The original Wiggles woo Carols crowd

THOUSANDS of arms and legs waved and flailed at Sydney's Carols in the Domain, as the original members of The Wiggles celebrated their last carols bonanza.

More than 50,000 people packed into the Domain on Saturday, as the popular annual event ushered in the Christmas cheer with The Ten Tenor's rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful at 8.30pm (AEDT).

But the cheers really kicked off when Australia's most loved children's music group said their final goodbye to the event.

"Three of the members are hanging up their skivvies so tonight is their very last television performance before handing over to new band members," the Carols co-host Natalie Barr said.

"So this is it Australia, the end of an era," Matt White said.

The crowd jumped to their feet, shooting out arms and legs in unison with the original Red, Yellow, Red, Purple and Blue wiggles as they sang and danced to "Fruit salad", "Hot Potato" and "Jingle Bells".

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Govt approves The Block redevelopment

The government has granted planning approval for the redevelopment of The Block in Redfern. Source: AAP

THE redevelopment of The Block in the Sydney suburb of Redfern is one step closer after the state government granted planning approval.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Saturday that the Department of Planning and Infrastructure had approved the Pemulwuy redevelopment project in the inner-city suburb.

Mr O'Farrell said Pemulwuy would include 62 affordable houses, a 42-unit student housing complex, a gym, a child-care centre and a community gallery, as well as open space.

He said there would also be shops and a 115-space underground car park.

"The approval of this project by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure will allow for the creation of a vibrant new housing, community and cultural precinct close to transport and the University of Sydney," Mr O'Farrell said in a statement.

"This part of Sydney has been crying out for renewal for many years and it is fantastic this long-running issue has now been resolved."

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Fire warning for WA's Pilbara

WA emergency crews are warning residents in the state's Pilbara region to brace for severe fire danger, with the day set to bring a mid-40C scorcher.

The 6000-strong inland residents of the region's Shire of Ashburton face hot, dry, windy conditions on Sunday that could see a potential bush or grass fire take hold, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said on Saturday.

The area faces overnight lows in mid to high 20s before daytime maximums expected in the low to mid 40s, with the scorching days tipped to continue until Boxing Day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

DFES urged residents to have bushfire plans and survival kits on standby, and to tune in to local radio and other media for updates.

"Do not wait for a warning before you act. If you see flames call triple zero," it said in a statement.

DFES has also issued a total fire ban on Sunday for the Shire of Exmouth, home to around 2600 residents in the coastal Gascoyne region, about 1000km north of Perth.

All open air fires are banned, and hot work such as metal welding and grinding is not allowed without an exemption, the department says.

"You could be fined up to $25,000 or jailed for 12 months or both if you ignore the total fire ban," DFES said in a statement around 6pm (WST).

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Remains of missing Victorian man found

HUMAN remains have been uncovered in a search of a Bellarine Peninsula backyard connected to the suspicious disappearance of father-of-five Douglas Kally.

Homicide Squad detectives, who earlier on Friday arrested and interviewed a 43-year-old woman over Mr Kally's disappearance four years ago, uncovered the remains several hours later.

They say they have not yet identified the remains, which were found following two days of digging up a residential backyard at Indented Head, southwest of Melbourne, which is understood to be Mr Kally's last known address.

Mr Kally, also known as Dragon Dordevic, was reported missing by his family in October 2008, having told them he was moving to NSW.

The 48-year-old's last reported sighting was by co-workers in July or August that year, and police regarded the disappearance as suspicious.

Police and State Emergency Service crews on Thursday began searching Indented Head and set up an information caravan in the town.

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Call for royal commission into Customs

IF Australian Customs officials are found to have been corrupt, the government has "no option" but to hold a commission of inquiry or a royal commission into the matter, a former police officer says.

Ross Fusca, a former Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer, worked on a taskforce in Melbourne in 2004, created to tackle corruption on the city's docks.

Despite a number of "major" drug busts, his requests a year later to have the taskforce continued was denied because of a lack of funding, ABC Television's 7.30 program reported on Friday.

Mr Fusca said it meant that agencies were no longer working together "with a common goal".

