Japan opens world court defense of whaling

Japan will tell the UN's top court that is whaling program is "carefully conceived and planned". Source: AAP

JAPAN is opening its defence of the country's controversial whaling program in the seas around Antarctica during hearings at the United Nations' highest court.

Based on their written pleadings, lawyers for Tokyo are expected to argue Tuesday that the International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute with Australia and New Zealand over the annual hunt and slaughter of hundreds of minke and fin whales in the Southern Ocean.

Japan also will argue that its whaling is for scientific research and therefore permitted under the 1946 convention that regulates whaling.

Lawyers for Australia told the court last week that the whaling is a commercial hunt dressed up as science and should be stopped.

The 16-judge world court will take months to issue a judgment.

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Justice looms for people smuggling boss

THE alleged people smuggling kingpin Sayed Abbas has declared he is ready to face justice in Australia, despite having previously protested his innocence.

An Indonesian court is expected to decide next week whether Abbas, accused of being one of the most notorious people smugglers to operate out of Indonesia in recent years, will be extradited to Australia.

Despite having previously denied any involvement in people smuggling, claiming that he was a victim of mistaken identity, the 30-year-old now says he is ready to surrender.

"I'm ready whatever the decision," Abbas said after a hearing in the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

"I surrender."

Prosecutor Juwita, who has only one name, told the court there was overwhelming evidence against Abbas that should leave no doubt he is one of the most active people smugglers to ever operate out of Indonesia.

Abbas is wanted by Australian authorities on 27 charges related to people smuggling including organising the passage of three boats intercepted en route to Christmas Island between 2009 and 2011.

Abbas is suspected of being behind many more smuggling ventures, including one which resulted in the deaths of at least 200 asylum seekers when their boat sank in the Sunda Strait in December 2011.

If the panel of judges does rule in favour of extradition, it would end a long battle by Australian authorities to bring Abbas to justice.

Abbas, an ethnic Hazara, arrived in Indonesia from Afghanistan in 2001 and made three failed attempts to reach Australia by boat.

It is believed he then entered the people smuggling trade in about 2009, eventually organising for dozens of boats and hundreds of asylum seekers to travel to Australia.

Initial efforts to extradite him almost completely unravelled two years ago.

Both the Indonesian Justice Department and Australian authorities were caught out when it was revealed in the media that Abbas had been released from jail despite being the subject of an extradition request.

He was arrested again in August 2011.

The panel of judges is expected to rule next Thursday.

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Road tolls would reduce traffic: report

TOLLS and congestion fees may be the answer to reducing traffic and improving the state of Australian roads.

An Infrastructure Australia (IA) report, released on Tuesday, argues there is reduced accountability for governments to provide quality infrastructure under the current taxpayer system.

"To get the infrastructure we want, when we want it, we need to pay more as users," the report said.

It says congestion pricing in London has reduced traffic by 21 per cent, increased average travel speeds by 37 per cent and reduced road emissions.

Revenue raised by the fee is invested back into public transport, contributing to increased bus and passenger rail patronage.

IA also called for a single national fund to be established to roll over the many different infrastructure investment sources.

The fund would account for over $100 billion for projects such as the National Broadband Network and clean energy funding.

AI says the current funding model has overlapping purposes, different assessment frameworks and different decision making mandates.

Australia's future economic performance would largely depend on how its major cities are planned, the report says.

This will be particularly important considering each of Australia's five biggest capital cities will nearly double their population by 2056.

Denser cities was the answer to more productive living, it said.

The closer businesses are to each other and to a deep pool of skilled labour, the report argued, the higher their productivity.

For individuals, this proximity also means lower costs when looking for a job.

The Australian Industry Group welcomed the report's findings.

"The time is right to make reforms that will facilitate greater and more astute investment, including from the private sector, and encourage efficient use of infrastructure," the group's chief Innes Willox said.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia said addressing Australia's infrastructure problems must be a key priority for the next federal government.

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Patents keep HIV drugs too pricy

DOCTORS Without Borders is warning that rising intellectual property rights are blocking the generic production of newer drugs to treat HIV and are keeping them out of reach of developing countries.

The medical aid group said at an international AIDS meeting here that prices of older drugs long used to treat patients have fallen sharply as India and other countries make generics. But newer drugs that are more effective against the AIDS virus are too expensive, costing up to 15 times more.

"It's good news that the price of key HIV drugs continues to fall as more generic companies compete for the market, but the newer medicines are still priced far too high," said Jennifer Cohn, medical director for Doctors Without Borders' access campaign.

"We need the newer treatments for people that have exhausted all other options, but patents keep them priced beyond reach."

Patients can be treated with a combination of three or four older drugs, but those who develop resistance to them need the expensive newer medicines.

According to Doctors Without Borders, the governments of Thailand and Jamaica pay $US4,760 ($A5,178.42) and $US6,570 ($A7,147.52), respectively, a year per patient for the new drug Darunavir alone.

Paraguay pays $7,782 for Etravirine, while Armenia pays $13,213 for Raltegravir. In comparison, a cocktail of older generic drugs costs as little as $139 per person a year.

Doctors Without Borders urged the United States and 11 other countries negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership not to sign the free-trade pact.

It warned that the pact will increase intellectual property rights across Asia and the Americas, expanding monopoly protection for medicines and threatening cheap access to drugs.

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Opposition does not support military coup

EGYPT'S main opposition coalition said it would not support a "military coup" and trusted that an army statement giving political leaders 48 hours to resolve the current crisis did not mean it would assume a political role.

"We do not support a military coup," the National Salvation Front (NSF) said in a statement.

