Scuffles erupt at Hong Kong pro-govt rally

Scuffles erupted in Hong Kong as thousands marched in support of the city's scandal-plagued leader. Source: AAP

SCUFFLES have broken out as thousands marched in support of Hong Kong's scandal-plagued leader Leung Chun-ying, ahead of a mass pro-democracy rally planned for New Year's Day.

About 2500 people took to the cold and windy streets waving Chinese flags and shouting slogans in favour of Leung, who faces possible impeachment proceedings over illegal alterations to his luxury home.

Leung was chosen to lead the southern Chinese city in March by a pro-Beijing election committee, promising to improve governance and uphold the rule of law in the former British colony of seven million people.

But in his first sixth months in power, Leung has seen his popularity ratings slide and faced a no-confidence vote in the city's legislature.

"We welcome people to support the government and to support the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong citizens," said Caring Hong Kong Power, the organisers of Sunday's march, which began at the city's Victoria Park and ended at the government headquarters.

But scuffles erupted midway between pro-Leung supporters and anti-government campaigners who arrived carrying colonial Hong Kong flags.

Some participants were also seen punching two reporters from a local television station, according to an AFP photographer.

"I am not comfortable with the increasing power of groups that create turmoil in Hong Kong," Stan Ngan, a 63-year-old retiree at the event told AFP, referring to increasingly vocal pro-democracy groups.

Pro-democracy campaigners plan to hold a rally on January 1 to demand the resignation of Leung and ask for universal suffrage, with organisers saying they hope to see 100,000 people at the rally.

Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 as a semi-autonomous territory with its own political and legal system that guarantees civil liberties not seen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and association.

Leung survived a vote of no confidence in the legislature earlier this month over illegal structures in his home, including a wooden trellis and a glass enclosure.

But he faces a planned impeachment motion scheduled for early January, with 27 pro-democracy lawmakers in the 70-member legislature saying they would support the motion.

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Summernats cancel strip show

THE organiser of the revamped family-friendly Summernats festival has a message to fans upset about the cancellation of the traditional Saturday night strip show: "That's how we roll".

Co-owner Andy Lopez has made Canberra's once-infamous street car event more family-friendly since taking over in mid-2009.

He scrapped the wet T-shirt competition in 2010, and this year has axed the annual Saturday night strip show from the four day entertainment schedule.

"That's how we roll," Mr Lopez said.

"For those people who it is a bit of an issue for, they can go and avail themselves at Canberra's facilities outside of the grounds."

The event came close to folding following bad crowd behaviour in 2008 after patrons were kicked out for misbehaving and a 300-strong rowdy mob marched around the venue in retaliation yelling "Show us your tits".

But with the addition of better live music and group goals such as breaking the 2013 Guinness World Record for the most number of cars involved in a simultaneous burnout, Mr Lopez and his fellow co-owners are turning the event around.

"People come to Summernats because they love cars and they love getting together, looking at cars ... and getting new ideas of what they are going to do over the next 12 months.

"Then they like sitting around, chilling out, listening to good music, watching the fireworks and hanging out with their friends."

And it looks as though the event really has turned a corner, with ACT Policing praising the 2012 festival after not making a single arrest.

As a result, Mr Lopez anticipates crowd figures may even exceed the 90,000 people who visited last year for the festival's 25th anniversary.

Already 1700 cars have been registered for this year's event, with participants travelling from as far away as Darwin and Perth.

"It is the national mecca for the street machines," Mr Lopez said.

The four-day Summernats festival begins with the Civic city cruise at midday (AEDT) on Thursday.

Gates at Exhibition Park open at 1pm.

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Man held over Melbourne teenage stabbings

Police believe two separate stabbings in Melbourne's west may be linked to the same attackers. Source: AAP

A 19-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested after two teenagers were stabbed and left with serious injuries in Melbourne's west.

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the stomach and wrist following an altercation with a group of males outside a house in Gordon Street, Footscray, at about 10.40pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Minutes later, officers were called after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times during a fight between a large group of youths in a fast-food outlet's car park in Ballarat Road, Footscray.

Both teenagers were taken to the Royal Children's Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Maribyrnong Crime Investigation Unit detectives were interviewing a 19-year-old Bundoora man over the attacks following his arrest on Sunday.

Police are urging witnesses to both attacks, which they say may have been committed by the same offenders, to contact Crime Stoppers.

They particularly want to speak to a group of Asian males aged between the early teens and early 20s who were seen near both stabbings, police said.

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Bus bomb wounds seven in Philippines

A POWERFUL bomb has exploded in a passenger bus and wounded at least seven people in the southern Philippines in an attack by suspected extortion gangs.

The homemade bomb exploded in the rear portion of the bus as it travelled late on Saturday in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat province, damaging the vehicle and sparking a brief fire but causing no injuries among the vehicle's passengers and crew, police chief Rolen Balquin said on Sunday.

The force of the blast shattered the windshield of another passenger bus nearby, wounding its driver and two passengers. Four bystanders along a roadside were wounded by shrapnel from the blast, Balquin said.

The bombing occurred despite a security alert over possible attacks by armed extortion gangs which have targeted passenger buses in the south.

Balquin said his men had captured a member of the notorious Al Khobar extortion gang who detonated a roadside bomb last month in Sultan Kudarat's Tacurong town and later told investigators the attack was part of an attempt to extort money from a bus company.

The bombing prompted the provincial police to go on full alert with intensified patrols of public areas and road checkpoints.

Intelligence agencies also went on alert on Sunday, the anniversary of five near-simultaneous bombings by al-Qaeda-linked Filipino extremists that killed 22 people and wounded about 100 in Manila on December 30, 2000.

Police said they had not monitored any specific terrorist threat but that intelligence and counter-terrorism agencies traditionally intensify their monitoring on dates when terrorists have staged major attacks.

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Police urge calm after rape victim dies

NEW Delhi's top police officer and chief minister have urged people to mourn the death of a gang-rape victim in a peaceful manner as large parts of the city centre were sealed off.

Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar asked people to maintain calm across the city, according to a statement from his office which also announced that the area around the India Gate monument and 10 metro stations would be closed to the public.

New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also appealed for calm and pledged "solid steps will be taken very soon" to protect women in India's capital.

"Please maintain peace and at the same time we must make sure that every action is taken to make women secure in our city," she told reporters.

The calls for calm came after the Indian woman who was gang-raped on a New Delhi bus died in a Singapore hospital early on Saturday after suffering severe organ failure.

People across India have started coming out to mourn the death of the 23-year-old student, whose death has already sparked mass protests.

Police said they would allow people to hold peaceful demonstrations only in some areas and hundreds of policemen have been deployed to prevent any violence on the streets.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said he was deeply saddened by the death and the protests that were sparked by the case were "understandable".

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Archaeologists uncover 800-year-old bones

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in central Mexico have uncovered the bones of 12 children and adults who may have been buried 800 years ago.

The skeletons were discovered as the archaeologists supervised the installation of a new drain in an old neighbourhood of Cholula, a city 120 kilometres north of the Mexican capital.

The first skull was found at the site on December 8 and, by Thursday, the experts had identified the remains of 12 individuals, a National Institute of Anthropology and History expert told AFP.

The bones were found buried just a few centimetres below a paved section of asphalt, said archeologist Ashuni Romero Butron, who added: "Fortunately, they were not damaged by erosion before the paving."

Most of the 12 skeletons are complete and their sexes will have to be determined in laboratory analysis, Romero said.

The ethnic origin of the bodies is also yet to be determined, although Romero noted that 800 years ago the area was home to people from the Tolteca-Chichimeca and the Olmeca-Xicalanca cultures.

Last April, another burial site with 17 skeletons, some 700 years old, was found nearby.

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Failed Murchison offers to buy back stock

FAILED former Pilbara iron ore miner Murchison Metals has asked investors to support its buy back of shares before the company is wound up, but its largest shareholder won't be involved.

Mercantile Investment, the listed investment arm chaired by corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley and 17 per cent shareholder, rejects the plan as it stands.

Sir Ron recently successfully sought the departure of two Murchison board members including managing director Greg Martin and replaced them with his own representatives.

Murchison Metals said in a statement on Friday that it expects to offer to buy back its remaining issued shares at four cents to 4.2 cents per share ($18 million to $19 million).

The shares had dropped by 0.1 of a cent to four cents on Friday, having fallen 87 per cent ($117 million in shareholders' value) from the 30 cent level they reached in 2007 before the global financial crisis hit.

Murchison got into trouble in mid-2011 when it could not get funding it had hoped to attract from Chinese interests for the $6 billion Pilbara Oakajee Port and Rail project it was a major partner in.

It was forced to sell its interest in that and its producing Jack Hills iron ore mine to joint venture partner Japan's Mitsubishi for $325 million.

While the company was expected to de-list with liquidators appointed soon, the move by Sir Ron to nearly double his stake to 17 per cent in November has raised speculation he may have his own plans for the shell company.

Murchison said that the board believed the proposed buy back offered shareholders a choice between exiting their investments in the company and retaining their shares.

IG Markets market strategist Stan Shamu said there appeared little incentive for investors to back a buyback that offered no premium to the current share price.

"You need to offer them something that's a little bit attractive to feel like they need to palm them off ... you do it strategically but give a bit of premium as well," he told AAP.