"But organised crime was and they weren't being kept in check," Mr Fusca told the ABC.

"If there is an issue with law enforcement at points of entry into this country that are allowing criminal groups to become stronger and more powerful, the Australian government has no option but to throw a commission of inquiry or a royal commission behind it and get to the bottom of it," he said.

It emerged on Thursday that two Customs officers, a quarantine officer and five members of the public have been charged following a joint investigation by law enforcement agencies into corruption and drug smuggling at Sydney airport.

Following the revelations Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare announced on Thursday the establishment of a Customs Reform Board to provide advice on how to further tackle corruption in the service.

Opposition customs and border protection spokesman Michael Keenan told the ABC on Friday that before a royal commission took place the government would need to give a "full and frank explanation of what's going on".

"I think we need to do that before we look at having a third-party inquiry," Mr Keenan said.

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N Korea confirms arrest of US citizen

NORTH Korea has confirmed it arrested a US citizen in November, saying he had admitted to unspecified charges and suggesting he would be formally prosecuted.

The man, identified as Pae Jun-Ho, entered North Korea on November 3 as a tourist, and "committed a crime" against the country, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday.

"He was put into custody by a relevant institution," it added.

The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and KCNA said consular officials from the Swedish embassy, which acts on behalf of the US, had visited Pae on Friday.

"In the process of investigation, evidence proving that he committed a crime against the DPRK was revealed. He admitted his crime," the agency said in a short despatch.

"Legal actions are being taken against Pae in line with the criminal procedure law", it added, without elaborating.

The arrest was first reported earlier this month by a South Korean newspaper, Kookmin Ilbo, which had identified the detainee as a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator.

The newspaper said he had been travelling with five other tourists and was detained when a computer hard disk was found among the group's belongings.

KCNA said Pae was arrested as he entered the north-eastern port city of Rason which lies inside a special economic zone near North Korea's border with Russia and China.

Several Americans have been held in North Korea in recent years.

In 2011, a US delegation led by Robert King, the US special envoy for Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, secured the release of Eddie Jun Yong-Su, a California-based businessman, who had been detained for apparent missionary activities.

In 2010 former US president Jimmy Carter won plaudits when he negotiated the release of American national, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, sentenced to eight years of hard labour for illegally crossing into the North from China.

On another mercy mission a year earlier in 2009, former president Bill Clinton won the release of US television journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, jailed after wandering across the North Korean border with China.

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UN Rwanda court jails ex-minister

THE UN tribunal for Rwanda has handed a 35-year jail term to a former minister found guilty of genocide, in the court's final trial ruling.

Augustin Ngirabatware, planning minister at the time of the 1994 genocide, was found guilty of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity.

"For these crimes the court sentences you to 35 years in prison," the judge, William Hussein Sekule, told Ngirabatware on Thursday.

The tribunal still has appeals pending, but will wrap up its activities by the end of 2014.

Ngirabatware is the son-in-law of Felicien Kabuga, accused by the tribunal of having bankrolled the genocide, and the most notorious of the nine people indicted by the tribunal still at large.

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Jobs, growth are govt's priorities: Wong

FINANCE Minister Penny Wong says the government's focus is on jobs and economic growth after Treasurer Wayne Swan revealed a budget surplus is unlikely for 2012/13.

Mr Swan on Thursday said he'd rather ditch the surplus than tighten fiscal policy further and risk local jobs and growth.

"Obviously dramatically lower tax revenue now makes it unlikely that there will be a surplus in 2012/13," he told reporters in Canberra.

Senator Wong said she supported the decision.

"Today we have been very clear about that and we have made this decision to be clear about the state of revenue," she told ABC Television on Thursday.

"We have to put jobs and growth first."

In October, Treasury had forecast a $1.1 billion surplus for 2012/13, a turnaround from a $43.7 billion deficit the previous year.

Senator Wong said the government had downgraded revenue forecasts for this financial year by $20 billion since the 2010 budget projections.

The Finance Department's latest monthly statement released on Thursday showed cash receipts for 2012/13 so far totalled $111.6 billion at the end of October, down almost $4 billion on expectations.

