World's largest building opens in China

BOASTING its own artificial sun and a floor area three times that of the Pentagon, the "world's largest building" has opened in southwest China to mixed reviews from its first visitors.

The towering 100-metre high New Century Global Centre, which is said to to be big enough to hold 20 Sydney Opera Houses, recently opened its doors at Chengdu.

The complex, which Chinese officials say is the world's largest stand-alone structure, is 500 metres long by 400 metres wide, offering 1.7 million square metres of floor space.

But the first wave of visitors were divided over the attractions of the the structure, which houses 400,000 square metres of shopping space, offices, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centres, two five star hotels, and an IMAX cinema.

"It lacks creativity," said one visitor on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Another visitor poked fun at its name.

"Why is everything in Chengdu called 'global'," the poster said.

However, some Internet users were impressed with the complex, which opened on June 28.

"It will become the new landmark of Chengdu," said one poster.

The Global Centre has a marine theme, with fountains, a huge water park and a centrepiece artificial beach under an undulating roof meant to resemble a wave.

The 5000 square metre beach includes a rafting course and a "seafront" promenade, complete with parasols and seafood outlets that can accommodate 6000 people.

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Pamplona bull run hospitalises 21

Bull-runners were crushed in a pile-up in Pamplona on the seventh day of Spain's famed festival. Source: AAP

DAREDEVIL bull-runners have been crushed in a pile-up in the Spanish city of Pamplona during its famed San Fermin festival, with at least 21 people hospitalised.

Television pictures showed a pile of runners, in traditional white shirts and red neckerchiefs, blocking the entrance to a bullring, the end point of the frantic dash through the town's cobbled streets.

The pile-up blocked several of the animals from charging into the arena, with panicked runners scrambling over the heads of those in front of them and others trying to pull the fallen free.

Two of the beasts - of the six bulls and the six steers that ran - leapt over the pile, crushing runners under their hooves. The others were herded to the arena through a side passage.

Several people were also trampled under the bulls' hooves during the crowded 850-metre dash through the city's narrow streets, which took four minutes and 15 seconds.

It was the sixth day of the fiesta in this northern town, which draws festival-goers and daredevils from around the world for a week of drinking and perilous bull-runs.

Javier Sesma, a doctor from the emergency unit of the local Navarra Hospital, told reporters that 21 people were injured in the run and the pile-up overall.

These included a 19-year-old man from the Spanish town of Vitoria who was in serious condition with a chest injury, and an Irish man with a less severe injury, also to his chest.

The 19-year-old was "in an especially serious condition with a chest trauma causing breathing problems, and is requiring breathing apparatus," Sesma said. "He is in a stable but serious condition."

He added that a further two people were being treated for gore wounds.

Spanish media said it was the worst stampede in decades at the festival.

Live television pictures showed one man being carried away unconscious, his face bleeding.

Saturday's chaotic run nearly doubled the overall toll of those hospitalised in the previous six days of runs.

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Texas abortion law passes despite protests

The Texas senate approved a bill setting some of the strictest limits on abortion despite protests. Source: AAP

THE Texas senate has approved a bill setting some of the strictest limits on abortion in the United States, just weeks after a filibuster by opposition Democrats dramatically thwarted the measure.

The bill - similar to the one that state Senator Wendy Davis helped block in a 13-hour filibuster on June 25 - was approved 19-11 late on Friday, with one Democrat joining the Republican majority, local media reported.

Davis became a national hero for Democrats and supporters of abortion. Pro-choice advocates filled the spectator gallery Friday and held rallies outside the state senate, but were unable to stop the measure from being approved.

Republican Governor Rick Perry has vowed to sign the bill into law.

The bill includes a ban on abortions starting at 20 weeks after conception, unless the woman's health is imminently endangered; sets strict requirements for doctors performing abortions; and mandates that a doctor must be present when a woman takes a pill to induce an abortion.

Texas media reported that police tussled with noisy protesters who resisted eviction from the spectator gallery. Some protesters even chained themselves to the railing to avoid being dragged out.