The offer would need a majority of shareholders to approve the plan, with Mercantile's 17 per cent likely opposed and second-largest shareholder, Korean steel giant POSCO (13.45 per cent) yet to decide.

Sir Ron has accused Murchison of claiming unprecedented expenses for a company being wound up of $7.64 million out of $27 million left.

Murchison hit back saying that includes one-off legal fees to settle disputes, tax and operating costs.

It has already returned about $207 million (46 cents per share) to shareholders.

Murchison director and spokesman (and Mercantile director) Gabriel Radzyminski did not return calls for a comment.

A meeting to discuss the proposed buyback is due to be held after February 20.

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Pollies call for real leadership in 2013

DO they strive to govern fairly for Australians of "every shape and size" or treat voters with contempt by dumbing things down?

As the year draws to a close, both sides of politics seem to be doing a little soul searching about what it means to tackle the big issues, and how leaders should go about representing the people.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard touched on the changing role of politics and modern-day leadership on Friday, but with a slightly rosier outlook than former coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull had a day earlier.

Ms Gillard marked South Australia's Proclamation Day on Friday by urging the nation's leaders to govern for all with "optimism and unity".

She said politicians must be equally determined to govern for all the people, for the families of "every shape and size", and help them navigate social change.

Mr Turnbull, however, said they were instead being drawn into "the game of politics as opposed to the responsibility of dealing with the big issues of our time" and said it had never been easier for people in public life "to get away with telling lies".

Speaking beneath the same gum tree in Adelaide at which the state's first governor declared SA a colony in 1836, Ms Gillard said Australia's leaders still must face up to tough decisions with a spirit of optimism and unity.

"Our task as leaders is to know how family life is changing today and to make family life easier for our people as it changes," she said in Adelaide.

"The juggling of demands, the changes in expectation.

"What doesn't change is that building the future requires leadership, facing up to tough decisions, optimism and unity."

But Mr Turnbull was scathing of his political colleagues and the media when he addressed an audience at the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland on Thursday.

The federal member for Wentworth drew cheers as he attacked politicians and broadcasters for treating Australian battlers with contempt by dumbing down complex issues into "glib one-liners".

During his 11-minute speech, Mr Turnbull said politicians should deal with facts, not spin, adding the standard of political debate in 2012 had slipped.

"Broadcasters or politicians or writers who think that they are respecting Struggle Street, the battlers, by dumbing things down into one-line soundbites are not respecting them, they are treating them with contempt," he said on Thursday.

"It's our job above all in politics to tackle the big issues and to explain them."

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Man dies after eating 28 raw eggs for bet

A young Tunisian man has reportedly died after winning a bet to eat 28 raw eggs in one sitting. Source: AAP

A YOUNG Tunisian has died after winning a bet to eat 28 raw eggs in one sitting, a local radio station reports.

Dhaou Fatnassi, 20, from the town of Kairouan, swallowed the eggs after his friends challenged him to do so for an undisclosed sum of money.

The young man then experienced stomach pains and was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, Shems FM reported.

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Compensation likely for WA patient mix-up

A MAN who was wrongly administered a strong antipsychotic drug at a Perth mental hospital after being mistaken for a missing patient is probably entitled to compensation, the state's mental health minister says.

Police arrested the man on December 16 because he fitted the description of a patient who was missing from Graylands Hospital.

Staff wrongly confirmed the man's identity and gave him a antipsychotic drug for schizophrenia.

The mistake was realised when the man had an adverse reaction to the medication and had to be rushed to hospital.

Mental Health Minister Helen Morton told AAP on Thursday the man was probably entitled to compensation over the mix-up.

"On the face of it, this is clearly a case where compensation should be made," she said.

"However, we will have to await the outcome of the full inquiry and we are aware of all the facts before the matter can be fully considered."

Ms Morton said the case was an "absolute priority" for her and she had asked for an inquiry to take place in a week.

"I am hoping this is an isolated incident made by human error but I will know more about that from the inquiry," she said.

The minister said she was "shocked and appalled" that such an error could occur.

"I am very sorry for the distress and hurt that the misidentified man has endured," Ms Morton said.

"I find it hard to imagine that if proper processes were followed there is any excuse for such a terrible mistake to be made.

"I will await the outcome of the clinical review; however, people must be held accountable for this dreadful mistake and to ensure that it never happens again."

Ms Morton said she was also seeking clarification from the Health Department about the man's follow-up care.

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Men leading bumper Boxing Day sales

The Australian National Retailers Association expects Boxing Day spending to top $1.8 billion. Source: AAP

RETAILERS are hopeful Boxing Day sales are up on last year as fashion-hungry males hunting in packs led the charge in the nationwide attempt to bag a bargain.

From Sydney to Adelaide, thousands of shoppers rose early to ensure their spot at the forefront of the traditional buying frenzy.

Sydney's Pitt Street Mall and surrounding streets were packed with long queues outside CBD stores such as Gucci, Topshop and Swarovski.

History was made in Adelaide as about 120,000 people flocked to Rundle Mall following the introduction of new trading hours.

"Normally, the city is almost deserted, there's nobody here ... now, there are people everywhere," Business South Australia CEO Nigel McBride told AAP.

It's a trend the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) hopes will be repeated elsewhere. It has forecast national sales will top $1.8 billion, up by about 2.5 per cent on last year.

More than 500 eager bargain hunters were queueing in Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall at 5am (AEDT) when David Jones and Myer opened their doors.

By mid-morning the mall was full of shoppers lugging bags of bargains.

Victorians will spend the most at $588 million while NSW - which still has public holiday shopping restrictions outside tourist precincts - isn't far behind on $511 million.

Queenslanders are expected to spend a combined $3 billion over the next three weeks.

Clothing, homewares and electronics remain the most popular items, with women also targeting fashion and homewares such as sheets and towels.

But ANRA CEO Margy Osmond noted an unusual trend.

"Last year we saw a lot of men in the front of the queue to get in-store and this year they're out in force," Ms Osmond told reporters at David Jones's crowded shoe department.

"We're seeing groups of guys coming in and they're buying fashion and they're buying gadgets.

"So clearly the boys are having a nice day out together to do some shopping, so I'm sure this is a trend we're going to see more of."

Ms Osmond said Boxing Day was the "ultimate adrenalin shop".

Spending for the first week of the sales Australia-wide is predicted to top $5.7 billion.

National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Trevor Evans said positive figures were needed for Boxing Day after sluggish sales throughout 2012.

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Corpse flower makes stinky Christmas bloom

Horticulture fans are flocking to Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens to witness a rare Corpse Flower. Source: AAP

IT stinks like a rotting body, is six feet tall and dies after just two days.

It sounds revolting, but it has staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne overwhelmed with joy.

The Titan Arum - or Corpse Flower - finally reached full bloom on Christmas Day, but horticulture fans must hurry to witness the highly anticipated sensory delight, as it's expected to last just 48 hours.

"We're pretty excited," Nursery coordinator David Robbins told AAP.

"I could smell it from outside the glasshouse this morning when I walked past - to me it was akin to a strong organic fertiliser, but others say it smells like blue cheese or rotten fish or meat."

It is the first Corpse Flower in Victoria and just one of a handful to have bloomed in Australia.

The flower began to grow on December 10 and it finally reached its peak late on Christmas Day at a lofty 180cm.

When in full bloom, the tiny female flowers at the base of the central column omit a strong smell to attract insects.

The Titan Arum tuber can remain dormant for 1-3 years and produce either one gigantic leaf up to 6m tall, or a flower that can grow to just over 3m tall.

Mr Robbins said he expects thousands of people to file past the flower on Boxing Day, before it starts to wilt and die.

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'Lost tribe' migrates from India to Israel

Indian community members believed to be descendants of Israel's lost tribe have migrated to Israel. Source: AAP

FIFTY members of an Indian community believed to be descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel have arrived in the Jewish state, completing their immigration.

Linking up with family members who have already settled in Israel, they are among the first wave of the 7200-strong Bnei Menashe community's mass migration to the Jewish state.

The Indians say they are the descendants of the 10 tribes who lived in the kingdom of Israel in Biblical times and who were dispersed, according to the Bible, after the invasion of the Assyrians in 721 BC.

"After thousands of years of exile, we have returned home at last," said Nachshon Gangte, 47, waiting for an older sister he has not seen for 12 years.

After hours of patiently waiting in the arrival hall of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, he could no longer hold back his tears when she appeared. "It's great, God is great. He has allowed me to meet my family on holy land," he said.

His niece, Zimra, said he was "happy to see my family and my land".

Michael Freund of the Shavei Israel group (meaning "those who return to Israel" in Hebrew), which arranged their journey, said more than 7000 people have sought help from the Israeli government to emigrate from India.

"The members of this tribe have never forgotten where they came from and we are excited to be able to help them come back," he said, adding hundreds of others were expected to arrive in coming weeks.

They were welcomed at the airport by dozens of family members, amid a festive atmosphere.

The Bnei Menashe are members of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribe who live in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur near the border with Myanmar (Burma).

Their oral history tells of a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China, all the while adhering to certain Jewish religious practices, like circumcision.

In India, they were converted to Christianity by 19th-century missionaries and, in reading the Bible, recognised stories from their own traditions that convinced them they actually belonged to the Jewish faith.