The main factor was company tax revenue, hit by profit declines.

"With the release today of this new data, we have said to the Australian people ... we are seeing further revenue downgrades and it is not responsible to continue to make cuts to offset this revenue downgrade," she said.

The budget bottom line was being hit by a high Australian dollar and its impact on the terms of trade - the prices Australia receives for its exports compared to its imports, Senator Wong said.

"They are certainly having an effect on profitability and therefore our revenue," she said.

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Asian markets mixed, yen up

ASIAN markets mostly rose on Thursday following big gains in the previous session but investors are growing nervous that US leaders have still not agreed a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

The yen slipped a tad against the euro and dollar after Japan's central bank unveiled more huge monetary easing but it held on to earlier gains as traders had mostly expected the new measures.

Tokyo fell 1.19 per cent on profit-taking after surging to an eight-month high on Wednesday. The index lost 121.07 points to 10,039.33 - a day after breaking the 10,000 barrier for the first time since early April.

Seoul closed 0.32 per cent higher, adding 6.41 points to 1999.50, with the election of conservative Park Geun-hye seeming to have little effect, although dealers were broadly happy as she favours stability over big change.

Sydney was up 0.35 per cent, or 16.3 points, at 4,634.1 and Hong Kong staged a late rally to end 0.16 per cent higher, adding 36.41 points to 22,659.78 while Shanghai gained 0.28 per cent, or 6.11 points, to 2,168.35.

With less than two weeks to go before the fiscal cliff of huge tax hikes and deep spending cuts is due to take effect, US politicians have still not reached a compromise budget deal to cut the nation's deficit with less painful measures.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he and the Republicans had narrowed differences to "a few hundred billion dollars". But a deal remains elusive.

Republicans are loath to raise taxes, while Democrats do not want to cut spending on programs such as Medicare.

House Speaker John Boehner, the Republican negotiating with the president, has said he is willing to extend tax breaks for everyone earning less than $1 million per year. Obama has said, however, he is willing to go no higher than $400,000.

Boehner announced on Wednesday that he will move to pass his measure, which he describes as his "Plan B", through the House Thursday but Obama warned he would veto the legislation.

"At some point there's got to be... a recognition on the part of my Republican friends that, you know, take the deal," Obama told reporters, as the two sides struggled to reach agreement.

While both sides have rejected the other's offers for a deal they said that talks are ongoing.

However, US traders were not impressed. On Wall Street the Dow finished 0.74 per cent lower, the S&P 500 dropped 0.76 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 0.33 per cent.

The Bank of Japan said Thursday it would expand an asset-buying program by 10 trillion yen ($US119 billion) to 101 trillion yen, days after the country's conservatives won an election promising to boost spending and pressure the bank for aggressive action.

It made no mention of a two-per cent inflation target demanded by incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe but said it would look at reviewing its policy.

The last scheduled policy meeting of the year had been widely seen as a test of whether it would stand pat, shrugging off the outside pressure.

However, it said the new measures were tied to fears about the slowing global economy, which was hurting growth at home.

The yen, which has tumbled against the dollar and euro in recent weeks on the expected victory for the opposition, picked up slightly in early trade on Thursday and managed to hold on to the gains after the BoJ move.

In early European trade the greenback bought 83.93 yen, compared with 84.39 yen in New York late Wednesday, while the euro was at 111.02 yen, from 111.59 yen.

The single currency also fetched $1.3228, against $1.3226.

Oil prices were lower, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February dropping 37 cents to $89.61 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for February dipping 43 cents to $109.93.

Gold was at $1,668.30 at 1030 GMT (2130 AEDT) compared with $1,674.39 late on Wednesday.

In other markets:

- Singapore closed up 0.54 per cent, or 16.95 points, at 3,175.52.

Singapore Telecom rose 0.60 per cent to Sg$3.37 and DBS Group gained 0.54 per cent to Sg$14.99.

- Taipei fell 1.07 per cent, or 82.01 points, to 7,596.46.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was 1.34 per cent lower at Tw$96.0 while leading smartphone maker HTC rose 0.36 per cent to Tw$275.5.