"The NSF has been committed, since its formation on 22 November, 2012, to build a civil, modern and democratic state that allows the participation of all political trends, including political Islam. We trust the army's declaration, reflected in their statement (Monday), that they don't want to get involved in politics, or play a political role," it said.

Meanwhile US President Barack Obama is encouraging embattled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to respond to concerns being voiced by throngs of protesters seeking his removal from office.

The White House confirmed in a statement Tuesday that Obama called Morsi on Monday while travelling in Africa.

The statement said Obama told Morsi that the United States is committed to the democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or group. The statement also said Obama underscored to Morsi that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process.

Obama also told Morsi he's particularly concerned about violence in the demonstrations, especially sexual assaults against women.

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Protesters storm Muslim Brotherhood HQ

Egyptians have flooded the streets of Cairo determined to oust Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Source: AAP

EGYPTIAN protesters have stormed the headquarters of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood after deadly clashes there between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi who hails from the group, an AFP correspondent said.

The building in Cairo's Moqattam district was set ablaze before people stormed inside and began throwing things out of the windows, as others were seen leaving with items including furniture.

Footage on local TV networks showed smashed windows and smoke billowing out of the building. One protester was seen removing the Muslim Brotherhood sign from the building's front wall.

The storming of the Brotherhood's headquarters followed clashes between armed Morsi supporters barricaded inside the building and young protesters pelting it with firebombs and rocks.

Activists say at least five protesters were killed in the violence.

Witnesses told AFP there were no Brotherhood members still inside the building, after they were escorted out by a group of people early on Monday.

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Toddler dies after swallowing battery

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl has died after swallowing a lithium battery on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.

The girl, from Tewantin, was taken in a critical condition to Noosa Hospital about 8.15am Sunday suffering stomach bleeding.

The toddler was flown by a medical helicopter to the Royal Brisbane Hospital in a critical condition on Sunday afternoon, but died from her injuries.

Susan Teerds from Kidsafe Queensland told ABC radio the button-shaped batteries are found in many common household items.

"When a child swallows a battery it often gets caught in the oesophagus, around the voice box. Once it's been lodged, within an hour, it will start to burn a hole,'' she said.

"The saliva actually starts a chemical reaction and burns a hole through the oesophagus and can keep burning a hole into the aorta, through to the spine and whatever else is there.''

The ACCC website warns that ingesting this kind of battery could lead to perforation of the oesophagus as it lodges in the throat and burns a hole.

Acid could then leak from the battery and cause tissue damage and fatal internal bleeding.

Lithium batteries are common in toys, remotes and thermometers.

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Huge fire at British recycling plant

MORE than 200 firefighters are battling a major blaze at a British recycling plant after 100,000 tonnes of paper and plastic caught fire, sending a plume of smoke rising into the sky.

West Midlands Fire Service said ten officers suffered minor injuries as they fought to put out the flames at the plant in Smethwick, just outside Britain's second city Birmingham in central England.

The fire sent a massive plume of smoke rising 1,800 metres into the sky.

"Two officers have been hospitalised and eight have been treated at the scene," a spokeswoman for the fire service told AFP.

Unconfirmed reports said Chinese lanterns had dropped on the plastics and started the fire.

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Qld graziers hope for cattle trade revival

Graziers say reviving the live cattle export market to Indonesia is key to boosting the industry. Source: AAP

AFTER the driest wet season in 91 years, northwest Queensland's Vanbrook cattle station is looking parched.

"It's not very good but you've got to deal with it," manager Neil Arnold said as dust from a dry paddock whirled around him.

"We've had to really change tactics."

Queensland graziers say the industry is in crisis.

They say a temporary ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011 and a state-wide drought have pushed prices below that seen in the 1970s slump.

Up to 100,000 cattle could starve if the market isn't revived and some graziers have started shooting stock they can't afford to feed.

Mr Arnold says things are bad, but fortunately he hasn't had to kill any beasts.

"The market is flooded because it's so dry, there are so many cattle at the moment," he told AAP.

To ensure his cattle don't starve he's had to sell off 5-8,000 more this year than he did in 2012.

"This is not normal at all," Mr Arnold said.

"In 91 years it's one of the driest wet seasons in history."

Reviving the live export trade market with Indonesia would solve the problem, he says.

His station used to export 10,000 cattle to that country, now they aren't sending any.

Indonesia reduced its import quota after live exports were temporarily banned when footage emerged of Australian cattle being mistreated in Indonesia.

The live export trade dropped from 660,000 head-a-year to 260,000.

Grazier Barry Hughes, chair of the cattle industry crisis group, hopes talks with Indonesian Ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema on Monday brought the industry a step closer to reviving the market.

"We're trying to get this relationship back on track," he said.

"They need a solid commitment from the federal government and Australian beef industry in terms of security and continuity of supply."

Meanwhile, Mr Arnold says he'll continue to hope for the rain to fall and the grass to grow.

"The next wet season shouldn't be too far away," he said hopefully.

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Eurozone unemployment at record high

OFFICIAL figures show unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro at another record high in May after revisions to back data.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, says Monday that eurozone unemployment rose 0.1 percentage point in May to 12.1 per cent.

That's a new record for the region as the previous months' data were revised down, including April's original 12.2 per cent estimate.

Across the eurozone there were 19.22 million people unemployed, 67,000 up on the previous month.

Figures next month will show whether the eurozone's economy remained in recession during the second quarter of the year.

Elsewhere, Eurostat said inflation picked up to 1.6 per cent in the year to June, up from 1.4 per cent the previous month.

The rate remains below the European Central Bank's target.

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