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Mexico City offers cash, toys for guns

Mexico City is sponsoring a program in Iztapalapa offering money and toys in exchange for guns. Source: AAP

MEXICO City is sponsoring a program offering cash, toys and computer equipment in exchange for guns in a rough neighbourhood where a 10-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet as he sat inside a movie theatre.

The program in the borough of Iztapalapa is dubbed "For Your Family: Voluntary Disarmament".

Borough president Jesus Valencia wrote on his Twitter account on Monday that residents had turned in 27 rifles and 65 pistols.

The borough has been plagued by violent crime and people firing guns into the air during concerts and celebrations.

In November, 10-year-old Hendrik Cuacuas was hit in the head by a 9-mm bullet during the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph.

Prosecutors said the round was fired from outside the theatre, and spent bullets were found on the roof.

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Man rushed to hospital after NSW shooting

A MAN has been shot in the leg in a Sydney street and taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Police and paramedics rushed to Hollywood Drive, Lansvale, in Sydney's southwest about 1.45pm (AEST) on Monday.

Police said a 22-year-old man was shot in the calf inside a unit.

"The man is known to police and is not assisting with inquiries," they said in a statement.

Officers established a crime scene outside the home unit.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the victim was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious condition.

The attack follows a number of shootings in western Sydney in recent weeks and six shooting murders in the area since August.

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Retailers get $2bn boost on Christmas Eve

Retailers predict Australian shoppers will spend over $2 billion on Christmas Eve alone. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS are tipped to have spent just over $2 billion on Christmas Eve but retailers say festive season sales this year have been fairly flat overall.

Food, liquor, coffee machines, iPads and iPods featured as big sellers on Monday, Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) Chief Executive Margy Osmond said.

Cosmetic departments and perfume stores had also been busy as last minute shoppers, mainly men, scrambled to buy gifts, she told reporters in Sydney.

The ANRA predicts just over $2 billion will have been spent on Christmas Eve alone, with an expected $32 billion spent on gifts by Australians this Christmas.

Spending was slightly up on last year "but it won't be the exciting kind of Christmas we'd certainly be hoping for in 2013", Ms Osmond said.

"Really this is going to be a fairly flat Christmas for retail, much as we would have liked to have seen it more buoyant and I think we will be slightly concerned about the start of 2013."

Ms Osmond said retailers would hope for more interest rate cuts in the first part of 2013 to stimulate spending in what is traditionally the softest part of the retail year.

She said prices were already low with a lot of discounting in the run-up to Christmas.

"But that doesn't mean you won't be getting even huger benefits on Boxing Day."

Ms Osmond said retailers noted a late surge in shopping this Christmas, put down to a Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the lead-up to Christmas Day.

She said there had been a big shift to online shopping this Christmas, including new options from Australian retailers.

"But of course a very big chunk of the action is heading overseas, something like 8 per cent of the total spend."

Ms Osmond said everyone should be able to shop any way they wanted but Australian retailers were concerned about the amount of sales going overseas and wanted GST applied to them.

David Jones Group Executive Operations Cate Daniels said the department store's first online clearance sales start on Christmas Day.

She said Boxing Day would be the biggest trading day of the year for David Jones with people this year being able to research what they wanted online before buying in store.

Shoppers took advantage of marathon opening hours at big city shopping centres as they traded overnight.

Chadstone Shopping Centre, in Melbourne's southwest, opened its doors for its 34-hour marathon at 8am (AEDT) on Sunday.

Chadstone general manager Daniel Sutton said popular gift choices were LEGO and Barbie dolls for kids, gourmet cooking books, Apple electronic products and gift cards.

One last-minute Melbourne shopper failed to get her Christmas list ready in advance and was fined for scribbling hers while driving and not watching the road.

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US town in mourning inundated with gifts

Funerals are still being held at the Connecticut town where a gunman killed 20 children. Source: AAP

NEWTOWN'S children have been showered with gifts - tens of thousands of teddy bears, Barbie dolls, soccer balls and board games - and those are only some of the tokens of support from around the world for the Connecticut town in mourning.

Just a little over a week ago, 20 children and six school employees were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, attacked the school, then killed himself. Police don't know what set off the massacre.

Days before Christmas, funerals were still being held on Saturday, the last of those whose schedules were made public, according to the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association. A service was held in Ogden, Utah, for six-year-old Emilie Parker. Others were held in Connecticut for Josephine Gay, seven, and Ana Marquez-Greene, six.

A horse-drawn carriage brought the miniature coffin of Ana to The First Cathedral church in Bloomfield, Connecticut, where 1000 mourners gathered to bid goodbye.

The service included a performance by Harry Connick Jr, who has played with the girl's jazz saxophonist father, Jimmy Greene, the Connecticut Post reported.

Also in Newtown, dozens of emergency responders paid their respects at the start of the service for Josephine at St Rose of Lima Catholic Church, walking through the church and up to the altar.

In Ogden, people tied pink ribbons around trees and utility poles in memory of Emilie.

Her father, Robert Parker, was one of the first parents to publicly talk about his loss and he expressed no animosity for the gunman.

Meanwhile, all of Newtown's children were invited to Edmond Town Hall, where they could choose a toy.

Bobbi Veach, who was fielding donations at the building, reflected on the outpouring of gifts from toy stores, organisations and individuals around the world.

"It's their way of grieving," Veach said. "They say, 'I feel so bad, I just want to do something to reach out.' That's why we accommodate everybody we can."

The United Way of Western Connecticut said the official fund for donations had $US2.8 million ($A2.68 million) on Saturday.

Others sent envelopes stuffed with cash to pay for coffee at the general store, and a shipment of cupcakes arrived from a gourmet bakery in Beverly Hills, California.

The Postal Service reported a six-fold increase in mail in the town and set up a unique post office box to handle it. The parcels come decorated with rainbows and hearts drawn by children.

Some letters arrived in packs of 26 identical envelopes - one for each family of the children and staff killed or addressed to the "First Responders" or just "The People of Newtown". One card arrived from Georgia addressed to "The families of 6 amazing women and 20 beloved angels." Many contained cheques.

"This is just the proof of the love that's in this country," postmaster Cathy Zieff said.

At the town hall building, the basement resembled a toy store, with piles of stuffed penguins, dolls, games, and other gifts. All the toys were inspected and examined by bomb-sniffing dogs before being sorted and put on card tables.

Jugglers entertained the children, a dunk tank was set up outside and the crowd of several hundred parents and children sang an enthusiastic rendition of "Happy Birthday" to one child.

A man dressed as Santa Claus was in attendance and high school students were offering arts and crafts such as face painting and caricatures.

Many people have placed flowers, candles and stuffed animals at makeshift memorials that have popped up all over town.

Others are stopping by the Edmond Town Hall to drop off food, toys or cash. About 60,000 teddy bears were donated, said Ann Benoure, a social services caseworker who was working at the town hall.

"There's so much stuff coming in," Mahoney said. "To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming; you just want to close the doors and turn the phone off."

Mahoney said the town of some 27,000 with a median household income of more than $US111,000 plans to donate whatever is left over to shelters or other charities.

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Women's car insurance hike under fire

New EU rules that raise women's car insurance have come under criticism. Source: AAP

NEW EU rules which raise women's car insurance costs have been slammed as "gender equality for gender equality's sake".

London MEP (Member of the European Parliament) Marina Yannakoudakis said: "Only in the EU could penalising both women and men be seen as a kind of fairness."

Ms Yannakoudakis, Tory spokesman in the European Parliament on women's rights, hit out on the day that new "gender-neutral" pricing rules came into force.

The rules follow a European Court verdict on sex discrimination and affect areas where different standards apply to the sexes - notably car insurance and pension ages.

Applying equality rules means that men are likely to get lower pension annuities, while women will pay more for car insurance where traditionally they are considered safer drivers and therefore pay lower premiums than men.

Ms Yannakoudakis said women drivers could face a 40 per cent rise in their car insurance premiums, with female drivers under 30 set to be hit hardest. Male pensioners could be left up to 10,000 worse off in retirement.

She said: "This ruling is gender equality for gender equality's sake.

"It flies in the face both of common sense and the overwhelming evidence that women drivers represent a lower risk to insurers.

"Women drivers who have not already changed their policies should shop around to ensure that they get the best deal."

It was in March last year that European Court of Justice judges in Luxembourg rewrote the rule book for insurance companies by banning risk assessment based on gender.

Using differences between men and women as a risk factor in setting premiums for car and medical insurance and pension schemes breaches EU rules on equality, declared the judges.

The verdict forced changes in the current standard practice across Europe of basing insurance rates on statistics about differing life expectancies or road accident records of the sexes.

The Association of British Insurers estimated that the decision will actually reinforce price discrimination, with women drivers under 26 in the UK facing at least a 26 per cent rise in car insurance rates, with a 10 per cent drop in rates for men.

Up until now, discrimination in setting insurance rates was explicitly permitted under EU equal treatment rules, which stated that discrimination was permissible "if sex is a determining risk factor ... substantiated by relevant and accurate actuarial and statistical data".

But the judges decreed that equality provisions set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Lisbon Treaty took precedence.

