Pope elevates six diverse cardinals

SIX new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next Pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals.

Pope Benedict XVI will formally elevate the six at a ceremony on Saturday beginning at 1000 GMT (2100 AEDT), bestowing red hats and gold rings on prelates from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and US.

In explaining his choices for this "little consistory", Benedict said he was essentially completing his last cardinal-making ceremony held in February, when he elevated 22 cardinals, the vast majority of them European archbishops and Vatican bureaucrats.

The six new cardinals "show that the church is the church of all peoples and speaks in all languages," Benedict said last month. "It's not the church of one continent, but a universal church."

That said, the College of Cardinals remains heavily European even with the new additions: Of the 120 cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new Pope, more than half - 62 - are European.

Critics have complained the College of Cardinals no longer represents the church, since Catholicism is growing in Asia and Africa, but is in crisis in much of Europe.

With the new additions, the College of Cardinals is a tad more multinational: Latin America, which boasts half of the world's Catholics, now has 21 voting-age cardinals; North America, 14; Africa, 11; Asia, 11; and Oceana, one.

Among the six new cardinals is Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household.

As prefect, Harvey was the direct superior of the Pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is serving an 18 month prison sentence in a Vatican jail for stealing the Pope's private papers and leaking them to a reporter in the greatest Vatican security breach in modern times.

The Vatican spokesman has denied Harvey, 63, is leaving because of the scandal.

But on the day the Pope announced Harvey would be made cardinal, he also said he would leave the Vatican to take up duties as the archpriest of one of the Vatican's four Roman basilicas.

Such a face-saving promotion-removal is not an uncommon Vatican personnel move.

Harvey's departure has led to much speculation about who would replace him in the delicate job of organising the Pope's daily schedule and arranging audiences.

Aside from Harvey, the new cardinals are: Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.

Cardinals serve as the Pope's closest advisers, but their main task is to elect a new Pope.

The six new cardinals are all under age 80. Their nominations bring the number of voting-age cardinals to 120, 67 of whom were named by Benedict, all but ensuring that his successor will be chosen from a group of like-minded prelates.

Saturday's consistory marks the first time in decades that not a single European or Italian has been made a cardinal - a statistic that has not gone unnoticed in Italy. Italy still has the lions' share of cardinals, though, with 28 voting-age "princes" of the church.

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US actor Larry Hagman dies: family

American actor Larry Hagman, known for his role on the TV show Dallas, has died at the age of 81. Source: AAP

US actor Larry Hagman, who became famous for his role in the US television show Dallas, has died after losing a battle with cancer, his family said. He was 81.

"When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones," the family said in a statement. "It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for."

According to the statement, Hagman died late on Friday afternoon at Medical City Dallas Hospital from complications from cancer.

No other details were given.

"Larry was back in his beloved Dallas re-enacting the iconic role he loved most," the statement said.

"Larry's family and close friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday."

Hagman played the conniving and mischievous JR Ewing on Dallas. He reprised the role in the recent reboot of the series.

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Top Hong Kong racing trainer jailed

FORMER Hong Kong champion horse racing trainer Brian Kan has been jailed after losing an appeal over his conviction for offering a bribe in a local election.

Kan, 74, who had been on bail pending the appeal, was convicted last November for offering a HK$130,000 ($A16,450) bribe to persuade a village representative to vote for him.

The five-time champion trainer ran unsuccessfully in an election last March in Sheung Shui, a village in the rural northern New Territories, close to the border with mainland China.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption launched an investigation after the village representative handed over the money to the anti-graft watchdog.

According to a copy of the 26-page judgement released on Friday, the high court said the grounds of Kan's appeal "could not be established" and rejected it.

Public broadcaster RTHK said Kan was taken into custody to start serving a 14-week sentence after the judgement was handed down.

Kan has been branded by Hong Kong media as "the most influential horse trainer of his generation" and a powerful figure in the New Territories.

He is reported to have trained 844 winners during a 25-year career.