During the June 25 session a raucous gallery crowd was key in preventing the vote from being held on time. There were too many activists for police to control - a mistake not repeated on Friday, when the capitol was swarming with state troopers.

Police also checked bags and took out items that could be thrown, including bottles suspected of containing excrement and urine, the Houston Chronicle reported.

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Syria's famed Crusader fort hit in raid

AN air raid on Syria's famed Krak des Chevaliers castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has damaged one of the fortress's towers, footage shot by activists shows.

Several videos posted online on Saturday showed at least one air strike on Friday against the castle in central Homs province, where fighting is raging between government troops and rebel forces.

The footage shows a huge blast as a tower of the Crusader castle, which is built on a hill, appears to take a direct hit, throwing up large clouds of smoke and scattering debris in the air.

A separate video filmed inside the fortress purports to show some of the damage caused by the air strike, including a gaping hole in the ceiling and a pile of rubble below.

"God is great. This is the destruction caused by MiG air strike on the Krak des Chevaliers," says the activist filming the damage.

"Look at the this, oh world. This is Bashar al-Assad bombing the Krak des Chevaliers," he adds of Syria's embattled president whom rebel forces are trying to topple.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog group, could not confirm direct hits on the castle, but said there were reports of three air strikes in the area on Friday.

The raids came after rebels apparently using the Krak des Chevaliers as a base attacked an Alawite village called Qumayri, killing several people, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Fighting in and around the fortress has been reported throughout the conflict, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011 and evolved into an armed uprising after crackdowns on demonstrations.

The Krak des Chevaliers was built between 1142 and 1271, according to UNESCO, and along with the adjoining Qalat Salah el-Din fortress, is considered one of the best preserved Crusader castles in existence.

It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2006, and is one of six sites in Syria designated as such.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict, according to the Observatory.

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Faulty switch blamed for French derailment

The train derailment near Paris that left six people dead was likely caused by a faulty switch. Source: AAP

THE derailment near Paris that left six people dead and dozens injured was likely caused by a faulty part in the switch that allows trains to change tracks, the SNCF national rail company says.

"This bond", a kind of steel clip that links two rails on a switch, "broke away, it became detached and came out of its housing," Pierre Izard, SNCF's general manager for infrastructure said on Saturday.

The company added that it had ordered checks of some 5000 similar devices on the network.

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Snowden to meet rights activists in Moscow

The Deputy Secretary of State says the US is "very disappointed" how China handled the Snowden case. Source: AAP

FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is set to meet with leading Russian rights activists and lawyers at the airport in Moscow where he has been stuck in transit for nearly three weeks.

Several campaigners have told AFP they will attend the 2300 AEST meeting on Friday after receiving an invitation from Snowden, in what will be the former government contractor's first publicised encounter since he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong.

According to the purported invitation from Snowden posted on social media by one activist, the fugitive wants to discuss his "next steps" forward.

He also rails against the "unlawful campaign" against him by Washington which is seeking his extradition after he leaked details of pervasive US intelligence surveillance

Those invited included representatives of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Transparency International as well as several prominent lawyers working in Moscow.

"I can confirm that Mr Snowden will hold a meeting with rights representatives on the territory of the airport," Sheremetyevo spokeswoman Anna Zakharenkova told AFP.

"We will provide access and premises," she added, declining to provide further details.

Snowden has made no public appearances since arriving at the state-controlled airport in the Russian capital on June 23. According to officials, he has spent the whole time in the airport transit zone.

Sergei Nikitin of the Moscow branch of Amnesty International told AFP he received an email inviting his group and said "we are planning to go".

Elena Panfilova of Transparency International said the "somewhat unexpected" invitation was being discussed. She said the email had come from an apparently secure email address in Snowden's name.

Tatyana Lokshina of Human Rights Watch in Moscow said on her Facebook page that she had also received an invitation from Snowden although she could not yet confirm "it was real".

She quoted the email as saying Snowden wanted to have the meeting for "a brief statement and discussion regarding the next steps forward in my situation".