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Queen's chaplain 'victim of racism'

A chaplain to Queen Elizabeth (pic) says she is a victim of racism within the Church of England. Source: AAP

A CHAPLAIN to Queen Elizabeth tipped as a possible contender to be one of the first women bishops claims she is a victim of racism within the Church of England.

The Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who became the first black female chaplain to the House of Commons, has also asked why there were not more people of minority ethnic backgrounds in leadership roles within the church, which she said was "still struggling with institutional racism".

In an interview with The Times on Friday, Ms Hudson-Wilkin, who was born and brought up in Montego Bay, Jamaica, said: "I've had people who did not want me to do a funeral. I can smile because it's their sheer ignorance - I feel sorry for them. I know that it's not about me, it's about them.

"We have been encouraging people to stand and people have been putting themselves forward and have not been elected. I think there is a level of racism around that."

Ms Hudson-Wilkin, who is vicar to two inner-city parishes in Hackney, east London, said she thought racism was a more pressing issue than homosexuality.

"The church has always been obsessed with sex, I really don't understand it," she told the paper.

"I have known some decent gay people who are in faithful monogamous relationships and who are hugely committed to each other.

"I'm deeply saddened that parts of the church continue to be obsessed by this whole business. There are so many more important things."

Ms Hudson-Wilkin was one of a number of prominent female clergy tipped as possible contenders should the Church of England's national assembly give final approval to legislation introducing the first women bishops.

The draft legislation was carried in a vote by the houses of bishops and clergy in the General Synod last month but failed by six votes to gain the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members.

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Man arrested over Greenbank shooting

Police investigate a shooting at Greenbank in Brisbane's south. Picture: Adam Armstrong Source: The Courier-Mail

AN alleged gunman who shot another man in the chest at Greenbank last night has been arrested in Brisbane's CBD.

The man was nabbed on the street early this afternoon by police and SERT.

It is understood charges are yet to be laid.

Police investigate a shooting at Greenbank in Brisbane's south. Picture: Adam Armstrong

Earlier, couriermail.com reported that people who heard a "loud bang" in Brisbane's south last night thought little of it at the time, but now know it was their neighbour being shot.

Crime scene tape cordoned off the semi-rural property - which neighbours said was rented by a man - and about 11 yellow markers were positioned on the dirt driveway outside the double garage.

Neighbours described hearing a "loud bang" on Friday night but said they did not think too much of it at the time.

Police investigate a shooting at Greenbank in Brisbane's south. Picture: Adam Armstrong

They said news of the shooting came as a surprise".

"We all keep to ourselves ... these are frightening times," one neighbour said.

"I didn't even hear police until friends tried to come and visit us but couldn't get in the street."

Police investigate a shooting at Greenbank in Brisbane's south. Picture: Adam Armstrong

The house lies in a quiet residential cul de sac with no street lights.

Police confirmed a man was spotted leaving the address in a vehicle after the shooting.

Another neighbour who did not want to be named said he noticed a "white pick-up truck" parked outside the house half an hour beforehand.

"I wasn't actually here when it (the incident) happened but when I drove out the driveway I saw a truck there," he said.

"It was odd because of the way it was faced - it was on the wrong side of the road but parked right outside their driveway."

Police said two other people - a man and a woman - were also at the home at the time of the incident but were not hurt.

The man who was shot in the chest is now in a serious but stable condition after undergoing surgery, and is "expected to survive".

It is believed that both men are known to police but their relationship is unknown.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers.

Last night, it was reported that a man had been shot in the chest in his home in Brisbane's south.

Police were hunting a gunman who fled the scene after shooting a 41-year-old man on Callistemon Court at Greenbank about 8pm.

The victim was in his home when he was shot.

It is not believed that the shooter forced his way into the home or that the man was shot in a drive-by style incident.

The man was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition and is undergoing surgery.

Police have cordoned off the home and forensic officers have established a crime scene.

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More mining approved in the Tarkine

THE Tasmanian government has granted another mining lease for the Tarkine, just days after approving an open-cut operation in the environmental hot spot.

West Australian mining company Venture Minerals has been given a lease for its Riley Creek iron-ore mine near Tullah in Tasmania's northwest.

It's the second of three Venture proposals for the area to be approved by the state government.

The projects still require approval from federal Environment Minister Tony Burke.

Mr Burke this week gave the go-ahead for Indian company Shree Minerals' new open-cut mine in the Tarkine region.

Tasmanian Deputy Premier Bryan Green says the Riley Creek operation will create 60 jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

Mr Green said Venture's third proposal, the Mt Lindsay tin and tungsten mine, would be worth $200 million and create 1000 jobs.

"The heavily mineralised areas of the northwest and west coasts continue to present significant job and economic opportunities for the state," he said in a statement.

The Tarkine, home to the largest tract of temperate rainforest in the southern hemisphere and the last haven of disease-free Tasmanian devils, is being assessed for its heritage value.

At the same time, about 10 mines are planned for the area in the next five years.

Tarkine National Coalition spokesperson Scott Jordan said Venture's lease was illegal and should only have been granted if environmental impact assessments had been finalised.

Mr Jordan said the Riley Creek assessment was still underway.

"This lease is illegal and invalid," he said.

Tasmanian Minerals Council CEO Terry Long said the mine proposal came with a 700-page environmental report which had been submitted to Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority.

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Victorian economic plan targets investment

VICTORIAN Premier Ted Baillieu maintains a budget surplus is achievable as the government undertakes measures to increase revenue and investment in the state.

The government is to sell unused public land and form a body to oversee investment in Victoria as part of a 70-point economic action plan designed to strengthen the state's economic position.

"The government is pursuing major new initiatives to drive growth, investment and jobs," Mr Baillieu said on Friday.

The federal government has dropped its commitment to return the budget to surplus in 2012/13.

Mr Baillieu said the state had been challenged by the weaker national economy but he was confident a budget surplus could be achieved.

"It is our aim, we believe it is important," he told reporters.

"It's our target and we believe it is achievable."

Mr Baillieu said building budget capacity was important for the delivery of services and infrastructure in Victoria.

The Victorian government last week forecast a $137 million surplus for 2012/13 but said $1 billion had been wiped from the state's bottom line since the May budget.

Victoria is one of only two states in Australia - the other being Western Australia - forecasting budget surpluses over the forward estimates, Mr Baillieu said.

"There are always risks but we believe it's achievable and we think it's important to build budget capacity," the premier said.

Mr Baillieu said his government had been urging the federal government to get its house in order.

"Walking away from a surplus is not a budget strategy, running consecutive and consistent deficits is not an economic strategy," he said.

As part of its action plan, the Victorian government will appoint a co-ordinator general of investment and a red tape commissioner to streamline regulation.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews dismissed the 70-point plan, saying there was no action in it.

"This document is a whole lot of rehashing, old announcements, lists without price tags, without any sense of how they'll be funded or how they'll be delivered," Mr Andrews said.

But he agreed the Victorian government was likely to achieve a budget surplus for 2013/13.

"I think we can be confident that the Victorian budget will in fact be in surplus," he said.

The economic plan includes establishing Major Investments Victoria, a body dedicated to attracting investment to the state, and the sale of a suite of surplus land including dormant schools and around rail assets.

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Taiwan sends gay marriage case to judges

A TAIWANESE court has shrunk away from ruling on a gay couple's wish to have their marriage registered, saying it would pass on the controversial case to the island's top judicial body.

The case has been widely described as a potential "milestone" for gay rights because it could lead to Asia's first legal same-sex marriage.

"The court is preparing to ask the Grand Justices to make further explanations on the case," an official at the Taipei High Administrative Court said on Thursday.

The court will meet once more on January 15 to finalise the decision to pass on the case to the Grand Justices, which are generally considered the highest level in Taiwan's complex legal system, standing above even the Supreme Court.

Chen Ching-hsueh and his partner Kao Chih-wei earlier this year filed a complaint with the administrative court against a local household registration agency which turned them away when they tried to register their marriage.

Chi Chia-wei, one of Taiwan's best-known gay rights advocates, expressed disappointment with the decision.

"The judges showed no spine on this critical case. This could have become a milestone case for all Asia," he said.

Gay and lesbian groups in Taiwan, more liberal than most Asian societies, have been urging the government for years to make same-sex unions legal.

More than 50,000 gays and lesbians and their supporters marched through downtown Taipei in October to push for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Taiwan as the island marked its 10th annual Gay Pride event.

Aiming to raise awareness about the issue, some 80 lesbian couples last year took part in Taiwan's biggest same-sex "wedding party", attracting about 1,000 friends, relatives and curious onlookers.

In August, two women tied the knot in the island's first same-sex Buddhist "wedding". The much-publicised event featured blessings from a well-known Buddhist master and 300 Buddhist guests.

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Qld takes $2.6bn revenue hit: Nicholls

QUEENSLAND Treasurer Tim Nicholls says it isn't his fault that state revenue has been forecast to drop by $2.6 billion for the next four years, only three months after the release of his first budget.

Mr Nicholls blames a softening coal market and the federal government, who he accuses of cutting health and education funding by $756 million.

Mining royalties will sink by $1.4 billion to 2015/16, due to lower coal prices and weakening demand from Asia.

Mr Nicholls said the Mid Year Fiscal Review, released on Thursday, also predicts an increase in the unemployment rate by a quarter of a per cent and downgrades economic growth, also by a quarter of a per cent, for this financial year and next.