- Manila added 0.79 per cent, or 45.35 points, to 5,797.74.

- Wellington ended 1.30 per cent higher, adding 52.45 points to 4,075.45.

Chorus surged 4.4 per cent to NZ$2.84, Fletcher Building rose 2.2 per cent to NZ$8.45 and Telecom gained 0.74 per cent to NZ$2.32 but Xero shed 1.3 per cent to NZ$7.60.

- Bangkok shed 0.07 per cent or 1.00 points to close at 1,377.40.

Coal producer Banpu fell 1.42 per cent or 6.00 baht to 418.00 baht while PTT Plc was unchanged at 333.00 baht.

- Jakarta ended down 21.04 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 4,254.82.

Carmaker Astra International fell 2.60 per cent to 7,500 rupiah, cigarette maker Gudang Garam lost 2.73 per cent to 57,000 rupiah, while palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari decreased 1.62 per cent to 18,250 rupiah.

- Kuala Lumpur shares gained 4.96 points, or 0.30 per cent, to close at 1,670.60.

British American Tobacco added 1.7 per cent to 60.50 ringgit, DiGi.com rose 1.5 per cent to 5.36 and Axiata climbed 1.2 per cent to 6.68.

India's Sensex index slid 0.11 per cent or 22.08 points at 19,453.92 points, snapping two straight days of gains, on profit-taking in index heavyweights.

India's auto and tractor giant Mahindra and Mahindra fell 1.68 per cent to 951.7 rupees while IT outsourcer Wipro fell 1.32 per cent to 380.5.

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Malaysia provides refuge for 'Rohingyas'

MALAYSIA has provided refuge to 40 shipwreck survivors believed to be refugees from Myanmar's conflict-wracked Rakhine state, a Malaysian maritime official says.

The refugees arrived late on Tuesday in the southern state of Johor after they were picked up by a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency vessel from a Vietnamese cargo ship off Singapore, the official said.

The 40 refugees were rescued by the cargo ship from a boat believed to be carrying 250 people that sank December 5 in the Bay of Bengal.

Many of those on board were still missing.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the refugees were believed to be from Myanmar's Rohingya minority.

All the refugees appeared to be in good health and were undergoing medical examinations, he said.

They were given temporary refuge while they are processed, he said.

Malaysia hosts about 24,000 refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state, which has seen clashes between Muslim Rohingya and majority Buddhists.

At least 89 people were killed in the violence in October, and more than 5300 houses and religious buildings were burned or destroyed, according to UN figures.

More than 110,000 people have been forced from their homes since the violence first flared in June.

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French judges keep Strauss-Kahn charges

French judges have decided not to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Source: AAP

FRENCH judges have decided not to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

His lawyer says the former International Monetary Fund chief will appeal.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have argued the investigating judges in the case are biased.

The case revolves around a suspected luxury prostitution ring in northern France.

A court in the French city of Douai decided on Wednesday to retain the preliminary charges.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have said he attended "libertine" gatherings but didn't know some women present were paid.

The case is one part of an intercontinental legal saga that exposed Strauss-Kahn's active sex life and buried his French presidential ambitions.

Strauss-Kahn reached a settlement in the US last week with a hotel maid who accused of him of trying to rape her in May 2011.

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High turnout in S Korea presidential vote

HUGE crowds have voted in a tight presidential race pitting the son of North Korean refugees against the conservative daughter of an assassinated dictator, who both favour greater engagement with Pyongyang.

Despite freezing temperatures that hovered around -10 degrees Celsius, turnout was higher than in past elections.

South Koreans stood in long lines, wrapped in mufflers and parkas.

Seoul's election watchdog said turnout was about 59 per cent on Wednesday afternoon, which is 11 percentage points higher than five years ago, when current conservative President Lee Myung-bak won a landslide victory.

It is also five percentage points higher than a decade ago, when Moon's protege and former boss, liberal Roh Moo-hyun, won.

Exit polls give a tiny edge to conservative Park Geun-Hye, daughter of late dictator Park Chung-Hee, in her bid to be the country's first woman leader.