Kristinn Hraffnson, spokesman for the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website which is supporting Snowden, told AFP that he could not confirm that the meeting was planned.

The email thanked Latin American states for considering an application for asylum but denounced "an unlawful campaign by officials in the US government to deny my right to seek and enjoy this asylum".

Leftist Latin American states are seen as the most likely destination for Snowden, who has applied for asylum in 27 countries.

Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua have all expressed readiness to consider giving Snowden asylum.

Prominent Moscow lawyer Genrikh Padva confirmed to AFP that he had received an invitation for a meeting at the airport on Friday afternoon local time, but did not believe he would have time to attend.

Olga Kostina, a rights activist who is a member of Russia's public chamber advisory body, told the state ITAR-TASS news agency that she would attend "if just out of curiosity".

Interfax said Russia's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin had been invited and he told the agency he was ready to attend the meeting.

A source had told Interfax the day earlier that the United States and Russia were now in "wait-and-see" mode over Snowden, indicating that a rapid solution to his presence may not be in sight.

President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will not extradite Snowden but also indicated the Kremlin is keen to see the back of a man who has added an additional problem to already strained relations with Washington.

The meeting comes after the United States on Thursday told China it was upset it did not hand over Snowden after he fled to Hong Kong, saying that the decision had undermined relations.

President Barack Obama, meeting senior Chinese officials who were in Washington for annual talks, "expressed his disappointment and concern" over the Snowden case, the White House said.

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No deal on school reforms: Qld premier

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says his government needs more time to consider school reforms. Source: AAP

THE Queensland government hasn't signed up to the federal government's education reforms but has left the door open.

Premier Campbell Newman says no deal has been reached yet after meeting with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, federal Education Minister Bill Shorten and state Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek on Friday afternoon.

He says the Sunday deadline has been pushed back a few weeks so Queensland and the federal government can possibly iron out outstanding issues.

Mr Newman praised Mr Rudd for having a positive meeting with him, unlike previous prime minister Julia Gillard, he said.

"We've talked about it for a considerable period of time, I cannot give you anything other than saying it was a productive discussion," Mr Newman told reporters.

"It was again a discussion that was not afforded to us by the previous prime minister.

"I thank the prime minister for that.

"It was very productive and we now know what we have to do to try to reach an agreement."

Mr Shorten said the federal government had agreed to a request from the Queensland to extend the deadline for deal by seven to 14 days.

The minister conceded there were still significant issues to resolve, but said the government would respect a set principles during the negotiations.

These include that the federal government would make sure taxpayers' money was spent in the best possible way on education and the Queensland government was allowed autonomy in running the state's schools.

"The question is can we marry those two principles in the best interests of school children in Queensland," Mr Shorten said.

"It was a very constructive dialogue."

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Six teens arrested for stealing cars in NT

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with stealing and crashing a taxi in the Northern Territory. Source: AAP

IT was a week for teenage joyrides in the Northern Territory as a 14-year-old Darwin boy was charged with stealing and crashing a taxi and five teens were arrested after stealing a car and driving it 1200km south.

The Darwin boy allegedly stole the taxi from a depot at about 1.20am (CST) on Friday, police say.

Police spotted him driving the cab along Mueller Road, but the boy took off.

At about 6am the taxi was found, crashed through the front fence of a home in Bellamack, with the left door ripped off and the front left tyre hanging by its axel.

Police arrested a 14-year-old boy shortly afterwards and charged him with half a dozen offences, including stealing, speeding, and aggravated unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

He will appear in Darwin Youth Justice Court at a later date.

Police are still looking for three accomplices.

Meanwhile, five other teens have been arrested in Alice Springs for allegedly stealing a car in Palmerston.

Four males aged 18, 16, and two aged 14, along with a 16-year-old girl are expected to be charged shortly with various offences including unlawful entry, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful damage, driving without a licence, and failing to stop for police.

Detective Superintendent Brent Warren said the group allegedly stole a Daewoo Nubira from a residence in Driver on Wednesday.