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Man gets 30 years for 'execution' death

A MAN who stabbed a teenager and then murdered the wife of a man whom he believed would give evidence against him will spend at least 30 years in jail for the "planned execution".

Mustapha Dib, 29, was found guilty of murdering Anita Vrzina, 20, and wounding her partner, Ahmed Banat, with intent to murder in a shooting at Punchbowl in Sydney's southwest in November 2000.

The court heard that Dib - previously known only as "Z" as he was 17 at the time of the killing - had waited outside the pair's home.

He then fired at least four shots into their car, hitting Ms Vrzina in the stomach and Mr Banat in the neck, after he got them to stop by flashing his lights.

In sentencing Dib at the Supreme Court on Friday, Acting Justice Graham Barr said he was satisfied the 29-year-old had sought to silence Banat, whom he believed was a police informer and potential witness against him in the fatal stabbing of Sydney schoolboy Edward Lee in 1998.

Dib subsequently pleaded guilty to the 14-year-old's manslaughter and was sentenced to a minimum of five years.

"Although I think it highly probable that the offender carried out this assassination to stop Mr Banat giving evidence implicating him in the Edward Lee stabbing, it is also possible that he took the action ... to express his disapproval of Mr Banat as an informer generally," Justice Barr said.

It was also a "principle" of Dib's that "informers' next of kin should be killed", he added.

During Dib's trial, the jury heard that while Banat was in hospital recovering from the shooting, he nominated the 29-year-old as the gunman, using his nickname "Fairy".

However, Banat later retracted this identification and repeatedly told the jury that the gunman was wearing a balaclava.

Banat, Justice Barr said, was an "unsatisfactory witness".

"He frequently took the opportunity to burst out and make speeches of his own devising ... he attacked the crown prosecutor verbally and threatened to do him violence."

Justice Barr said Dib had "planned and perpetrated a public execution".

"To assassinate a person to prevent their giving evidence strikes at the heart of our justice system," he said.

However, Justice Barr said the 29-year-old showed "prospects of rehabilitation".

"The offender's history of behaviour in custody and on parole suggests that he may become less rigid ... and less aggressive," he said.

"Of course, the length of the sentence I must impose will mean ... time alone will have made him a very different person."

Justice Barr sentenced Dib to a minimum of 30 years and maximum of 40, making him eligible for parole on July 2041.

It was noted that Dib faced trials on two previous occasions in 2003 over the charges, but both were aborted.

Banat left Australia only to be arrested in Syria and extradited back to NSW.

In the Sydney District Court earlier this week, a jury convicted Banat of four counts of perverting the course of justice in relation to evidence given against Dib.

He will be sentenced on this matter next month.

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Two face murder charges over deadly brawl

A MAN and a woman have been charged with murder following a brawl in which a man was allegedly bashed with a metal bar and a piece of wood.

Police believe the 50-year-old man was involved in an argument last month at Coffs Harbour, on the NSW north coast, with three people who were allegedly armed with the crude weapons.

It will be alleged the man was assaulted before the trio left the area.

He was taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital before being airlifted to a Newcastle hospital in a critical condition, but died in hospital two days later.

Detectives from Strike Force Trahair arrested a 41-year-old man and 49-year-old woman on Thursday at Coffs Harbour.

They were refused bail to appear in Coffs Harbour Local Court later on Thursday afternoon.

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Japan appoints new ambassador to China

JAPAN has appointed a new ambassador to China, as tensions simmer between Tokyo and Beijing over disputed territory.

Career diplomat Masato Kitera's appointment will be effective on Monday, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, while local media reported that the 60-year-old will be dispatched to Beijing next month to formally succeed Uichiro Niwa.

Japan initially picked Shinichi Nishimiya, another career diplomat, for the post but before he could take up the role he fell ill in a Tokyo street in September and was taken to hospital, dying a few days later.