As polling booths closed at 6pm (2000 AEDT), a joint exit poll by three TV stations gave Park 50.1 per cent of the vote, with 48.9 per cent for her liberal rival Moon Jae-In.

The lead of 1.2 per cent was inside the margin of error of plus or minus 0.8 per cent.

The eventual occupant of the presidential Blue House will have to deal with a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.

At the headquarters of Park's ruling New Frontier Party, party members jumped up and cheered as the exit polls were flashed on TV monitors, but there was no concession or claim of victory by either side.

"We're pleased," said Kwon Young-Se, one of Park's top campaign staff.

"Exit polls are still preliminary results, so we will watch with a humble mind until all the votes are counted."

Optimistic Park supporters gathered outside her residence south of Seoul, cheering and waving the South Korean flag.

"The polls showed we were slightly behind, but we still see a ray of hope because it's within the margin of error," said Jin Sung-Mee, spokeswoman for Moon's main opposition Democratic United Party.

Park, 60, was looking to make history not just as the first female president of a still male-dominated country, but also the first to be related to a former leader.

Her father Park Chung-Hee remains one of the country's most polarising figures - admired for dragging the country out of poverty and reviled for his ruthless suppression of dissent during 18 years of military rule.

He was shot dead by his spy chief in 1979.

Park's mother had been killed five years earlier by a pro-North Korea gunman aiming for her father.

Moon, the son of North Korean refugees and a former chief of staff to the late president Roh Moo-Hyun, is a former human rights lawyer who was once jailed for protesting against the Park regime.

While both candidates signalled a desire for greater engagement with Pyongyang, Park's approach was far more cautious than Moon's promise to resume aid without preconditions and seek an early summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The never-married Park had promised a strong, parental style of leadership that would steer the country through the challenges of global economic troubles.

"Like a mother who dedicates her life to her family, I will become the president who takes care of the lives of each one of you," she said in her last televised news conference on Tuesday.

A female president would be a big change for a country that the World Economic Forum recently ranked 108th out of 135 countries in terms of gender equality.

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Hong Kong stocks end flat

HONG Kong shares have finished flat as an afternoon sell-off wiped out earlier gains despite growing hopes of a deal in Washington to avert the US fiscal cliff.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Tuesday eased 18.88 points to close at 22,494.73 on a huge turnover of HK$118.22 billion ($A14.52 billion), thanks to trade in AIA after American International Group sold its final stake in the Asian insurer.

The market spent most of the day in positive territory, in line with a regional rally, after US President Barack Obama and top Republican lawmaker John Boehner met in the White House for 45 minutes on Monday.

The talks were the latest effort to avert the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts and follow news Boehner had changed his position on not allowing any more taxes.

He said at the weekend that he would agree to some hikes for people earning more than $US1 million.

Wall Street ended on a high, with the Dow closing up 0.76 per cent, the S&P 500 gaining 1.19 per cent and the Nasdaq adding 1.32 per cent.

The HSI was weighed down by a 3.3 per cent fall to $HK30.60 in AIA after the AIG sale, which fetched $US6.45 billion ($A6.14 billion). However, the firm still managed to finish above the $HK30.30 price at which AIG sold.

China Overseas Land fell 1.9 per cent to $HK22.95 but is still up 76.8 per cent for the year to date. China Resources Land slid 1.9 per cent to $HK19.96.

Chinese shares ended up 0.10 per cent, extending their winning run to three days after leaders said they would push to increase domestic demand in the new year.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 2.12 points to 2,162.46 on turnover of 99.0 billion yuan ($A15.14 billion).

China "will continue to implement the proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in 2013" and make domestic demand a top priority, the new leadership said at a key economic conference at the weekend.

Soochow Securities analyst Deng Wenyuan told Dow Jones Newswires: "One of the major drivers for China shares are expectations for macro policy easing."

However, he cautioned: "I think investors might have been too optimistic about that," adding aggressive monetary easing is unlikely given still-high property prices.

Rising Nonferrous Metals surged by its 10 per cent daily limit to 47.55 yuan, Baotou Steel Rare Earth jumped 5.05 per cent to 36.17 yuan and Xiamen Tungsten rose 2.48 per cent to 36.72 yuan.