However, the budget update shows expenses are about $1.1 billion lower over the next four years, with employee expenses slightly lower than expected.

Queensland would return to a fiscal surplus in 2014/15 as planned but it would be $534 million, which is $118 million less than earlier predicted.

Mr Nicholls ruled out increasing taxes to make up for fall in revenue and said he couldn't foresee further job cuts.

He said the 14,000 public service positions axed have helped the state absorb the budget blows.

"We've been able to absorb the headwinds which have blown out of Europe and have impacted on our Asian trading partners by the changes that have been made," he said.

Mr Nicholls wouldn't reveal whether asset sales were recommended in the second report of the Costello-led audit of Queensland's finances, which is yet to be released.

He said the state had two options to return to a AAA credit rating - either to spend less that it earns to achieve the goal slowly or sell assets to deliver a quicker fix.

Mr Nicholls again promised any change would have to have a mandate from the community.

"The government has made no decisions in relation to asset sales nor have we considered which or any, if any, are to be sold," he said.

The public service union, Together, said the budget update shows the slash and burn approach to jobs isn't working.

"We've seen a significant deterioration in the Queensland economy as the public sector job cuts have a significant impact across the rest of the economy," union secretary Alex Scott said.

Mr Scott also accused the government of burying the data before Christmas, while the public is distracted.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said Mr Nicholls has lied by saying Commonwealth payments are down.

Mr Swan said payments to Queensland are increasing by 24 per cent, or $4.3 billion, over the next four years, to $22 billion in 2015-16.

"Queenslanders are sick of Mr Nicholls and Premier Newman blaming everyone else for their cruel cuts," he said.

State opposition treasury spokesman Curtis Pitt said the results of the mid-year review would be used by the LNP as an excuse to embark on asset sales.

He also said the treasurer's statement that the LNP needed another term in office to return the state's AAA credit rating proved the mass sackings and savage cuts to frontline services this year were to fund LNP election promises and had nothing to do with the state's credit rating.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said royalties paid to the state would be down $388 million this financial year.

But he said Mr Nicholls may have overestimated the downturn in royalties, and believes exports will pick up more than the treasury has forecast.

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Power prices under RET modest: report

AVERAGE household power bills could rise by as much as $64 annually under the federal government's renewable energy target scheme, independent modelling shows.

But the Climate Change Authority says the price hikes will be "relatively modest" when compared to the environmental benefits.

The authority on Wednesday released its final report on the RET scheme, recommending no change in the 2020 target for achieving 41,000 gigawatt hours of power every year from renewable energy.

Modelling carried out for the authority showed the scheme would push up annual power prices by between $12 and $64 per household between now and 2020, a rate of around one to four per cent.

But by that time renewable energy will account for 26 per cent of Australia's power market, with RET having helped drive down carbon emissions.

Authority board member Clive Hamilton said Australians recognised moving to a clean-energy future was a necessity that would not come without cost, with the modelling showing the cost to consumers was not going to be as high as some critics had suggested.

"For me, the most remarkable result to come out of the work we've been doing is just how low that costs," Professor Hamilton told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

Authority chair Bernie Fraser, a former Reserve Bank governor, said it was likely the price rises would be closer to the $12 mark than the maximum forecast $64.

He said governments would always face pressure when power prices go up but their job was to convince people it was for a good reason.

"That's hard when others are running around saying it's all due to the carbon price or to renewable energy targets," Mr Fraser said. "But they're rather small components."

However, Energy Australia said the authority had missed an opportunity to cut household power bills.

Managing Director Richard McIndoe said if the RET had been modified to reflect the strong growth in rooftop solar panel installations, households could have saved $840 a year.

The authority received submissions ranging from axing the RET altogether to increasing the target to boost the share of renewable energy in Australia's overall power mix.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet says the government will respond to the recommendations early in 2013.

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Aust shares close higher

THE Australian share market closed at its highest level for the year with investors betting on US policymakers to back a deal to avert $US600 billion in federal tax hikes and spending cuts.

At the close on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 22.6 points, or 0.49 per cent higher at 4,617.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 22.7 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 4,633.2.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 19 points higher at 4,621, with 107,606 contracts traded.

The negotiations between US Democrat and Republican leaders to avert the so-called fiscal cliff have been a major influence on global markets for a month, but recent reports suggest a deal is getting closer.

The Australian market closed up an eighth day out of nine sessions and 17th out of 23 on Wednesday, said Commsec market analyst Steve Daghlian.

"It has been a very strong run as we get close to the end of the year and we are up 12.5 per cent for 2012," he told AAP.

"Most markets are at good levels, European markets are at 18-month highs."

Most indices finished with gains, as Australia's major miners benefitted from a rally in the iron ore price.

Rio Tinto closed 64 cents, or 1.6 per cent better, at $65.71, BHP Billiton jumped 40 cents, or 1.1 per cent to $37.06 and Fortescue Metals lifted six cents, or 1.3 per cent to $4.66.

Billabong shares plummeted after the struggling retailer slashed its earnings forecast and announced it was considering its fifth - and lowest - takeover offer in 10 months.

Its shares resumed trading after being in a halt for two days and closed 13 cents, or 13.3 per cent, lower at 85 cents.

Whitehaven Coal shares made the biggest gains on the ASX100, adding 26 cents, or 8.1 per cent, to $3.38 after it said it had held talks with China's largest coal company, Shenhua Group, but no offers were currently on the table.

Most sectors were up, with gold an exception following a 27.4 US cent fall overnight.

Gold stocks were 2.5 per cent weaker, led by the nation's largest gold company Newcrest Mining, which were 72 cents, or 3.1 per cent, weaker at $22.56.

National turnover was 1.65 billion securities worth $4.33 billion, with 493 stocks trading up, 420 down and 375 unchanged.

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Vic students embrace higher ed places

VICTORIANS from poorer backgrounds, state schools and those with low year 12 scores are all applying for - and receiving - more placements in higher education, new figures show.

School leavers who scored an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) below 50 per cent had a one in three likelihood of receiving a higher education offer last year, compared with one in five in 2007, according to data released by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).

The share of students from low socio-economic backgrounds who applied for a place crept up one per cent, with offers growing from 13.6 per cent to 14.8 per cent.

The federal government's move to uncap the number of university places is largely responsible for the rise, the report says.

"Higher education is now more accessible for Victorians," the report, released by the University of Melbourne's Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) on Tuesday, says.

While poorer students remain well below the population's 22 per cent parity point for placements, the increase reflects progress nonetheless, it says.

While private school students continue to receive offers at far higher rates than those from government or Catholic schools, the number of applications, offers and enrolments rose most steeply for state school students, surging by more than 5000.

Overall, students last year had a 76 per cent chance of receiving an offer, compared with 62 per cent in 2007, while annual offers grew by a massive 14,000 over the period, marking "spectacular growth" of 42 per cent, the report says.

Women continued to seek places far more commonly than men, with 9348 more applications.

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China slowdown cost Australia $US2.4bn: UN

THE downturn in China's economy since 2011 has sliced $US2.4 billion ($A2.29 billion) off Australia's economic growth and led to a slide in export income of $US2.6 billion, according to a United Nations report.

The report by the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) found the cost to the region was $US49 billion in growth with $US76 billion lost in export income.

The slowdown in China's economy was a direct result of the recession in Europe and anemic growth in the United States economy.

Regionally, Japan was the hardest hit by China's slower growth with output and export income losses of $US16.3 billion and $US14.7 billion respectively. Other economies affected by the slowdown included Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

ESCAP economists forecast China's growth for 2012 to ease to 7.8 per cent, but say it will show signs of recovery in 2013.

"The slowdown in China during 2011/12 has had a significant impact on the region," the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2012: Year-end Update says.

"A substantial part of the slowdown in China is related to the country's slowing exports," the mid-year review adds.

The wider regional impact came as companies supplying China in the region were hit by the decline in demand. But other factors in China were also at work, the UN economists say.

"An added concern is that a significant portion of the slowdown in China is related to domestic factors. Investment in the economy has slowed due to monetary policy tightening over the past months in an effort to reduce inflation and in particular to tame increases in property prices," the review adds.

The impact of China's downturn comes as key sectors in the Australian economy, especially tourism, manufacturing and exports, are being hit by the Australian dollar's strength.

Anis Chowdhury, director of ESCAP's Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division, says the Australian economy is facing "serious problems" largely because of the strong Australian dollar.

"With the exchange rate appreciating, that has affected your tourism and your manufacturing very seriously," Dr Chowdhury told AAP.

He said the impact on manufacturing means it is unable to compensate for the losses in income from minerals and energy sector exports.

Dr Chowdhury said Australia needed to do "something very drastic on the exchange rate and productivity side".

"The exchange rate is a killer for the manufacturing. Now it's too high and you can only offset the exchange rate effect by improving productivity, and productivity improvement has got so many factors - it's not just labour market reforms," he said.

Earlier, Dr Chowdhury told journalists the impact of the slowdown in 2012 on overall development in the region was "substantial".

"Job and income growth is expected to decline, with fewer people forecast to be able to pull themselves out of poverty," he said.