Kitera is set to become Tokyo's point man in the ongoing dispute over an island chain in the East China Sea, which Tokyo controls under the name the Senkaku Islands but Beijing claims as the Diaoyu Islands.

Their nationalisation in September provoked sometimes violent anti-Japanese demonstrations across China that targeted Japanese businesses.

A subsequent consumer boycott of Japanese produce has dented the huge trade ties between the two countries, notably in the automobile and home electronics sectors.

Niwa raised hackles at home when he accurately predicted a plan by Tokyo's nationalist governor to buy the islands could cause a crisis between China and Japan, jeopardising economic ties.

Kitera joined the ministry in 1976 and is currently serving as assistant chief cabinet secretary in the prime minister's office.

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Manhattan madam released from jail on time

A SUBURBAN mother of four rumoured to be moonlighting as a multimillion-dollar madam has been released from jail after she was sentenced to time served on a guilty plea in the sensational case.

Anna Gristina was sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to promoting prostitution as part of a deal in September.

The story made headlines when prosecutors said the 45-year-old Gristina boasted of having a roster of wealthy, well-placed clients and law enforcement connections during 15 years in the business.

After an investigation, it became clear she was simply running a brothel and profiting from it.

"We are left with a straight-forward promoting prostitution case - a defendant who ran a brothel for many years and who profited from the sex trade. That is all," Assistant District Attorney Charles Linehan said during the plea.

Gristina's lawyers said their client lived on a five hectare property in Monroe, about 80 kilometres north of New York City, and rescued animals and helped abandoned pet pigs find new homes.

She initially claimed to be merely running a dating service.

But the native of Scotland pleaded guilty to a single count of promoting prostitution, stemming from a July 2011 tryst that authorities say she arranged involving two women and an undercover officer posing as a client named Anthony.

Manhattan district attorney spokeswoman Erin Duggan said Gristina had no one to blame but herself.

"There is nothing glamorous about prostitution. Anna Gristina rented women's bodies for profit, which makes her a pimp. That also makes her a felon, and the court has now issued that judgment," she said.

Despite the guilty plea, Gristina publicly claimed that she never crossed the line, and instead blamed others charged in the case for turning on her.

Her family smiled and laughed outside court on Tuesday, glad the case was finished.

"It's a sense of relief that it's over, we can move on," said Gristina's husband, Kelvin Gorr.

"This was in the best interest of the kids, just to start over and move on, and that's it."

Gristina, who plans to write a tell-all book, could be deported.

Her lawyer Norman Pattis said he'd fight any attempt to remove her from the country.

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Traditional Owners granted native title

NEARLY a quarter of a million hectares of land on western Cape York, an area roughly the size of the Australian Capital Territory, has been handed back to traditional owners.

The sprawling Batavia Downs property, covering 241,000ha between Coen and Weipa, was formally handed back to the Atambaya, Northern Kaanju and Yinwum people at a ceremony near Cairns on Wednesday.

The handover of the state-owned property, which has been managed by caretakers since 1994 is the result of a native title claim first lodged in 1997.

Most of the property will remain as a grazing land, and an agreement has been struck to keep the current caretakers in place until traditional owners decide the future of the area.

About a quarter of the land will become the Batavia National Park, to be jointly managed by the Queensland government and traditional owners.

A further 79,000ha along the Wenlock River will become a nature refuge.

Cape York land rights group Balkanu said the handover would economic opportunities for traditional owners.

"The return of country to the communities ... (will) fulfil traditional owners' dreams to return to their homelands," the group said in a statement.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister Glen Elmes said the government would work in partnership with traditional owners to manage the land.

"The Queensland Government is looking forward to working further with Aboriginal people in the Cape York Peninsula region to resolve land tenure issues and protect iconic natural areas," he said.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the handover would pave the way for eco-tourism in the region.

Traditional owners have now been granted native title rights to more than 2.2 million hectares across Cape York, around half of which is being managed as National Parks.