Qinling Cement also soared by 10 per cent to 6.88 yuan while Taiyuan Lionhead Cement gained 4.94 per cent to 5.31 yuan.

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Iraqi president taken to hospital

THE office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says he has been admitted to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified health problem.

The president's office posted the brief statement on its official website. It said Talabani was taken to the hospital on Monday evening after showing signs of fatigue.

The statement gave no further details and says a medical report will be issued later. Talabani's spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Iraqi cabinet official said Talabani fainted on Monday and remains unconscious.

The Iraqi presidency is seen as a largely ceremonial post, though it does retain some powers under Iraq's constitution. The president must sign off on laws approved by parliament and has the power to block executions.

Talabani, a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority, has frequently used the post to mediate disputes within the government and among Iraq's various sects and ethnic groups.

He has recently been working to resolve a standoff between the central government and the Kurds, who have their own fighting force.

The two sides last month moved additional troops into disputed areas along the Kurds' self-rule northern region, prompting fears that fighting could break out.

Talabani last week brokered a deal that calls on both sides to eventually withdraw troops from the contested areas, though there is no timetable for how soon the drawdown might take place.

Talabani met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki earlier on Monday. They agreed that al-Maliki would invite a delegation from the Kurdish regional government to Baghdad to continue the talks, according to al-Maliki's office.

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Jacob Zuma re-elected president of ANC

SOUTH African president Jacob Zuma has scored a thumping victory in an ANC leadership contest, opening the way for him to lead Africa's largest economy until 2019.

Zuma won 2983 votes out 3977 votes cast at a party conference in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, making him the odds-on favourite to retain the presidency after 2014 general elections.

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Strong 6.1 quake off eastern Indonesia

AN earthquake of 6.1 magnitude has been detected off the eastern Indonesian island of Sulawesi. There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred 119 kilometres northeast of Luwuk, in Central Sulawesi province, at a depth of 18.5 kilometres. No tsunami warning was issued.

The largest archipelagic Indonesia is prone to earthquake because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

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Connecticut gunman 'a brilliant student'

WHEN he was a student at Newtown High, Adam Lanza would sometimes have what a school employee described as "an episode".

No one knew what brought it on. The shy teenager "would just shut down," said Richard Novia, a former adviser to the school tech club.

He said at other times Lanza enjoyed joining other technology-minded students for fantasy role-playing video games and for sleepovers at school.

Lanza, a thin, gangly boy, would sometimes shuffle through the halls, clutching his briefcase to his chest and avoiding eye contact.

At times, he would simply shut down. He'd sit staring at the ground, refusing to talk to anyone.

"It would be total emotional withdrawal," Novia said.

"He wouldn't hurt anyone or yell. He wouldn't speak or talk, he would walk away. Not in a defiant way, but in a scared way. Like, 'Leave me alone.' "

Acquaintances of the family have provided a clearer picture of Lanza, 20, as investigators attempt to retrace his path last week from the spacious home where he shot his mother multiple times to a nearby elementary school. There, he fatally shot 26 students and staff members and then killed himself.

When Lanza would have one of his "episodes," Novia said, he would telephone Nancy Lanza. She was "a great parent," he said, and would often come within minutes, sitting with her son and making him feel better.

"She could pull him back in line," Novia said.

Lanza appears to have left high school early, and at age 16 began taking classes at Western Connecticut State University in nearby Danbury, where he earned a B-plus average.

He dropped out of German as he was about to fail the class but earned an A-minus in American history and a B in macroeconomics. He took his last class at the university in summer 2009, the year before he would have been a senior in high school.

Starting college at 16 would have been jarring, Novia said, especially as Lanza's older brother left for college and later for a job in Manhattan, and their parents separated, leaving Lanza at home with his mother. His parents divorced in 2009.

"If I was to read the situation, he found himself so far disconnected from the world with no possibility of interaction. I'm sure he did not make friends well in a college setting," Novia said.

Lanza, was fond of joining "LAN parties" - short for Local Area Network - in which students would gather at someone's house and hook up their computers into a small network. They played strategy games such as World of Warcraft and Mario Party.