China and India, which had proved resilient in the early part of the financial crisis of 2008/09, had recently slowed markedly, leading to other Asia-Pacific economies being affected through a decline in inter-regional demand.

But growth across the Asia Pacific is forecast to expand by 6.3 per cent in 2013, up "slightly" from 5.6 per cent in 2012, with China's growth at 8.2 per cent and India recovering "moderately" to 6.8 per cent in 2013.

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Reward offered for 2009 Mandurah killing

Police are offering a reward for information regarding the 2009 murder of WA man Robert Dalliston. Source: AAP

POLICE are hoping a reward of up to $100,000 will help lead them to the killer of West Australian man Robert Dalliston almost four years ago.

Mr Dalliston, 69, was last seen catching a taxi from the Silver Sands Tavern at Mandurah, 74km south of Perth, to his Ward Street home around 6pm (WST) on January 8, 2009.

He was later found dead at the property.

Major Crime Squad Detective Inspector Anthony Lee says he hopes the reward for information leading to a conviction will prompt someone to come forward to help solve the case.

"Mr Dalliston's death was one of the most violent crimes seen by Major Crime Squad detectives and his family and friends remain extremely distraught over his death," Det Insp Lee said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Damage fears as Evan heads to Fiji

Fijian authorities fear a monster cyclone will threaten the nation with 'catastrophic damage'. Source: AAP

FIJIAN authorities scrambled to evacuate residents from low-lying areas on Sunday as a monster cyclone threatened the Pacific nation with "catastrophic damage" after causing widespread devastation in Samoa.

At least four people were killed when Cyclone Evan slammed into Samoa and the toll was expected to rise as a search was launched for eight men still missing on three fishing boats.

Only one survivor has been found, said the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre, which is overseeing the search.

After crossing Samoa, Evan intensified as it ploughed through the Pacific and forecasters said destructive winds could reach nearly 300km/h by the time it hits Fiji early Monday.

Government officials fear it could be as devastating as Cyclone Kina, which killed 23 people and left thousands homeless in 1993.

Squally thunderstorms were expected to flood low-lying areas while coastal villages were at risk of sea flooding, authorities said.

Tourists in luxury resorts on outlying islands were being ferried to the mainland, while Fiji's main airline, Air Pacific, said it had either cancelled or rescheduled its Monday flights.

Philip Duncan, head analyst with the WeatherWatch.co.nz meteorological service, said Fiji could expect to be walloped by the storm, with the prospect of flash flooding and mudslides.

"Gusts may end up climbing to 280 kilometres per hour or greater around the centre of Evan," Duncan said.

"Some small, low-lying communities and resorts may suffer catastrophic damage and some small islands may be entirely submerged as the storm and storm surge roll by."

More than 200 evacuation centres have been opened and Information Ministry permanent secretary Sharon Smith-Johns said people at risk should move.

"People living in low-lying areas should consider moving to higher grounds or evacuations centres," she said.

"By sunset tonight everyone should be ready with torches, batteries, candles, supplies and other necessities."

Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama has warned the storm is an "impending disaster" and offers of international aid have already been received.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Canberra was offering financial aid as well as expert personnel and supplies.

"We're going to work with other nations including New Zealand and France, in doing what we can to save lives, and support search and rescue," he said.

Meanwhile, it could be some days before the full extent of the cyclone damage in Samoa is known because of the difficulty reaching outlying islands.

About 4,500 people have been forced to remain in emergency shelters after Evan destroyed houses and damaged electricity and fresh water supplies, Samoan officials said.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele also warned of possible food shortages next year because of the destruction of crops.

The New Zealand Air Force and Tahiti search and rescue authorities were scouring the ocean for the fishing boats missing in rough seas.

New Zealand search coordinator Tracy Brickles said the 30-year-old skipper of one of the boats was known to have survived and made his way ashore after his boat tipped over on Friday but there was no information about his crew.

A vessel fitting the description of another boat has been seen washed up on an island but there was no sign of survivors.

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Young daughter reports Tas double killing

A man and woman have been found dead in an apparent double murder northwest of Hobart, police say. Source: AAP

A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl called police after her mother and her mother's partner were shot dead in Tasmania.

The bodies of a woman, 31, and a man, 34, were found at a property on Hamilton Plains Road at Hamilton, a small rural town 70km from Hobart, about 5am (AEDT) on Sunday.

Detective-Inspector Colin Riley said the alleged gunman, a 59-year-old man, was previously in a relationship with the dead woman.

He was found at Lachlan, 45km away, lying beside a car pulled over to the side of the road, with a gunshot wound to the head.

The man's one-year-old son, whose mother was the dead woman, was unharmed and found inside the car.

Det Insp Riley said the man's gunshot wound was inflicted shortly before or just as a police car arrived.

The man is under police guard at Royal Hobart Hospital in a critical condition after surgery.

Det Insp Riley said the nine-year-old girl called police using a mobile phone.

"It appears to me that the nine-year-old heard what occurred in the house and we are still ascertaining ... what was seen by that child," he told reporters at Hamilton.

Det Insp Riley said the dead couple had been in a relationship and living in the Hamilton house together for about four months.

He said there had been no reports of violence involving the dead woman and her alleged killer.

The children, including a third child who was not in the house at the time of the incident, were being cared for by their grandparents.

Det Insp Riley said the shooting had shocked the close-knit community.

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Australian police withdraw from East Timor

AUSTRALIA has withdrawn its last remaining police officers from East Timor as international forces wind up a 13-year presence in Asia's youngest country.

The eight Australian officers serving with the UN Police boarded a Darwin-bound plane from the capital Dili on Saturday as the United Nations prepares to officially end its peacekeeping mission by December 31.

International forces began pulling out in earnest in October, when the UN handed policing responsibility back to the country which recently celebrated a decade of formal independence that ended Indonesia's 24-year brutal occupation.

Australian police commander for the mission Charmaine Quade expressed confidence East Timor could handle its own security after successful elections this year and the formation of a new government.

"Australian police have been there to contribute to the enhancement and professionalisation of the Timor-Leste police, and the competence the national police here have shown is testament to how far they've come," she said.

The move comes after the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) ceased its security operations in November and began pulling out some of its 390 troops from the country.

Australia has stationed 50 police at a time in East Timor under the UN since 2006, with 33 deployed this year under a bilateral capacity-building program.

International peacekeepers first entered East Timor in 1999 as deadly violence erupted around the country's referendum for independence.

The vote ended Indonesia's occupation, under which an estimated 183,000 people - then a quarter of the population - died from fighting, disease and starvation.

The only major violence in the impoverished half-island state of 1.1 million people since has been a failed assassination attempt against then-president Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in 2008.

Quade said the last batch of Australian police to leave East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, were "looking forward to being reunited with their loved ones".

"They've been able to fully focus on their roles and duties here with the UN because they've had that support and understanding at home," she said.

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'How are my people?' Chavez asks

Officials say Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is undergoing a satisfactory recovery. Source: AAP

HUGO Chavez's first words after emerging from surgery were "How are my (Venezuelan) people?" according to officials, who proclaimed here Friday that the ailing leader is on the road to recovery.

Venezuela's Information Minister Ernesto Villegas told reporters that Chavez spoke with family members immediately after an operation to control bleeding after his cancer surgery earlier this week, and that his recovery was proceeding "satisfactorily."

Although Chavez, who underwent lengthy cancer surgery Tuesday in Cuba, faces a complex recovery process, he is "meeting the post-operative protocol in satisfactory fashion," the minister said in nationally broadcast remarks.

Minutes after Villegas's comments, Chavez spokeswoman Teresa Maniglia wrote on Twitter: "'How are my people?' was the first thing Chavez said today when he spoke with his family for the first time."

Chavez, 58 and re-elected to a third term in October, announced to the nation a week ago that he had suffered a recurrence of the cancer he thought he had beaten, and would have to return to Cuba for surgery.

The revelation marks his third brush in the past year and a half with the disease, each time requiring extended stays in Cuba.

Aides this week said Chavez experienced "complications" from this most recent surgery including bleeding that now appears to be under control.

Chavez is scheduled to be inaugurated to a third presidential term on January 10. But the country now is on tenterhooks to see if the outspoken, formerly tireless leader will remain their president, become incapacitated or worse.

He has named foreign minister and vice president Nicolas Maduro as his both his temporary replacement and handpicked successor.

The latest turn in Chavez's 18-month-long health saga comes less than a month before he was to be sworn in to another six-year term, and just days before Sunday's regional elections, which are seen as a key political test.

Until last week, when Chavez stunned the nation with news that his cancer had returned, he appears to have banked on making a full recovery, despite recurring rounds of debilitating radiation treatment and chemotherapy since he was first diagnosed with cancer in June 2011.

Chavez claimed a year later that he was cancer free before embarking on his successful but arduous reelection campaign.

Venezuela has never clearly stated what type of cancer Chavez has or what organs affected, but doctors said they removed a grapefruit-sized tumour from his pelvis last year.

State television has also been broadcasting spots praising Chavez's accomplishments, as well as pro-government documentaries.

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Australia praised as economic 'Iron Man'

AUSTRALIA has been described as the "Iron Man" of the major industrialised nations, after producing 21 years of uninterrupted economic growth and building conditions that should help insulate it from future global challenges.

