a punch-on," she told AAP.

"I'm going to take on Sam Worthington I reckon. Avatar or not, it's on.

"Him in the blue corner, no maybe him in the red, me in the blue. He must be over the blue thing by now. He's done that.

"Move on, Sam, let it go."

Worthington, who rocked up in a blue jacket and sporting a sunburnt face, said he didn't choose his clothing for the Avatar link.

"My mate bought it," explained Worthington.

"He said you'd better dress up for once and bought me something really fancy."

Worthington is joining a panel of judges including Szubanski, Rebecca Gibney, Richard Roxburgh and Sapphires director Wayne Blair to select the winner from 16 finalists.

Worthington stuck to talking about the world's largest short film festival, saying he couldn't reveal anything about James Cameron's Avatar 2.

"I can tell you Avatar 2 is a Jim Cameron film. That's about it," he said.

"Anything else, ninjas are going to come from the sky and Jim's people are going to escort me away."

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Firefighters remember fallen comrades

THEY came to remember their 14 comrades who died in the horror of Ash Wednesday 30 years ago but also paid tribute to two firefighters who perished just last week.

More than 300 people gathered at the St Johns Anglican Church in Upper Beaconsfield to recall the CFA members from Panton Hill, Nar Nar Goon, Narre Warren and Wallacedale brigades who died in the 1983 bushfires, which killed 75 people.

They gathered at the church, itself an Ash Wednesday casualty and since rebuilt, with Premier Ted Baillieu and Victorian governor Alex Chernov.

Last week two firefighters from the Department of Environment and Sustainability (DSE) - Katie Peters, 19, and Steven Kader, 29, - were killed when a tree fell on their vehicle as they fought a fire in remote alpine territory near Harrietville.

The Ash Wednesday fires that swept through southeast Australia on February 16, 1983 caused widespread damage across Victoria and South Australia, destroying more than 3000 homes.

Years of severe drought left the land open for devastation and when the fires hit they were fanned by winds of up to 110km/h.

Mr Baillieu told the gathering that the loss of the CFA fighters on Ash Wednesday was the worst in Australian firefighting history.

"Their loss resonates still," he said.

The helmets of the 13 men and one woman who died lay solemnly on a table during the service at the little wooden church.

Mr Baillieu remembered Ms Peters and Mr Kader as well as other firefighters who have died this bushfire season.

He said the Ash Wednesday blaze occurred on a day when the bush was snap dry and the weather radiator hot.

"A roaring wind was shifting soil across the state ... it was dark, deafening, scary and ultimately it was deadly and devastating."

CFA firefighter Doug Summons remembered the time well - he was a first year firefighter at Narre North and his tanker was sent to fight a blaze at Belgrade in the Dandenong Ranges.

"When we got there the trees were smoking and most of the houses were gone," he told AAP.

He said in those days the radios were manned by the wives of CFA captains and at one point on the day all the fire tankers in the area had been sent to save one house.

"It was a bit of an overkill, but as it turned out we got a flat tyre and couldn't attend."

He also remembers the following day, Black Thursday and the Friday.

"It was a week and a half before we put out the last tree."

But he said the hardest part was the aftermath and attending seven funerals in one day.

At 65, Doug is still an active member of the CFA.

Like many others at the service he wore his distinctive yellow CFA firefighting uniform.

On Sunday as the service was being held, more than a thousand firefighters, 240 fire tankers and 64 aircraft were involved fighting fires throughout the alpine district and the Grampians.

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Matthew Newton says he's a changed man

ACTOR Matthew Newton has opened up about his violent past, saying his outbursts were provoked by a "wave of terror" and "hopelessness".

The troubled star said his erratic behaviour was also brought on by his mental illness and a feeling that he was "about to die".

"That's when I end up running out of options, feeling like I don't know what to do," he told the Nine Network.

Newton, 36, was charged with the assault of his former girlfriend, Australian actress Brooke Satchwell, in 2007.

In 2010, he allegedly assaulted his then-fiancee, actress Rachael Taylor, in the lobby of a hotel in Italy.

Newton was also charged with the assault of a taxi driver in Sydney in 2011.

The actor said he knew he hit "rock bottom" when he was arrested for hitting a hotel clerk in the face in Miami, USA, last year.

"I was put in the back of the police car and I realised I was completely alone. I realised there were two choices: there was help, there was honestly opening myself up and asking for help, or there was nothing, there was the end," he said.

Newton also admitted he had never been given an official diagnosis on his mental illness, despite repeatedly avoiding conviction on the grounds of mental health, specifically bipolar disorder.

He said he was completely at fault for assaults on his former girlfriends.

"It's never okay to hit someone," he said.

The actor stressed that he's on the mend and is working through his issues without being on "addictive" medication which he had been using to help with his mental illness.

"I'm now doing everything in my human power to make sure that any events of the past don't occur again."

Newtown is hopeful of getting back to acting and said offers of work in America and Australia were re-emerging.

"I want, in the second half of my life, to be an exemplary citizen, a successful professional and one day a really good parent."

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Fifteen die in Baghdad car bomb attacks

BLASTS have killed at least 15 people in Shi'ite-majority areas of Baghdad, officials say, in the latest attacks to hit Iraq as the country struggles with protests and a political crisis.

Three car bombs struck Sadr City in the north of the city on Sunday, while one car bomb each exploded in Ameen, Al-Husseiniyah and Kamaliyah in the east, and a roadside bomb blew up in Karrada in central Baghdad, security and medical officials said.

The blasts killed at least 15 people and wounded about 80.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday's wave of attacks.

These latest incidents in a spike in violence come as Iraq grapples with nearly two months of anti-government protests centred on Sunni-majority areas in north and west Iraq, and a political crisis in the capital.

At least 150 people have been killed in violence this month, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials nationwide.

The Baghdad bombings follow a series of attacks on Saturday that killed five people, including the head of Iraq's intelligence academy.

Two suicide bombers killed Brigadier General Aouni Ali and two of his guards, and more bombings caused the deaths of a judge and an army lieutenant.

The attacks come after weeks of rallies in Sunni-majority areas calling for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is a Shi'ite.

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