"We were not in favour of first-person shooter games," said one of those who played with Lanza, Joshua Milas.

Lanza's older brother, Ryan Lanza, 24, was also a member of the tech club.

"Ryan was outgoing, energetic, well respected, recognised for his talents," Novia said. Ryan took care of his brother but Novia said he heard they had become estranged in recent years.

"There's obviously dysfunction between the siblings," Novia said.

"I could very easily see Ryan saying, 'Enough is enough. I've been your caregiver when I was supposed to be a teenager. I've got a life to live.' "

Nancy Lanza struggled to take care of her son and live a life of her own, friends said.

John Bergquist, who got to know Nancy Lanza at a neighbourhood bar, described her as a New Hampshire farm girl turned sophisticate.

She was a Red Sox fan with season tickets who travelled to ride hot air balloons, attend jazz concerts in New Orleans, and visit friends in London, New York and San Francisco, sometimes taking her older son Ryan with her, he said.

She drove a silver BMW. She also hunted with falcons.

Lanza had a soft side when it came to her younger son, he said.

"She always spoke very lovingly about him. She was devoted to him, catering to him and his limitations," he said.

"He wasn't troubled or violent in any way - he was a normal kid with a disability ... He had trouble being with people."

Nancy Lanza appeared to have decided to move so that Adam could attend college in another state. She was looking at schools in Washington state and North Carolina.

"She was willing to uproot her life," Bergquist said.

"Nancy pretty much made it clear that she needed to be with him (Adam) because he couldn't handle being on his own."

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China cracks down on doomsday rumours

CHINA has detained dozens of people, some of whom it terms doomsday cult members, as part of a nationwide crackdown on rumours about a supposed forthcoming apocalypse, state media say.

Authorities in five different areas have detained 52 people for spreading predictions of a December 21 "doomsday" linked to the ancient Mayan calendar, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

The apocalypse predictions have received widespread coverage in China, thanks in part to the success of the Hollywood disaster film 2012, which was partly-inspired by the supposed Mayan prophecy.

Those detained include 34 people in the eastern province of Fujian, and two in the central city of Wuhan who handed out leaflets about the apocalypse at transport facilities, the report said.

"People have fabricated and spread rumours about the 'end of the world', caused trouble by tricking people out of money, and disturbed social order," the report cited police in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing as saying.

A Christian group known as "Almighty God", which state-run media has labelled an "evil cult" - the same description it applies to the banned Falun Gong sect - has also been targeted in the pre-doomsday crackdown, with reports of dozens of arrests last week.

Thirty-seven Almighty God members were detained in the northwestern province of Qinghai, the state-run Global Times daily said, adding that the group predicts three days of darkness will begin on December 21.

The group has called on its members to overthrow China's ruling Communist Party, which it refers to as "the big red dragon", and tells believers that a new era, presided over by a "female Jesus", has arrived.

"A big eye was found in the sun on December 9 in Beijing, and female Jesus manifested herself with her name. Great Tsunamis and earthquakes are about to happen around the world," the Global Times reported a text message sent by Almighty God members as saying.

The ruling communist party does not tolerate challenges to its authority and has brutally cracked down on religious groups including the Buddhist-inspired Falun Gong, which was banned in the late 1990s.

China has a long history of religiously-inspired anti-government movements, most notably the 19th century Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led by a Christian convert who gathered hundreds of thousands of followers in an attempt to overthrow the emperor.

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US school victims mostly six years old

Police say the gunman who shot dead 20 school children at a US school forced his way in. Source: AAP

SHATTERED families and grieving residents are devastated that most of the 27 people shot dead by a US school gunman are children aged just six and seven.

President Barack Obama is due to join the vigils in the small Connecticut community of Newtown on Sunday, to lead national mourning after this latest massacre that has revived calls for a debate on gun control.

But the political ramifications of the tragedy are far from the minds of most in this picturesque town, where parents of the survivors and the dead are struggling to come to terms with the stunning loss.