In its latest survey of Australia, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says the nation weathered the 2008-2009 global economic crisis well, due to its sound macroeconomic policies and supporting demand from China.

"Australia's long period of uninterrupted economic growth makes it the Iron Man among OECD countries," OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said in a statement on Friday.

But the Paris-based institution said the federal government should be prepared to delay its promised 2012/13 budget surplus if conditions deteriorated, even though the current interest rates and fiscal setting were appropriate for sustained growth.

"While monetary policy should be the first line of defence, if a new, full-scale global crisis of a similar magnitude as in 2008-09 breaks out, fiscal expansion to support activity would be warranted," its said.

The OECD's assessment came as speculation continued to mount that the Labor government would ditch its forecast $1.1 billion surplus for this financial year because of the impact of falling tax revenues, against a backdrop of softer commodity prices.

Chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon has fanned the flames by saying Australians would understand if the government gave up the surplus if conditions remained bad in the international market place.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Mr Fitzgibbon was entitled to his view, but she and cabinet decided policy.

She pointed to the surplus and trend growth forecasts in the mid-year budget update.

"We work with the Treasury forecasts," she told ABC radio.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said Labor's surplus plans were in "tatters".

"The man who is meant to enforce discipline in their own ranks ... is even now breaking ranks with the government," he told reporters in Sydney.

The OECD said while Australia had a positive outlook, the potential for a worsening crisis in Europe would be a challenge.

Australia also faced risks from a substantial weakening of growth in China and other Asian countries.

"A sharper than expected slowdown in this part of the world would reduce exports, the terms of trade and, most likely, the real exchange rate," the OECD said.

It forecast the economy to grow at three per cent in 2013, after a robust 3.7 per cent expansion in 2012 and moderate growth of 2.3 per cent in 2011.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the report was another reminder that Australians had a lot to be proud of.

"Once again our economy stands tall amongst its peers, with 21 consecutive years of growth, robust economic fundamentals and a positive outlook in the face of acute global challenges," he said in a statement.

The OECD made a number of recommendations, saying Australia should raise the GST rate and broaden its base, and expand the coverage of the mining tax beyond coal and iron ore.

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Petroleum tax to allow more deductions

THE federal government plans to amend the petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT), following a Federal Court decision that could prevent companies deducting legitimate expenditure.

The August decision, in a case involving Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, disallowed a claim for office facilities, administrative and account expenditure when it engaged a subsidiary company for a service agreement.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said while the decision favoured the tax commissioner, a number of broader observations by the court about the operation of the PRRT law had significant implications for the deductibility of expenditure.

"Such an outcome would be inconsistent with the intent of the PRRT regime and the way it has been administered since its commencement in 1987," he said in a statement on Friday.

"The government will therefore introduce amendments."

The amendments would maintain the policy intent of the tax while reflecting the substance of the court's decision that a taxpayer cannot derive a tax advantage through contract arrangements with related parties.

The government would continue to consult with industry players to ensure the amendments achieved the desired outcome.

"These amendments will ensure the PRRT continues to operate as a profits-based tax as intended and continues to strike the right balance between providing industry with certainty ... while also ensuring the adequate revenue safeguards are in place," Mr Swan said.

The PRRT applies to most offshore petroleum production and onshore oil and gas production, including coal seam gas and oil shales.

Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) chief executive David Byers said the technical amendments would provide clarity.

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GrainCorp says no to ADM's sweetened offer

US food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has had its second takeover knockback from Australia's GrainCorp in a month.

The grains marketer on Thursday said it had rejected ADM's sweetened offer of $2.78 billion as it materially undervalued the company.

"GrainCorp's board will be constructive in any dealings in relation to proposals that have the potential to be in the best interests of shareholders," GrainCorp said in a statement.

"GrainCorp has a unique portfolio of integrated, strategic assets and is confident in its outlook and strategy to continue to deliver shareholder value."

ADM's initial offer of $11.75 a share in October was rejected by GrainCorp, which said it undervalued its business.

ADM increased its offer to $12.20 a share in November.

The offer was subject to several conditions, including due diligence and regulatory approvals.

ADM lifted its stake in GrainCorp to 19.9 per cent in early December, taking it near the 20 per cent threshold that automatically triggers a full takeover bid.

GrainCorp chief executive Alison Watkins in November said the company was more interested in unlocking $110 million of annual profit improvements than being acquired.

GrainCorp lifted its net profit by 19 per cent to $204.9 million in 2011/12.

Shares in the company closed eight cents lower at $12.30.

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Bonds lower after US Fed meeting

AUSTRALIAN bond futures prices are lower after the US central bank announced it would extend its bond-buying program.

At 1630 AEDT on Thursday, the December 10-year bond futures contract was at 96.770 (implying a yield of 3.230 per cent), down from 96.855 (3.145 per cent) on Wednesday.

The December three-year bond futures contract was trading at 97.260 (2.740 per cent), down from 97.320 (2.680 per cent).

At midday on Thursday, the December 2012 90-day bank bill futures contract expired, replaced by a contract expiring in June 2013.

ANZ head of interest rate research Tony Morriss said bond prices in both the US and Australia had unexpectedly softened following the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.

"US bonds are weaker, and that's kept our market on the back foot," he said.

"We're trying for figure out why, since the Fed has looked to extend easing, and has an easing bias."

At the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday, the FOMC said it would continue debt-purchasing, spending $US45 billion ($A42.95 billion) a month on long-term bonds, with the goal of keeping lending rates low, and stimulating spending.

However, it said it would no longer cover the cost of the purchases through the sale of short term debt.

Mr Morriss said that in the lead up to Christmas, the only other event of market interest was the Japanese general election.

"This US QE (quantitative easing) might be followed up by QE in Japan," he said.

"So that region will be important in the near-term."

Japan will go to the polls on December 16.

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Urban in running for Oscar for best song

KEITH Urban and Nicole Kidman may soon have his and hers Oscars.

Nicole Kidman won her gold statuette in 2003 for The Hours and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday Urban's song, For You, from the film Act of Valor, is in the running for an Oscar at February's ceremony.

Urban is up against an elite group for the original song Oscar, with many of the contenders - including Katy Perry, Adele and Arcade Fire - regulars on the Grammy red carpet rather than the film industry's biggest night.

Urban is also competing against fellow Aussie, Hugh Jackman, for his song Suddenly from Les Miserables.

The Academy announced 75 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2012 are in contention for nominations in the original song category.

The 75 will be whittled down to five nominees and announced on January 10 when the Oscar nominees for best actor, actress picture and other categories are revealed.

Usually it is Urban on Kidman's arm at film award ceremonies, but Urban's For You is gathering Oscar buzz, with a nomination for best song on Tuesday by the US Broadcast Film Critics Association.

Urban is also up against Jackman for Les Miserables' Suddenly, Mumford & Sons' Learn Me Right for the movie Brave, Adele's Skyfall and Paul William's Still Alive for the BFCA award, known as the Critics' Choice Awards.

Jackman was also nominated by the BFCA for best actor for his starring role in Les Miserables and another Aussie, Naomi Watts, received a best actress nomination for The Impossible.

The BFCA's Critics' Choice Movie Awards ceremony will be held on January 10 in Los Angeles.

The Oscars ceremony is scheduled for February 24.

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Stevens hints stability to constrain rates

GLENN Stevens had obviously been doing a lot of thinking about the limits to monetary policy recently.

The Reserve Bank of Australia governor on Wednesday gave a speech in Thailand dwelling on the topic.

In particular, his speech implied the need to take financial stability into the setting of interest rates meant less scope to fine-tune growth in the short term.

The discussion of the need to incorporate financial stability into the way central banks use monetary policy expanded on a theme he explored in the opening remarks made at a conference in August but released to the public only on Tuesday.

"If there were any thought that controlling inflation over a two or three year horizon was enough, we have been well and truly disabused of that by experience over the past half decade," he said, closely echoing the comments published the day before.

But there was something a little newer in the Bangkok speech - a greater focus on financial stability might temper efforts to boost growth over the short term.

While the long period of economic stability of the 1990s and early 2000s scored highly in terms of low inflation and strong economic growth, it was ultimately harmful to financial stability and therefore to macroeconomic stability, he said.

The apparently benign environment encouraged the belief that increased leverage (borrowing) was safe.

"But higher leverage exposed people to more distress if and when a large negative shock eventually came along," he said.

So central banks now had to work out how to incorporate financial stability into their monetary policy settings.

"We will have to accept the occasional need to make a judgement about short-term trade-offs, but that is the nature of policymaking," he said.

The trade-off he referred to is that interest rates might not be cut as far as they might previously have been, in order to avoid unwanted behaviour in financial markets.

The obvious example was the housing boom and associated credit binge sparked by the US Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rates following the share market crash in 2000.

Mr Stevens made it clear at the outset that he wasn't speaking about the current situation in Australia.

Even so, his speech does suggest that when the RBA meets in February to work out whether to cut the cash rate to a new 50-year low, it will not just be mindful of the potential for low interest rates to cause consumer prices to rise to fast.

It will be also considering the potential for the move to encourage excessive borrowing and inflation in the markets for assets like shares or housing.

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Parole breaker on revenge mission: police

Police believe parolee on the run Jason Herbert is on a vengeance mission against two WA officers. Source: AAP

AFTER breaking his parole twice this year, armed robber Jason Robert Herbert is on the run and believed to be hunting two policemen he blames for the death of his brother.