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Bandidos and friends face 151 charges

QUEENSLAND police have laid 151 charges against 28 members and associates of the Bandidos outlaw motor cycle gang.

Detectives laid the charges after a series of raids around southeast Queensland on Tuesday morning.

Drugs, firearms and a Taser were seized in the raids, police say.

Five people, including the gang's national sergeant-at-arms, have been charged with trafficking and production of dangerous drugs.

The action wraps up an 11-month operation targeting the activities of the Bandidos.

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Ruralco undecided on Elders rural services

RURALCO Holdings says it does not yet know whether it will bid for Elders' rural services business.

Ruralco chairman Richard England on Tuesday said Ruralco was monitoring the situation but had not yet made a decision.

"If Ruralco did participate, we would be disciplined and would not pursue any acquisition unless it was value-accretive for Ruralco shareholders," Mr England said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Regardless of the outcome, Ruralco was well-positioned to benefit either from a synergistic acquisition of (Elders) rural services or continuing to win market share if sold to another entity."

Ruralco holds a stake of about 12 per cent in agribusiness and automotive interiors supplier Elders.

In September, Ruralco approached Elders to discuss a possible merger between the two agribusinesses, but no formal proposal was put on the table.

Elders began a sale process for its rural services business in late October, saying it wanted to sell it to accelerate returns to shareholders.

Ruralco on Tuesday booked a net profit of $13.8 million for the year ended September 30, down 7.5 per cent on the prior year amid falling commodity prices and variable seasonable conditions in cropping regions.

Ruralco in November had flagged a fall in annual net profit of five to 10 per cent below the $15.0 million profit recorded for 2010/11, blaming lower revenue from its wool and livestock businesses.

Despite the fall in overall group profit, Ruralco said its rural supplies, grain marketing and water and environment businesses all generated greater revenue and profits during the fiscal year.

Ruralco managing director John Maher said the outlook for the current financial year was "cautiously positive".

"Farm cash flows have been under pressure and much depends on growers capturing the benefits of current grain prices to build confidence levels into the 2012/13 financial year," he said in a statement.

"Relatively dry conditions persist in the summer cropping and horticulture regions of the country while subdued sheep, lamb and wool prices compared to last year are still impacting trading conditions, particularly in the southern markets."

However, Ruralco's grain marketing and water-related businesses were confident of a good year ahead.

Ruralco will pay a fully-franked final dividend of 10 cents per share, up from nine cents in the prior year.

Shares in Ruralco were two cents higher at $3.16 at 1048 AEDT on Tuesday.

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Delay in Sica child sex trial

CONVICTED triple murderer Max Sica's child sex trial has ground to a halt again, this time over problems with a transcript of the alleged victim's evidence.

Sica has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane District Court to 21 charges, including rape, and maintaining an unlawful relationship with an underage girl between 2004 and 2008.

It is alleged the girl was aged between nine and 13 at the time of the offences.

During the first day of evidence on Monday, the court was played two of several police interview tapes with the alleged victim.

In the first recording, the girl said Sica started abusing her one night when her mother was working in his parent's pizza restaurant.

She went on to outline further sex acts in the second interview tape.

However, Judge Michael Shanahan became increasingly frustrated with discrepancies between the video recording and its transcript.

"The transcript is completely incorrect," he said.

Prosecutor Todd Fuller SC advised Judge Shanahan a new transcript was being prepared.

He said there should not be similar issues with any other recorded interviews, which had already been reviewed for accuracy.

Judge Shanahan adjourned the trial until Tuesday.

It is the third time the trial has been adjourned because of issues with evidence.

Ordinarily legal arguments about evidence would not be able to be reported until the end of a trial because of the effect it may have on the jury's decision-making process.

However, Sica won the right to a judge-only trial after a judge ruled jury members may be unfairly influenced by the publicity surrounding his murder case earlier this year.

Sica was sentenced to a 35 year non-parole jail term in July for the murder of ex-girlfriend Neelma Singh, 24, and her siblings Kunal, 18, and Sidhi, 12, in 2003.