Supt Warren said they drove the vehicle to Tennant Creek where they stole around $50 worth of petrol from a service station before heading south to Alice Springs.

Police are searching for a 16-year-old boy who fled from police when the other five were arrested.

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Cuts delayed Caltex leak response: union

NOT a single local firefighter was on deck when a Caltex terminal in Sydney sprung a leak, and politicians and unions say it's lucky no one was killed.

Firefighters were still mopping up at Banksmeadow, near Port Botany, on Friday night after 130,000 litres of fuel escaped from the terminal early in the morning.

A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman told AAP local residents had been allowed to return to their homes, but clean-up work would continue until early Saturday.

The spill has prompted scorching criticism of the NSW government's cost-cutting policy of rolling fire station closures.

Botany Mayor Ben Keneally said it was a miracle a major incident had been avoided.

"When you have millions of litres of fuel stored, anything can happen," he told reporters.

"Petrol is a volatile liquid and it can go off with a small spark."

The fuel escaped from the terminal at Banksmeadow after a valve malfunction about 1.30am (AEST).

A retaining wall managed to contain the petrol that gushed from a tank containing a total of two million litres of unleaded fuel.

The local fire station at Botany - which was only 3km away - had been closed at 6pm the night before, with its workers directed to fill vacancies at Campsie, 15km away.

Mick Nairn, from the Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU), said two trucks arrived at the scene from Matraville and Maroubra after about 10 minutes.

"Fires can always be responded to from stations further away (but) time costs lives - no doubt about it," he told reporters.

"The decision to close any fire station is very dangerous. The government and the fire brigade can't predict where the fires and spills are going to be."

Mr Nairn warned local knowledge was also lost in the process.

"Botany Fire Station regularly conduct drills at Caltex, so they have a much better idea of the layout and the procedures with the staff down there."

Two Caltex workers carrying out maintenance at the time of the spill were doused with fuel and taken to hospital.

But Mr Keneally said it was lucky no one was killed.

"We've all seen the tragic events that occurred in Canada last week when a large amount of fuel ignited," he said.

An oil train came off its tracks and exploded into a huge fireball, destroying the centre of the town of Lac-Megantic and killing up to 50 people.

A suburb like Botany, with its concentration of petrochemical and chemical plants plus the airport and port, had a high amount of risk, Mr Keneally added.

"If you add an extra five minutes to the response time, you add untrained resources to the response time, you are heightening the risk ...

"This is an area of heightened risk and therefore an area that requires 24/7 staffing."

The NSW opposition, the FBEU and Mr Keneally are calling on the government to reverse its policy of temporary closures.

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WA woman banned from owning pets

A West Australian woman has been banned from owning pets after being convicted of animal cruelty. Source: AAP

A WEST Australian woman has been banned from owning pets for the rest of her life after she was found guilty on 24 counts of animal cruelty.

RSPCA inspectors visited the Mandurah property of Rosemary Muriel Donovan in July 2011, finding several dead animals and more than 70 live animals existing in unacceptable conditions.

The animals included dogs, cats and kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds.

They did not have clean or sufficient food or water and were suffering harm that could have been alleviated by taking reasonable steps.

Inspectors noted a strong stench of ammonia and faeces on the floor.

At a trial last week, the Mandurah Magistrates Court heard that the cats were suffering from ringworm and riddled with mites and fleas, the guinea pig cage was dirty - with dead guinea pigs on the floor - and some of the birds were confined to cages that were too small.

Inspectors saw several different animals, including rabbits, packed inside aviaries that also contained budgies and weiros.

In one aviary, a rabbit was walking over five dead budgies that were lying on the floor.

On Friday, Donovan was banned for owning animals for the rest of her life and fined $48,000, plus $2780.75 in costs.

While she received the minimum $2000 fine for each of the 24 counts, the RSPCA was pleased she would never own a pet again as she was incapable of caring for animals.

"We are extremely happy with the permanent prohibition order," RSPCA spokesman Tim Mayne told AAP.

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