Police fear Herbert, 40, is heading from NSW to Western Australia to seek revenge on the two officers.

In 2009, his brother Troy Matthew Herbert took a large dose of methamphetamine and was killed on his motorbike as he tried to outrun the officers in Perth.

The two are being offered protection, while Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin has ordered an urgent inquiry into Herbert's disappearance.

He had previously been released in April but was returned to jail in July when he broke his parole conditions by failing to report to his parole officer, a corrective services spokeswoman told AAP.

Released for a second time on November 28, Herbert had served 11 years of a 15-year-sentence for grievous bodily harm and armed robbery.

He escaped from his Newcastle lodgings over the weekend and was last seen at 2am (AEDT) on Saturday near the Pacific Highway at Hexham.

He was wearing an electronic monitoring device on his leg and is understood to have simply cut it off.

His mother Ruth appeared on the Seven Network on Tuesday, tearfully appealing for him to contact her and give himself up.

"Do the right thing, don't do anything stupid, I beg you," she said.

The West Australian newspaper reported her saying her son would be coming home to pay his respects to Troy, with whom he was very close.

"I have read Jason is armed and dangerous. He would be dangerous to police. He would not be dangerous to me or his friends," she said.

Mrs Herbert said she feared for her son's safety.

"If Jason is cornered it might be shoot first, ask questions later," she said.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said it was alarming someone could cut off their security bracelet, and noted there had been a number of failures of such devices.

"The O'Farrell government is failing to do the job properly and protect the community," he told ABC Radio.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said his anger was directed at the parole board for freeing Herbert.

"What I'm unhappy about today ... is why the hell this bloke was given parole," Mr O'Farrell told reporters in Sydney.

"What I want to look at first is why he was allowed to have access to this technology by a parole board whose parole he'd broken earlier this year.

"He's described today as a dangerous prisoner by the very same people who gave him parole, that's what I'm angry about."

Police say Herbert is of Caucasian appearance and between 185cm to 190cm tall, with a medium build, hazel eyes and short brown hair.

He is considered dangerous and should not be approached.

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Adelaide Fringe 2013 program launched

AFTER 52 Fringe festivals, Adelaide still lets anyone and everyone perform anywhere from a big theatre to a pub, a derelict building and even a caravan.

"I have not curated it. It's still total open access, and anyone can be in the fringe at all," says third-time Adelaide Fringe director Greg Clarke of the 2013 offerings.

The program is packed with 930 events at 350 venues in shows including cabaret, circus and physical theatre, comedy and dance.

Clarke says one highlight for him is Circolombia, featuring performers from the Colombian national circus school in a street setting with a pounding reggaeton soundtrack.

Then there's Ireland's "really funny" Ponydance with its "disco-infused time warp", and Leo, a mind-bending, surreal physical theatre from Berlin where a man is left in a room with nothing but a small suitcase.

Speaking of small, Clarke says one of the more unusual acts is Life in Miniature, set and performed by a WA dance company inside a caravan to an audience of five people at a time.

It depicts the lives of two unknown travellers.

Another favourite for Clarke is Uta Uber Kool Ja which he says is set in a hotel room where the performer is in bed and thinks everyone is a celebrity.

He also raves about a UK rapper who asks everyone to empty the contents of their bags or pockets before he improvises about what he sees.

The Adelaide Fringe will run for four weeks from February 15, culminating in a closing-night concert that will feature Peter Murray, The Whitlams and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

"We have been doing this for 52 years and we have many regulars," he says.

Comedians will include Ruby Wax, Wil Anderson, Jimeoin, Judith Lucy and Paul McDermott, a Fringe ambassador who donned table tennis gear at last week's launch.

Ping Pong Madness will be run on two Saturday afternoons at a local pub, with at least six tables in operation and participants expected to dress as a table tennis pros.

Clarke says the organisers would never censor anything at the festival.

"A show would only get closed down if it broke the law," he adds.

The program can be viewed at adelaidefringe.com.au.

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Bikies booked after six raids in Brisbane

TWO Renegades outlaw motorcycle gang members were arrested over drugs and weapons charges after police raids on half a dozen Brisbane residences this morning.

The bikies were charged with 10 offences after raids led by the State Crime Operations Command's dedicated OMG unit, Task Force Hydra, netted weapons including a handgun, a stun gun, a hinged knife and ammunition.

Police declined to reveal details of drugs seized but referred to "further inquiries being made in relation to other items located during the searches".

Organised Crime Group Detective Superintendent Garry Watts said: "We will continue this proactive enforcement action and are committed to ensuring the safety of the Queensland community."

"This is not something we will shy away from and will take any necessary action."

The Renegades, who have kept a low profile in recent years, have a traditional stronghold in North Queensland where they claim to have been the first outlaw motorcycle club.

The club's Queensland website refers to a chapter on Brisbane's southside being formed in 1998 as the state's "mother chapter".

The year before, a violent takeover by the Rebels of the Renegades' two-decade old Townsville chapter saw the latter club's self-appointed president allegedly bashed, bound and gagged, set loose on a remote dirt track and then shot at.

Around the same time, the club was also embroiled in a dispute with the rival Gypsy Jokers in Cairns which led to a drive-by shooting.

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CTV copycat buildings being examined in NZ

ENGINEERS are assessing 379 buildings across New Zealand which have similar design characteristics to the doomed CTV building in Christchurch.

The building collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake, killing 115 people, and an inquiry report released on Monday identified serious structural weaknesses.

NZ Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson says he isn't taking any chances the same could happen to similar buildings.

"We are checking every one thoroughly and signing them off," he said at a press conference.

"I don't believe any have been found not to comply - CTV is looking more and more like a standout."

Mr Williamson said he wasn't going to issue a list of the buildings because people would be scared of being in them, even if there was nothing wrong with them.

The commission report into the CTV collapse concluded designer David Harding was inexperienced and numerous errors were made when the building was constructed.

Site foreman William Jones received insufficient guidance from construction manager Gerald Shirtcliff.

Mr Williamson said he has told his officials to find out whether there is any way individuals can be held accountable in law but doubts there is.

"I'm not looking at anyone in particular and it's going to be up to the police whether there are any prosecutions."

The report says while council engineers had concerns about the design, they were "under pressure to approve it" - including from principal engineer Alan Reay, even though he knew very little about the structural details.

Mr Shirtcliff is under investigation by police in New Zealand and Australia amid allegations he misrepresented his engineering qualifications.

The report was also critical of a rapid assessment by Christchurch City Council building officers after the September 2010 quake, which saw the building given a green sticker, without assessment by an engineer.

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NKorea considers delaying rocket launch

North Korea says it is considering postponing a planned long-range rocket launch. Source: AAP

NORTH Korea may postpone the controversial launch of a long-range rocket slated for liftoff as early as this week, state media says, as international pressure on Pyongyang to cancel the provocative move intensifies.

Scientists have been pushing forward with final preparations for the launch from a west coast site, slated to take place as early as Monday, but are considering "readjusting" the timing, an unidentified spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology told North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday.

It was unclear whether diplomatic intervention or technical glitches were behind the delay.

A brief KCNA dispatch said scientists and technicians were discussing whether to set new launch dates, but did not elaborate.

Word of a possible delay comes just days after satellite photos indicated snow may have slowed launch preparations, and as officials in Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Moscow and elsewhere urged North Korea to cancel a liftoff widely seen as a violation of bans against missile activity.

Commercial satellite imagery taken by GeoEye on December 4 and shared on Friday with The Associated Press by the 38 North and North Korea Tech websites showed the Sohae site northwest of Pyongyang covered with snow.

The road from the main assembly building to the launch pad showed no fresh tracks, indicating that the snowfall may have stalled the preparations.

However, analysts believed rocket preparations would have been completed on time for liftoff as early as Monday.

In Seoul, officials at the Defence Ministry, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Foreign Ministry said they were looking into what might be behind the possible delay.

North Korea announced earlier this month it would launch a three-stage rocket mounted with a satellite from its Sohae station southeast of Sinuiju sometime between December 10 and December 22.

Pyongyang calls it a peaceful bid to send an observational satellite into space, its second attempt this year.

The launch announcement captured global headlines because of its timing: South Korea and Japan hold key elections this month, President Barack Obama begins his second term next month and China has just formed a new leadership.

The United States, Japan, South Korea and others have urged North Korea to refrain from carrying out the launch, calling it a violation of UN security council resolutions on nuclear activity because the rocket shares the same technology used for firing a long-range missile.

China, the North's main ally and aid provider, noted its "concern."

It acknowledged North Korea's right to develop its space program, but said that had to be harmonised with restrictions including those set by the UN security council.

Past launches have earned North Korea international condemnation and a host of sanctions.

South Korean analysts said North Korea's announcement of a possible delay suggests the country wants to resume talks with the US on receiving much-needed aid, or has yielded to diplomatic pressure by China.

North Korea may not fire the rocket if the US actively engages in talks with Pyongyang and promises to ship stalled food assistance to the country, said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul's Dongguk University.

In February, the US agreed to provide 240,000 metric tons of food aid to North Korea in exchange for a freeze in nuclear and missile activities. The deal collapsed after North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April.

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