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Man charged over fatal car accident

POLICE have charged a 21-year-old man over a crash in the Noosa Hinterland which killed his 20-year-old passenger.

The Eudlo man has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

 He will face Maroochydore Magistrates Court on December 17.

The 20-year-old local man died on November 7 after the car left Gympie Kin Kin Road at Kin Kin and crashed into a dam.

The younger man, who was the front passenger, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.
 

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Julie Bishop happy to answer CSR questions

Julie Bishop says Labor's allegations about her time as a lawyer will not stop her asking questions. Source: AAP

DEPUTY Opposition Leader Julie Bishop says questions raised about her conduct as a lawyer are a transparent attempt by Labor to deflect attention away from Prime Minister Julia Gillard's role in establishing a union slush fund 17 years ago.

Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor said on Sunday Ms Bishop should answer questions about her conduct as a lawyer in the 1980s when she defended CSR.

Ms Bishop was involved in proceedings in the 1980s concerning compensation for asbestosis sufferers resulting from their work at CSR's Wittenoom mine in Western Australia.

"Clearly, there's been some matters arising out of her role as a lawyer at CSR where she used, allegedly, procedural tactics to deny victims of asbestosis their day in court," Mr O'Connor told ABC television on Sunday.

"She wants to go around spending her entire time not involving herself in foreign affairs as she's supposed to as shadow minister, but instead seek to smear the government and the prime minister with unsubstantiated allegations.

"I think there's some questions she should be answering."

Ms Bishop said she was perfectly happy to answer any questions about her professional and ethical conduct during her time as a lawyer.

"So far Brendan O'Connor made some vague allegations today, but I'm happy to answer any specific allegations about any case I've been involved in a 20-year legal career," she told AAP.

Ms Bishop has led the coalition attack against the prime minister over her role establishing what Ms Gillard described as a "slush fund" for the Australian Workers Union (AWU), which was allegedly used to defraud the union.

Ms Gillard has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and held a lengthy press conference in August to address the issue.

The prime minister has refused to be drawn on new allegations that surfaced last week about a $5000 deposit made into her account at the direction of her former boyfriend and union official Bruce Wilson.

Ms Bishop said the questions raised by Labor would not deter her from pursuing further answers from Ms Gillard on the issue.

"I'll continue to ask legitimate questions of the prime minister, not only about her professional and ethical standards, but also her honesty in answering questions of recent times at press conferences about the AWU scandal," she said.

Labor was trying to deflect attention away from questions of Ms Gillard in relation to the AWU, Ms Bishop said.

"I think it's fairly transparent."

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Surplus gives RBA room to move: Swan

Treasurer Wayne Swan says Labor's management of the budget has paved the way for interest rate cuts. Source: AAP

TREASURER Wayne Swan says the federal government's "responsible budget management" has helped save the typical mortgage-payer around $4500 a year in repayments.

Mr Swan used his weekly economic note to draw attention to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) assessment of Australia's economy, released last week.

"(The IMF) makes the point the forecast return to surplus gives the Reserve Bank more room to move on interest rates," the treasurer said on Sunday.

"That's something that has been demonstrated time and time again over the past year with the equivalent of six cuts to the official cash rate."

Mr Swan pointed out that for a family with a $300,000 standard variable mortgage, the government's "responsible budget management" had helped deliver a saving of around $4500 a year in repayments compared to when the government came to office.

Meanwhile, government data released on Friday showed the budget deficit in August was $398 million wider than the Gillard government had forecast in its May budget.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the data suggested the government had some work to do to reach its goal of delivering a budget surplus in 2012/13.

"The prime minister has referred to Australia's budget as the seventh economic wonder of the world," Mr James said in a statement.

"Certainly if the government does achieve the feat of returning the budget to surplus this year, it will be remarkable - even with accounting tricks - but there is still a long way to go to reach the aim."

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