Robbie Parker, a 30-year-old hospital assistant who cares for sick newborns, says the death of his loving six-year-old Emilie should "inspire us to be better, more compassionate and caring toward other people."

He included the family of the apparent shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, in his condolences, addressing them through the news media to say: "I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you."

Robert and Diane Licata described how their six-year-old son Aiden ran past the shooter in his classroom doorway to escape after seeing his teacher gunned down - and recounted their desperate search for him.

Diane Licata told CNN she had rushed to the school to see her daughter led out of the building but there was no sign of Aiden.

"So the kids start to come out and when I saw her, you know, the sense of relief is incredible, but it's really short-lived because I still have one in there. And I'm waiting for him to come. And he didn't come out," she said.

"When you're standing there waiting....it's an indescribable feeling of helplessness."

Licata eventually received a text that her son was safe at a nearby police station.

Aiden was later able to explain his escape.

She said his class heard noises that initially sounded like hammers.

"Then they realised that it was gunshots."

"Aiden's teacher had the presence of mind to move all of the children to a distance away from the door... and that's when the gunman burst in," Licata said.

The gunman had "no facial expressions" she said, adding that he "proceeded to shoot their teacher."

Many US children are taught how to react during an emergency, so Aiden and his classmates quickly made their way to the door where the gunman was standing and ran past him. Some of them survived.

"He (Aiden) really, really, really cared about his teacher. He knows that she's been hurt but he doesn't know the end result. He knows the kids that he saw getting shot."

A police spokesman said Lanza is believed to have shot his mother at the home they shared before launching his attack at the nearby school.

He had two handguns but the coroner told reporters that most of the children and staff were killed by multiple gunshots from his assault rifle, a .223 calibre Bushmaster, a civilian version of the US military's M4.

Lanza's father Peter expressed shock and grief at the horror caused by his son.

"No words can truly express how heartbroken we are," he said in a statement vowing to continue co-operating with law enforcement.

"We, too, are asking why?"

Connecticut State Police released the identity of the victims, aged six to 56. They included 16 six-year-olds and four seven-year-olds.

Twelve of the 20 slain children were girls and eight were boys.

The six adults killed were all women, including the school's principal and its psychologist.

The motives of the shooter are still the biggest mystery.

Asked whether any suicide note, emails or other clues to the killer's mind had been found, Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant J Paul Vance said investigators have gathered "some very good evidence."

Lanza was a shy, awkward and nerdy boy but hadn't apparently given any warning sign that he was a mass murderer.

The weapons, news reports said, were registered in his mother's name but she was widely seen as an upstanding resident in the town.

The tragedy drew messages of support from around the world, and candlelight vigils are being held.

Of all US campus shootings, the toll was second only to the 32 murders in the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech University.

The latest number far exceeded the 15 killed in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which triggered a fierce but inconclusive debate about gun control laws in the United States.

However, the White House has scotched any suggestion that the politically explosive subject would be quickly reopened.

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Man critical after Tas double murder

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

A MAN remains in a critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head and a man and woman in their thirties are dead in a double murder that has shaken a small Tasmanian town.

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.

The suspected gunman, a 59-year-old shearer, 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.

Locals at Hamilton, which has a population of 300, say those who know the couple have been shocked by their deaths.

"It's not a nice thing to happen in the town," one local told AAP.

The woman's partner had been a local football player.

Detective-Inspector Colin Riley said the older man's gunshot wound was inflicted shortly before or just as a police car arrived.

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

Det Insp Riley said the woman's nine-year-old daughter 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.

He said the dead couple had been in a relationship and living in the Hamilton house for about four months.

There had been no reports of violence involving the dead woman and her alleged killer.

The children, including another daughter, believed to be aged about 13, who was not in the house at the time of the incident, were being cared for by their grandparents.

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Croc bites boy at NT billabong

A TEENAGE boy has been airlifted to hospital after he was attacked by a crocodile in a remote part of the Northern Territory.

The 16-year-old boy was bitten on the leg by the one-metre-long croc while hunting at a billabong in the remote community of Ramingining in Arnhem Land on Sunday.

Careflight said the boy was treated at a local clinic before being flown to Royal Darwin Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

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